This one is designed to be compatible with Nordson's BKG® The latest design of the pellet dryer used in conjunction with the pelletizing system significantly reduces the time and costs associated with replacing "worn" parts and meets the challenges posed by the increasing use of fiberglass fillers and other abrasive materials. Nordson will be introducing the dryer at NPE2018 (booth W2525).

This dryer is designed to reduce the number, complexity and cost of abrasive components, making them easier to access for maintenance or replacement. While the overall look and footprint of the new dryers are roughly the same as standard BKG dryers and provide comparable yields, there is a big difference in the configuration of its wear-prone components. The new design simplifies maintenance by requiring only one person to perform maintenance tasks, which can reduce production downtime.

Matthias Kö, Operations Manager at Domo Engineering Plastics GmbH's plant in Premnitz, Germany; "Our maintenance time has been reduced by as much as 70 percent," hler said. "We are now able to determine specific maintenance intervals, so we are better able to plan ahead and anticipate downtime." Domo is the first user of the new pellet dryer, installed on an existing underwater pelletizing line for processing multiple polyamide 6 compounds up to 50% glass fiber content.

Frank Asmuss, Nordson's global product Manager for BKG granulators, describes a range of design enhancements to reduce wear or simplify maintenance:

- Pellet inlet. Frank Asmuss says, "One result of the new design based on fluid simulations is that the inlet now runs tangential into the dryer housing, reducing the impact on all parts in the lower half of the dryer and allowing for quick access to all remaining worn parts."

- Rotor. Thanks to optimized particle inlet, the rotor, especially the lower half, is simplified, and wear is minimized by reducing the influence of abrasive particles. Other measures taken to reduce or eliminate wear caused by particle flow include the use of a new cover plate design and the countersunk treatment of the screw head. "In standard dryers, it takes 10 hours to disassemble and reassemble the rotor, while the new design reduces this time to about three hours," says Frank Asmuss.

- Pellet outlet. The new design reduces the number of parts that will suffer wear and makes it easier to access. The disassembly/reassembly time has been reduced from 6 hours to a range of 1 to 4 hours.

Frank Asmuss comments: "These design changes we made to reduce wear and tear have resulted in a significant savings in the overall cost per ton of fiberglass filling products. This, combined with the reduced maintenance time, has resulted in a significant reduction in the overall operating costs of the dryers, which is a great advantage for our customers."

Plastic Industry Video