Extrusion International 1-2023

21 Extrusion International 1/2023 Extrusion Die for the Production of Panels Made from Recycling Textile Fibers and Plastics  Circular economy is a concept that requires innovative ideaswith strongpartnerships to tackle theglobal challenge. Nordson has partnered with the European-based company, Greenful Group, to develop a system for the production of construction materials made from recycled waste. The Greenful Group is a leader in the innovative recycling of textile, plastic, and other waste into new value-added building products that outperform traditional materials while at the same time improving the environment. Green - ful targets to recycle 15% of Europe’s textile waste within the next 8 years. “Greenful’s mission is to help solve the environmental waste crisis by transforming waste streams into prod- ucts useful to society that also have an impact. We are proud to partner with Nordson, who is bringing circular solutions to the market that address these issues. Both our compa - nies make sustainability a top priority and I believe that by working together we can make a big impact,” said Toomas Allikas, CEO of Greenful Group. Nordson’s EDI® business will support this goal by pro - viding an Ultraflex™ FastGap™ restrictor bar die to produce construction panels made from textile fibers and composite material. “The very high content of recycledmaterial is a chal - lenge,” says Sam Iuliano, Chief Technologist. “We need larg - er than normal clearance areas within the die so the fibers are not trapped, which can lead to blockage and sheet defects.” Nordson has worked with Greenful to develop an en- gineered solution utilizing the company’s Multiflow™ I-R distribution manifold to ensure maximum streamlining. The extrusion die will include a series of lips to cover the desired product thickness range. “We are using extensive 3-D FEM simulations to be able to accurately distribute the material by utilizing our proprietary flow channel geom - etry,” explains Iuliano. The extrusion die, scheduled for completion in 2023, will be installed in the laboratory of a Europe-based OEM for further product development by Greenful Group. Nordson Polymer Processing Systems www.nordsonpolymerprocessing.com EDI ® Ultraflex™ Restrictor Bar Die with FastGap™ Lip Positioning System Elevate Control Functionality with DS-XEL  Davis-Standard announced the release of its DS-XEL control system. This system, which replaces mature discrete controls, implements high-performance HMI features to better facilitate the data and process information require- ments of today’s manufacturing environment. Attention is given to active functions for a better operator experience and improved connectivity. The DS-XEL will be the new standard control for Davis-Standard’s Super Blue®and HPE extruder lines and is compatible with the DS Activ-Check™ cloud-based platform. It is also available as an upgrade to existing extruder controls. “This controller merges the latest PLC and HMI offerings to enable an operator-friendly package with greater atten- tion to detail,” said John Clemens, Davis-Standard’s Direc- tor of Extrusion Controls. “It also incorporates key features only available with larger system controllers for trouble- shooting and process improvement.” The DS-XEL provides on-screen graphic trending of es- sential extruder parameters, visually tracking temperature, barrel pressure, motor speed and motor load. Speed de - viation from setpoint is displayed along with an extruder maintenance run timer and heater zone alarms, indicating deviation, process temperature, power failure, heater load and sensor break. The minimum, maximum, and average motor load is captured during each production run. Recipe creation and storage allows for repeatability of multiple products on the same line. Other advantages include process alarm logging, real- time and historical data trending, auto and self-tuning of heat zones for quick die changes, and an on-screen display of individual zone heaters. In addition, the DS-XEL address - es connectivity requirements with a simple connection to ERP/MRP or upper-level supervisory control using a stan- dard OPC-UA interface. Davis-Standard, LLC www.davis-standard.com