Maguire’s doubled throughput applies vacuum resin drying to more moulding forms

A new vacuum resin dryer from Maguire enables more moulding and extrusion processors to obtain the substantial advantages of vacuum dryers over conventional desiccant systems, including lower operating cost, increased efficiency, and greater control over the drying process.

The VBD 300 Vacuum Dryer has throughputs of up to 136 kg per hour, double the capacity of the company’s VBD 150 model. While the VBD 150 is sized for the throughputs of many injection moulding machines and of small extrusion lines like those for medical tubing, the new VBD 300 model opens the benefits of vacuum resin drying to a broader range of applications.

In comparison with desiccant dryers, the VBD vacuum dryer consumes 60 per cent less energy, dries resin in one-sixth the time, and substantially reduces the heat history on the polymer. The speed with which the VBD system removes moisture makes properly dried polymer available for production only 35 minutes after a cold start.

Like other VBD models, the VBD 300 dryer is a gravimetric system that employs load cells that precisely monitor the weight of material at two critical points, making possible precise control over material consumption and documentation of process conditions for certification to customers. Use of load cells also enhances control over the drying process, according to

Frank Kavanagh, Maguire Vice-President, said: “Load cell control makes it possible to precisely match the drying rate to the processing rate of the moulding machine or extruder, which is particularly important for proper drying of technical polymers like nylon.

“Because load cell control ensures that no material is left in the dryer when production stops, the next production run can start immediately.”