Demands of ‘just-in-time’ manufacturing see record sales of dryer

A UK-based machinery supplier has seen record sales of a material dryer, which it says is down to the demands of ‘just in time’ manufacturing. 

Eastern Plastics, based in Essex, says that its supplier, Matsui, is producing more than 290 MJ3 dryers, per month, thanks in part to a recent redesign that has seen the incorporation of time and cost saving efficiencies that reduce production downtime. 

“The MJ3 is completely self-contained it incorporates the loader and the dryer in one compact unit,” explained Chris Siddall, Managing Director of Eastern Plastics Machinery. “If you want to change two materials quickly you have two dryers, one with each material, the drying is done ‘off line’. Whilst the machine is running with ‘Dryer A’, the material change and pre-drying of the next material is being done at the same time in ‘Dryer B’. Because the units are self-contained the material change can be carried out in just a few seconds.”

Another benefit of the unit is the reduction in material loss upon changeover, says Siddall. “Matsui’s APH hopper and dryer work together to only load a small amount of material to the machine at any one time, little and often. With this system we can reduce the volume delivered to the machine to just two shots if required, the smaller volume, the less material being wasted and therefore the less time it takes to clean out on the changeover,” he commented. 

The MJ3 unit also removes dust and fines from the material during loading, as well as being equipped with a cyclone dust separator that collects the dust and drops it into a catch container. This dust is often responsible for so-called ‘black specs’ caused by the small particles overheating when they hit the screw. By removing these during loading the problem of ‘black specs’ can be eliminated. 

“This MJ3 dryer has become a best seller for us and Matsui globally, as it solves the challenges faced by the trends towards smaller batch production and, at the same time, saves time, material and resources and improves product quality.” Siddall concluded.