W IT NOW

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21

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Know it Now!

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K -T R
a practical communications series on bulk solids handling and related issues

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PR
OCESS

Continuous Gravimetric
Extrusion Control
Integrated, on-line loss-in-weight blending offers extrusion processors significant
performance and cost saving advantages over traditional techniques

Gravimetric extrusion control has been reduce extruder throughput 10% or more
around since the mid 80’s. The sophisti- within a week.
cation, accuracy, and level of integration By actually measuring material
have improved greatly since the first sys- throughput, gravimetric extrusion control
tems were introduced due to the increas- can compensate for material and process
ingly widespread use of computers and variations and provide more consistent
network technologies. end product quality. The most common
The goal of gravimetric extrusion applications include profile extrusion,
control is to govern the extruder speed cast sheet, blown film, cable coating,
so that its output has a predictable and laminating, precision tubing, and pipe ex-
repeatable mass flow. This is desirable trusion. Gravimetric extrusion control is a
for three primary reasons. First, without virtual necessity for multi-layer coextru-
gravimetric extrusion control the product sion systems.
may not be viable to produce in an eco-
nomic fashion. The second reason is to Discontinuous Gravimetric
maintain or improve product quality. And Extrusion Control Systems
lastly, even though the initial investment The least sophisticated extrusion control
may be considerable, gravimetric extru- systems use a pre-weighed batch of ma-
sion control can offer significant cost sav- terial (usually 3 to 5 kg) and a material
ings. proximity switch in the throat of a small
This technology is most often used surge hopper mounted on the inlet of the
in conjunction with single screw flood- extruder. When the proximity switch be-
fed extruders. Single screw machines are comes uncovered the pre-weighed ma-
much more complex than they appear at terial is dropped into the surge hopper
first glance. Even with a well designed through a refill valve. The time between
screw, the extruder is not a positive vol- switch closures and the previous batch
umetric displacement device. If it were, weight are used to calculate the extruder
Loss-in-weight blending system with vacuum
rate checks would not be required for ini- throughput. receivers mounted above a weigh-hopper on a
tial commissioning and each new material This approach lends itself well to a single screw extruder, the third extruder on five-lay-
formulation. The output of the extruder is single ingredient system or use with a er coextrusion sheet line ruder., the third extruder
not a linear function and cannot be accu- weigh-batch blender. Significant time be- in a five-layer coextrusion sheet line.
rately determined by just monitoring the tween batches may be required to allow
speed of screw rotation, motor amps, and the weigh-batch blender to feed multiple is entirely consumed. At low extruder
die pressure. Throughput is a function of ingredients and attempt to mix them in speeds the time between corrections could
many variables including screw speed, its weighed hopper. From a performance be quite long.
screen pack blockage, die back pressure, standpoint, in addition to material homo- Another issue that potentially affects
polymer viscosity, melt temperature, ma- geneity issues and repeatability of the end product consistency is the necessarily
terial bulk density, conveying efficiency, proximity switch, extruder throughput large variation of material headload at the
screw fouling, screw/barrel wear, and can only be calculated and corrected once extruder inlet. Like any auger, material
material variation. Even with virgin mate- each cycle. Even then, the correction can headload has a significant impact on ex-
rial, clogging of the screen pack alone can be made only after the measured batch truder conveying efficiency. In addition,
 #21 - Know it Now! Page 2

