Secure control of plastic dust with HÖCKER POLYTECHNIK
The company Necumer GmbH from Bohmte (near Osnabrück) is a leading manufacturer of plastic materials for model, mould and tool building. Necumer produces these materials in its own plant and supplies them ready to use in the desired format to customers in more than 40 countries.
Construction of a new plant at an additional site in 2014 was intended to expand production capacities and further optimise the production conditions. Here the reliable extraction of stubborn plastic dust and chips constituted a special challenge. With HÖCKER POLYTECHNIK GmbH, Necumer had a competent partner for all extraction and filtering questions by its side right from the start of the project.
HÖCKER experts analysed the behaviour of the plastic materials and the company's workflows. The result: A solution individually tailored to Necumer which reliably extracts and conveys the plastic dust and chips that are prone to static cling. Energy consumption was significantly reduced at the same time, and of course compliance with the relevant occupational safety regulations is assured.
Fighting polymer dust with the MultiStar
Necumer uses the flexible MultiStar filter system from HÖCKER POLYTECHNIK as its central extraction unit. This model series was successfully tested for pressure surge resistance by the Employer's Liability Insurance Association (BG). Thousands of these units are in use around the world. Four frequency-controlled 22 kW clean air fans in the sound insulated top-mount fan module of the purge air filter provide extraction power. The flow of air inside the filter chamber was carefully calculated so that the dust, which tends to cling and float, is reliably moved towards the discharge screw conveyor. A choice of the BrikStar briquetting press or a container is available for extraction. The fully automated MultiStar filter has a footprint of just 9 m x 3 m and was positioned outside the shop with space-saving installation in the immediate vicinity of the processing centre.
Plastic blocks are precisely cut to size, milled and ground in the processing centre using band saws as well as milling and grinding machines. Up to 40m3 of dust and chips produced weekly are reliably transported away by several extraction lines. Naturally the extremely long chips from milling, which tend to form wads, are also extracted and conveyed with high process security.
Necumer makes its own materials for the plastic blocks in the mixing department. Here polymers and additives are combined, and the resulting vapours securely extracted and filtered by the mobile Vacumobil 300 filter system. Since the Vacumobil series is uncomplicated to operate inside the plant, no elaborate conversion work is required.
Energy efficiency as a matter of course
HÖCKER POLYTECHNIK specialists focused on minimising energy costs during all planning phases. Speed-controlled, energy-saving fans reduce electricity consumption, even when operated under maximum load, and pneumatic gates linked to the PLC shut down extraction lines and power down the corresponding fans when processing machines stand idle. Recirculating the extracted and filtered air reduces heating costs in the winter months.
The system has now been operated without disruptions for more than three months. For Necumer GmbH, the new HÖCKER extraction system is a tremendous gain. The air quality in the processing facilities meets the requirements of the Technical Instructions on Air Quality. It has improved significantly. Dust and chips have been banned from production and energy costs were reduced significantly. This project also demonstrates how important it is to make extraction technology part of the planning process right at the start of a project. This reduces costs and makes the company more efficient.
