Lindor, Dordrecht, the Netherlands, reports that its drum mixers are increasingly being employed in the international plastic industry. The ‘gentle touch’ mixing principle of these machines ensures that the quality of the components being processed remains intact. There is little or no product break-up, dust formation and heating up. Thanks to the usually free flowing properties of plastics, mixing times can be short. This means that high capacities can be achieved, certainly in the case of a continuous mixing process. For example, capacities of 5 – 15 (and even 20) t/h are feasible. An innovative option to simplify the production process for a batch mixer is the use of the mixing drum as a ‘cyclone’ in a pneumatic conveyor system. By creating a vacuum the granules can be aspirated directly from the silo into the mixer. 

 

An important application of Lindor mixers is to homogenise quality differences in a granulate which have arisen due to variations in the extrusion process. For example, a drum mixer with a capacity of 30t can take the production output of an extruder over a period of eight hours. By homogenising this batch a granulate of consistent quality is created.

Certain plastics (LDPE, HDPE, PU, PET) undergo a further process after extrusion; for example, heat treatment or soaking in an organic liquid (such as a peroxide). These processes are carried out in twin-walled Lindor mixers where the variables such as temperature can be accurately controlled.  www.lindor.nl 

 

 

Lindor drum mixer