Vacuum Resin Dryer Is OEM’s Largest Yet

Maguire has introduced the largest model yet in its low-pressure dryer series, the LPD-200. The dryer, targeted at users of large injection molding presses or medium-throughput blow molding machines or extruders, can dry resin at rates of up to 200 lb/h — one of the highest throughputs available for a non-conventional dryer.

The LPD series pulls a vacuum on the resin to remove moisture, rather than passing heated dry air over it. The unit cycles material between three stations for loading, drying, and unloading, and since drying only takes a few minutes, resin is reportedly available much sooner after startup than with conventional systems. Maguire adds that vacuum drying of resin yields reductions in energy consumption, increases in process-machine uptime, and improvements in product quality compared to conventional dryers.

“The LPD dryer is smaller to start with than a conventional dryer of equivalent capacity, and it becomes even more affordable as capacity increases,” says Robert Tesar, sales manager for Maguire Europe. “Because of its simpler design, smaller batch size, and shorter drying cycle, the LPD can be scaled up without the substantial increases in the size and weight of blowers and other components required for a dehumidifying dryer,” he adds.

“One of our customers reports that an LPD-100 dryer paid for itself in less than three months simply by reducing the scrap rate for molded automotive headlamp lenses,” Tesar says, speaking of the previous largest model. “Because the LPD dryer imposes less heat history on the resin and dries it more efficiently than a dehumidifying dryer, the molder produced fewer lenses with splay and other defects.” In comparative testing on side-by-side injection molding lines, Tesar claims the same customer used 87% less energy with the LPD dryer than with a dehumidifying dryer. Maguire Products Inc., 11 Crozerville Rd., Aston, PA 19104 www.maguire.com