In a major redesign of the patented DeDuster® C-50 separator, Conair, which offers innovative auxiliary equipment solutions to plastics processors, has simplified operation, eliminated wear-prone moving parts and improved processing of regrind, which can be very dusty.
The system, which nominally processes up to 50 lb/hr (22.5 kg/hr), removes lightweight dust, angel hair and streamers from otherwise high-quality pelletized feedstock and regrind being fed to plastics processing machines. If not removed, dust and other lightweight fractions can cause cosmetic problems in molded or extruded products, including haziness, gels and black spots, as well as mechanical flaws and housekeeping problems.
The new C-50 Mini-DeDuster will be featured as part of The Conair Summit, a virtual event launching May 18 in lieu of the canceled NPE 2021 tradeshow.
Major design improvements include an adjustable, pneumatically driven vibratory feeder that replaces a paddle-style metering device, which was prone to wear, and which had occasional problems feeding regrind. With the vibratory feeder, regrind flows smoothly, and there are no moving parts in contact with the material and, thus, no chance of wear. The feed rate is adjusted via a knob that regulates pneumatic pressure driving the vibrating tray.
Designers also created a wider opening through which solids flow inside of the DeDuster. The previous smaller opening was prone to bridging with regrind particles even as small as ¼ inch (6.4 mm). Now, with the larger opening, the DeDuster typically can process regrinds up to 3/8 inch (9.5 mm).
The other enhancement is a built-in level sensor that shuts off the feeder when the hopper below is nearly full. This is important because the DeDuster cannot operate in a flood-feed condition. With the previous generation of the product, users needed to know the precise volume of the hopper and demand of the processing machine and then manually adjust feed rates to prevent over-filling.
For more information, visit www.conairgroup.com.
