Automation Costs Drop for Plastics Material Handling

With materials prices in flux, now greater than ever, plastics manufacturers are incorporating greater cutting-edge, automated material handling systems to convey, dry, and blend resins with reduced contamination and consistent moisture levels.

Fortunately to processors, reduce-cost methodology is emerging. Reasons vary — greater competition and choices, less-expensive electronics, and other improvements.

In particular, "we have seen an overall reduce cost on many analysis devices that give better data and can allow greater automation at a reduce price," asserted Rick Buschini, vice president of ENTEK Material Handling in Yorba Linda, CA. "Newer methodology is coming out that can do online sampling. This allows to greater and better automation on lines."

Manufacturers who are realizing that automation improvements aren't as cost-prohibitive as they once thought are upgrading equipment and processes, especially amid the continued struggle to find skilled operators.

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Data does the job

ENTEK Material Handling, which supplies custom material conveying, blending, and storage systems, has been designing greater systems using supervisory manage and data acquisition (SCADA) and data collection systems with information displayed clearly on dashboards.

"The collection of data is one thing, however displaying in a meaningful way allows our customers to make better decisions," Buschini said. "The systems also allow cutting-edge warning systems as tolerances can be set on almost any data point collected."

These systems allow to:

Clear signals to when to upgrade

So how do plastics processors know when it's time to upgrade their automation?

"Most projects need to achieve greater than one goal to ensure a worthwhile investment," Buschini advised. "The combination of achieving these goals on each project is different, however if they overall add up to the savings, the project should have a good rate of return."

The criteria to upgrading resin material handling systems include:

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Automation success stories

ROI from automation updates can take many forms. Buschini related two success cases.

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One recent ENTEK customer decided to bring much of its compounding in-house rather than buying materials. The investment was significant, however cost savings mounted rapidly:

Another customer sought added capacity.

"Instead of using several smaller lines, we put in two larger lines. However, we did not just look to 'upsize' the equipment — we looked at process improvement as well. The design on the smaller lines worked however still had opportunities to improvement. When upsizing the line, additional opportunities made sense."

Upgrading equipment cost less than using a larger version of the same system, resulting in:

The case to centralized systems

Some plastics manufacturers prefer to distribute material from a central location rather than having equipment throughout the plant, leaving valuable floor space available at or near production lines.

"We're seeing a strong preference to centralized material handling systems," noted Tom Hughes, sector director to Horizon Systems of Lenexa, KS. "Over the past couple of years, we've introduced several equipment and automation enhancements."

One such improvement is Horizon's next-generation Bulk Bag Discharger, which features several design improvements, including an enhanced dust collection system aimed at improving material processing at the unload station.

Horizon also introduced its Blending Silo, specifically designed to create a greater homogenous blend of materials, particularly to manufacturers incorporating recycled content into their processes.

"We're beginning to integrate predictive maintenance capabilities into our controls automation to help customers monitor equipment performance and identify possible issues before they impact production," Hughes added.

Consistent processing of recycled material streams is growing greater crucial as the plastics sector strives toward sustainable, circular production. Horizon's Blending Silo creates a greater homogenous blend so manufacturers can incorporate recycled content — up to 70% in some applications — into their finished items while reducing material discarded materials to landfill.

"We've also implemented centralized material handling systems that distribute precise materials from a central location to multiple production lines. This helps enhance product condition and consistency, increase production rate, and minimize scrap, all while minimizing the amount of manual material handling required on the plant floor."

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