Drying and Water Temperature Control Combine in Advantage Engineering/Novatec Mashup

Come by Booth W3563 to see the new patent-pending DryTemp+, a machine that combines a portable desiccant-wheel dryer and a fluid TCU in a single footprint. As reported in Plastics Technology’s March issue, Advantage Engineering teamed up with auxiliary equipment supplier Novatec (Booth W3729), to create the DryTemp+, which is targeting processors that don’t rely on central drying, with potential target sales in automotive, for example, where molders  increasingly dry high-temperature materials at press side. Now they can do so without the hit to floorspace placing a dryer and additional TCU by the machine could result in. Beyond injection molding, medical-tubing extrusion is also viewed as a possible market. As Novatec’s Conrad Bessemer told Plastics Technology’s Jim Callari, “Processors with dryers typically also have mold-temperature controllers; and dryers require a water connection; so it made sense to both companies to look for ways to integrate the two machines.”

The unit features a 7-in. touch-screen Siemens pendant PLC, which accesses both drying and mold-temperature control parameters. The PLC can provide trending and data logging and will be Ethernet equipped so it can be used for QC logging of jobs with resin, mold temperature, and drying parameters recorded.

The DryTemp+ dryer is a NovaWheel desiccant dryer sized for 25 to 150 lb/hr, featuring Novatec’s over-dry protection technology. The TCU comes with one or two circuits, a display screen, custom-designed impeller housing and heating and cooling cylinders, with capacity of 30 gpm at 30 psi and 30 to 250 F temperature capability.

Beyond the DryTemp+, Advantage is also highlighting its Sentra line of TCUs, featuring the VE, G and T series of microprocessors. For monitoring of one or more units, processors can use the Mini XK display. In chillers, Advantage is showcasing portable and central units. On the portable side, units run from 1/4 to 40-tons in capacity,  with water and air-condensed configurations. The G-Series control provides energy saving via digital scroll and variable speed compressors. In central chillers, Advantage is showcasing the Titan unit, also available in air- and water-condensed configurations, with capacity from 30 to 210 tons. These feature an integral reservoir and pumping system, helping keep installation time and cost low.