Drum melter with innovative sealless melting plate
In past years, SM Klebetechnik has earned an excellent reputation as a producer of customised drum melting systems, in which innovative and new process approaches are put into practice. Client benefit and machine efficiency are always in focus.
Standard drum melting concepts are based on a heated plate, which is sealed against the drum wall by a circumferential ring seal while operating.
Depending on the shape of the container, varying requirements arise. While a simple circumferential ring seal suffices for a smooth-walled steel drum, two ring seals are usually required for bead drums to achieve an overlapping seal when passing through the bead zones. This increases the thickness of the plate, which has a negative effect on the maximum possible fill level in the drum. With cardboard drums (so-called “fibre drums”) it is important to relieve the lateral pressure against the wall which arises while operating. Therefore, when using such drums in the drum melters, supporting drum jackets are used to avoid the risk of the drum wall bursting under the strain. When working with medium, high and tough viscous materials, pressure on the plate from above via the press cylinders is crucial. In the case of low viscous substances being processed, however, the new pressure-free approach can be implemented, meaning the entire ring sealing of the plate can be omitted.
Less is MORE! The SM Klebetechnik GX7561 drum melting concept for low viscous materials simplifies the melting process and reduces the potential for hazard through a sealless plate construction with almost pressure-free feed. The heated melting plate, designed as an immersion plate, is controlled at a constant immersion depth through two linked sensors (ultrasonic sensor and capacitive proximity sensor), while molten material is conveyed around the entire immersion plate by a gear pump. The resulting increased surface area enables more efficient heat transfer into the material to be melted, with corresponding optimisation of the melting capacity. The system is suitable for the processing of low viscous raw materials and materials such as EVAs, polyolefins, resins, and waxes for the production of adhesives as well as greases and pigmented materials for the production of various ink products. Drums can now also be used multiple times in an ecologically beneficial way as bulging no longer occurs. Additionally, a sealless concept does not struggle with rough internal welding seams that limit the service life of the otherwise required plate sealing rings or require a technical maintenance interval.
Technical equipment
- Heated sealless immersion plate with “lotus effect” – non-stick coating made of cavity-free and high-strength aluminium.
- Distance measurement system for millimeter-precise detection of the immersion plate‘s position.
- Safety clamping device to protect against unintentional lowering in the event of a power or compressed air outage.
- Proportional differential pressure control of the pneumatic lifting cylinders by double sensor level detection of the material level in the drum.
- Shortened pump suction hole for optimal material flow in connection with an automatic 100% ventilation of the underside of the plate and pump.
- Maintenance-free three-phase asynchronous geared motor with frequency converter as a performance-oriented pump drive.
- Continuous melting capacity at temperatures up to + 200 ° C of up to 300kg / h (depending on the material used) with 22kW plate heating capacity.
- System control with Siemens SPS S7 / 1200 with Profinet interface.
- Use of high-quality standardized electrical and pneumatic components and a CE-compliant version.
Drum emptying system GX7561 with corrugated drum for submerged conveying through an immersion plate for the linear melting and conveying operation.
Heated and sealless “Lotus effect” coated immersion melting plate made of high-strength aluminium with volumetric gear pump and double sensors for non-contact level detection.
Possibilities – Modes of operation – Configurations
In the alternative system configuration of a GX7511 drum emptying system, a high application rate is achieved within a short, given period. This is due to a programmable immersion depth of the melting plate combined with a pendulum stroke movement and alternative equipment with a screw spindle pump. This system variant is ideally suited to areas of application in which e.g. much material is required for a batch production in a short time period followed by a break in use. In such circumstances, conventional drum melters were previously the “bottleneck” as their continuous melting performance was insufficient. In contrast, a GX7511 uses the breaks, without a need for material, to pre-melt the material for the next batch cycle and to provide volumes by way of the programmable stroke (quantity) and to keep it in a liquid state in the drum at the set temperature.
Another available configuration of the sealless drum melter concept is the GX7501. This is a heated drum conditioner without a feed pump which can homogenise the consistency of materials in the 200 litre standard drum container. The programmable pendulum movement of the sealless melting plate conditions varying densities which tend to sediment or separate, as well as dilatant material structures (non-Newtonian liquids / Weissenberg effect), into a uniform mixture of the components in the tempered state. The material drum prepared for the following process step can be removed after conditioning and processed further in a downstream machine component. The optimal process parameters in terms of temperature, stroke and feed speed can be determined by test runs depending on the material to be processed.
Über SM-Klebetechnik
Seit fast 30 Jahren macht sich SM Klebetechnik international einen Namen in der Entwicklung und dem Bau von Sondermaschinen und Standardgeräten für die Verarbeitung von Kleb- und Dichtstoffen.
Unsere Maschinen zur Heißleimverarbeitung und für Beschichtungsaufgaben werden vorzugsweise in den Bereichen Automotive, Maschinenbau, grafische Industrie, Klebebänder, als auch in der Möbel-, Bau-, Holz- und Textilindustrie erfolgreich eingesetzt. Ebenso sind unsere Aggregate in Produktionsanlagen bei Kleb- und Dichtstoffproduzenten und Compoundierern integriert. In unserem zertifizierten, inhabergeführten Unternehmen engagieren sich täglich über 60 Mitarbeiter für die Belange unsere Kunden.
Drum emptying system GX7511 with pendulum stroke pre-melting function for programmable and demand-based delivery of batches through a high-performance screw spindle pump.
Drum conditioner GX7501 without pump unit for material conditioning or homogenisation through pendulum stroke operation of the immersion plate.
About SM-Klebetechnik
For nearly 30 years, SM Klebetechnik has made a name for itself internationally in the development and construction of special machines and standard devices for processing adhesives and sealants.
Our machines for hot glue application and coating tasks are primarily and widely used in the automotive, mechanical engineering and graphic industry, adhesive tapes, as well as in the furniture, construction, wood and textile industries. Our units are also integrated in production systems at adhesive and sealant producers and compounders. In our certified, owner-managed company, over 60 employees are committed to the needs of our clients every day.
