Business News
Meech Shows Pioneering Products at K 2010
Tuesday 24. August 2010 - Hall 11, Stand B-60
Visitors to the Meech International stand at the international exhibition for plastics and rubber, K 2010, October 27 – November 3, Düsseldorf, will be able to hear about pioneering developments in the fields of electrostatic control, web cleaning and air technology. The UK manufacturer is a global player in all three areas and has launched several industry-leading products during the last few months, with more to be announced prior to the exhibition.
New Static Control Systems
Meech has pioneered the industrial use of Pulsed DC technology for static control for more than 15 years and now has over 4,500 systems in use in the plastics, converting, printing and packaging industries. Recently launched products include the 977CM Pulsed DC controller and the 977HL Pulsed DC Controller for hazardous area ionisers.
New 977CM Pulsed DC Controller
“The ionising bar is a key component in any static control system,” says David Rogers, international product manager. “However, bars become contaminated during use and have to be cleaned to remain efficient. The new 977CM continuously monitors output and automatically adjusts the input voltage to compensate for the adverse effects of contamination. When this has increased to a preset level (typically +25%), further deterioration in performance will alert the operator, via local audible and visible warnings and remote alarm signals, to the need to clean the bars.”
The 977CM also features a fully automated closed-loop feedback system. A sensor, positioned after the ionising bar, detects residual voltages on the material and instructs the 977CM unit to alter the negative/positive balance, resulting in the most effective neutralisation for the current running speed, stock, ambient conditions etc.
“Optimising static control at all times makes it possible to improve finished product quality, whether this is on an unwind/rewind or slitting unit, a packaging line or printing press. The closed loop facility allows information relating to the residual electrostatic charge in the material to be available on the clear LCD display. This data can be transmitted to allow remote monitoring and logging for quality assurance purposes.”
New 977HL Pulsed DC Controller For Hazardous Area Ionisers
Controlling static in hazardous areas of the factory is crucial to safety and the launch of the 977HL Pulsed DC Controller for hazardous area ionisers brings to the market a unique method of monitoring performance and controlling static levels in these potentially dangerous environments, while ensuring maximum productivity of the production line.
“Eliminating sparks caused by the build up of static is vital in processes where chemicals such as solvents are used,” says David Rogers. “There is a risk that the vapours produced could be ignited. A significant proportion of fires and explosions encountered across various industries are the result of sparks caused by static electricity.
The new 977HL controller is straightforward to install and connect to existing Meech ionising bars. It provides accurate monitoring of the performance of the bars, alerting the operator immediately when the bars need to be cleaned. The performance level at which an alarm is activated can be set by the customer to suit individual requirements.
New ShearClean web cleaner
Meech already manufactures contact web cleaners and the new ShearClean adds a non-contact version, which is suitable for applications including coating, converting, laminating and specialty plastics. ShearClean opens a whole new range of applications where contact cleaning systems are not feasible. This could include substrates with surfaces that are prone to scratching as well as those featuring special coatings.
ShearClean can be supplied for use with reel widths up to 1.8 metres and web speeds of up to 450 metres per minute as standard. Faster speeds may be achieved by adjusting factory settings. ShearClean can be tailored to suit customers requirements, not just in terms of size but also in sophistication. For instance, Meech can provide different upgrades to create a fully programmable unit. The company has also deployed its longstanding expertise in static control to incorporate static control facilities into ShearClean, which significantly improves the effectiveness of the cleaning process and greatly reduces the risk of re-attraction of contaminants to the cleaned web surfaces.
New IonRinse Ionised Cleaning System
Meech says its new IonRinse system presents a major leap forward in energy saving and sustainability in the field of cleaning blown containers and pre-forms for use in the food and beverage industries prior to filling or blow moulding respectively. The manufacturer has been involved in ionised cleaning technology for these markets for many years and customers include leading household names.
“The design, features and benefits offered by the new IonRinse system are the direct result of feedback from our customers in the food and beverage sectors,” says Adam Battrick, business unit director, cleaning systems. “Like most other industries, the biggest demands are for energy saving and sustainability and so we have tailored this new system to meet those requirements head-on, allowing organisations to more easily meet their corporate and social responsibility targets.”
IonRinse is extremely compact and provides exceptional cleaning functionality. There are no costs for water, compressed air, chemicals or effluent and no need to handle water or chemical residues. The all-in-one blow, vacuum and filter system is easy to integrate into existing blower in-feed formats and requires minimal maintenance. The system incorporates powerful AC ionisation, a custom designed airflow distributor and high quality inline filtration.
During operation the high velocity, filtered ionised air exits the IonRinse head unit via the airflow distributor and enters the container. The precisely controlled airflow works in combination with the neutralisation of static-charges, which breaks any static bond holding contamination to the surface. The released contamination is caught immediately by the vacuum airflow and extracted to the in-line filter unit. The unit is operated via a single phase electricity supply and offers a variable flow control, so that performance can be optimised to suit the process. The HEPA filtration system provides extremely effective filtration, capturing 99.99 per cent of particles at 0.3 microns.