Press release submitted on behalf of WITTMANN.
Mayhew Basque Plastics LLC, a division of Mayhew Steel Products Inc., manufactures high quality hand tools that are sold under the Mayhew Tools name as well as other private brands around the world. Mayhew Basque Plastics runs a 24/7 facility in Westminster, Mass., and provides product design, mold making and injection mold parts. The company occupies a 90,000-square-foot building with 25 molding machines, ranging in size from 185 tons to 500 tons.
The company’s focus on customer service has allowed it to grow quickly and to meet demand. Mayhew also saw a large interest in its tools and construction equipment during the pandemic, and the interest continues to grow.
Mayhew Basque Plastics runs a unique process with PA66, glass-filled PA6, and glass-filled PP material. These materials present distinct challenges with the short cycle time and the fact they are extremely hot when they come out of the mold. As a result, previous granulators were not efficiently grinding the materials.
So, Mayhew turned to WITTMANN USA, a manufacturer of injection molding machines, robots, auxiliary equipment and more, and ran a test with WITTMANN’s screenless granulator S-Max series. Mayhew quickly found the screenless technology was the best fit for the glass-filled nylon 66 and their other materials as the low speed screenless technology produced the most efficient and cost-effective grinding.
In fact, Mayhew was so pleased with the performances of the WITTMANN granulators, the company purchased two more, and is now operating 10 WITTMANN granulators on the plant floor.
Press-Side Granulators for In-Line Recycling
WITTMANN’S screenless technology allows for no “longs” and provides uniform regrind with minimal fines for efficient re-processing. The low speed single pass processing means less wear on cutting tools for reduced maintenance, low sound levels, and low power consumption.
Mayhew Basque also utilizes conventional WITTMANN ML 33 low speed, bladed granulators, which also results in the better quality of regrind and less heat in the grinding. The open rotor design provides airflow for cooling and the large external pillow block bearings provide balance and durability.
In addition, the low Rotor Speed (340 rpm) produces efficient grinding with optimized torque and low noise levels. The rake angle of the blades was set to ensure optimal penetration into the material to be ground while maintaining low noise levels and low energy consumption.
Adjustable rotating blades allows for a constant cutting circle to the screen after sharpening to maintain cutting efficiency, with also a larger cutting circle and higher power for processing bulkier injection molded parts.
“We continue to use the Wittmann ML 33 bladed technology for soft to medium-hard materials,” said Bill Whiles, production manager at Mayhew Basque Plastics. “Wittmann creates the difference because the granulator ML 33 has a lower speed compared to what we used the past.”
About WITTMANN
With headquarters in Vienna, Austria, WITTMANN is a global company with 7 production facilities, 31 subsidiaries, and 24 agencies in 52 countries. WITTMANN is the only manufacturer offering plastic processors worldwide a complete range of innovative robot automation and injection molding machine technology, along with auxiliary equipment for material conveying, blending, drying, granulating, heating and cooling, for individual work cells to fully integrated project managed system solutions from one manufacturer. Their worldwide sales and service network provides unmatched local service and support.
More information: www.wittmann-group.com
