Recent advances in technology have made the concept of drying in a central location—as opposed to right at the machine—more advantageous for certain kinds of processing operations.

Visitors to the recent NPE 2009 show in Chicago were looking for materials handling equipment that could do more than dry, blend, or convey resins. It had to do those things while saving energy, providing faster and easier maintenance, speeding product changeovers, reducing labor cost, minimizing waste, and providing better value for money. The new products cited below addressed those needs and more.

Injection MoldingHybrid Press Has Electric ClampNew injection presses that combine servo-electric and hydraulic movements to achieve high performance with energy efficiency will be discussed by Arburg Inc., Newington, Conn.

New two-way and three-way Slide Flex Diverters from Lorenz & Son, Cobourg, Ont., provide a way to pneumatically convey different materials to particular destinations without cross-contamination.

Dryers, feeders, blenders, loaders, metal detectors, level sensors, mechanical and pneumatic conveyors, silos, bins, pumps, filters, valves, box fillers, bag dumpers, and materials-handling control systems constitute one of the biggest categories of products on display at NPE.