a system of this type requires significant this method should be

headroom above the extruder to accom- avoided for critical ap-
modate the surge hopper, refill valve, plications. Depending
weighed hopper, possibly a mechanical upon the implementation
mixer, feeders, and refill equipment. details, this type of sys-
The majority of the current systems tem can also require sig-
installed use a weigh-hopper and the nificant headroom.
‘loss-in-weight’ principal to measure and
control extruder throughput. In this type Continuous Gravimet-
of system a small surge hopper supported ric
from one or more load cells is used as a Extrusion Control
weigh-hopper. The weigh-hopper supplies Systems
material to the extruder inlet but must be The systems described
physically isolated from the extruder and thus far don’t take ad-
equipment above it so that it can weigh vantage of all the tech-
the material it holds. It can only approxi- nology available through
mate the weight because the hopper must integration. A gravimet- Figure 1 - Mass balance
be open at the bottom to supply the ex- ric feeder, especially a
truder. A column of material extends up loss-in-weight feeder,
into the hopper that is actually supported can provide unparalleled accuracy and material entering the surge hopper must
by the extruder rather than by the walls of tremendous amounts of real-time infor- be equal to the volume exiting the surge
the hopper. As above, the system works mation. hopper. A volumetric flow balance has
by periodically refilling the weigh-hopper. To attain the highest level of accu- been achieved. The goal is to achieve a
Once the weigh-hopper is filled to some racy from the feed system a gravimetric mass flow balance since the extrudate has
nominal weight, the control system shuts loss-in-weight blender should feed all of a much lower volume than the typical pal-
off the in-feed and monitors the weight the ingredients continuously at their cor- letized bulk material entering the extrud-
lost from the weigh-hopper verses time. rect ratio. Constantly starting and stop- er. If the information from the continuous
The extruder throughput is then calcu- ping multiple feeders creates small errors loss-in-weight feed system is utilized,
lated directly based on the loss of weight in the blend ratio due to timing errors and then the mass flow into the surge hopper
per unit time. Depending upon load cell the difference in feeder dynamics between is known and a mass flow balance can be
resolution, plant vibration, extruder rate, high rate and low rate feeders. Running achieved.
and other factors control update times can all ingredients continuously ensures a As shown in Figure 1, under steady
vary considerably. good gravimetric blend ratio and avoids state, if the inlet level is constant, then the
Typically such systems need a weight the problem of a segregated mix. In addi- mass per unit time entering the extruder
loss of 0.5 to 1kg in order to estimate the tion, if you can run a loss-in-weight feed- is the same as exiting the extruder. This
extruder mass flow rate and make adjust- er continuously it can determine the ac- can also work seamlessly for materials
ments to screw speed. Of course, while tual material mass flow in real-time with that must be introduced to the extruder
the weigh-hopper is being refilled no rate a high degree of precision. through a side feeder. One or more materi-
calculation can be made. To achieve the best short-term volu- als can be gravimetrically fed to a starve-
Again, the feed system is usually metric repeatability from a single screw fed side feeder in the correct proportion to
discontinuous. There are several differ- extruder two things are required: steady the balance of materials whenever the ex-
ent feed system options. A weigh-batch screw speed and a constant material head truder is running. The loss-in-weight feed
blender can be used to supply the weigh- on the extruder inlet. Modern variable system now provides a dual role: it acts
hopper through a discharge valve on its frequency drives do an excellent job of as both a gravimetric feeder control and a
mixing chamber. Volumetric or gravimet- controlling extruder screw speed, so that real-time gravimetric flow sensor.
ric feeders can be cycled on and off to fill should no longer be an issue. As previ- Using this method, an extruder
the weigh-hopper directly, or they could ously stated, significant deviations in throughput deviation can be detected in-
be used to fill an intermediate surge hop- material headload affect the conveying dependent of extruder speed if the mate-
per with a discharge valve. Weigh-batch efficiency of the extruder screw. Despite rial level above the extruder inlet can be
blenders have algorithms that attempt to this fact the gravimetric extrusion control measured with sufficient speed and preci-
maintain the desired ratio of ingredients techniques to date all rely on a headload sion.
in each batch. However, simply cycling change to calculate extruder mass flow. Is As usual there are several choices
multiple volumetric or gravimetric feed- this really necessary? available to measure the level. The most
ers on and off does a very poor job of If the level of material in a surge hop- frequently used technology for sensing of
delivering well proportioned ratios, and per on the extruder inlet is constant over bulk materials used in plastics processing
some period of time then the volume of is capacitance. These sensors are primar-
 #21 - Know it Now! Page 3

Host tion, good repeatabil- significant material in the weigh-hopper,

ity, low hysteresis, low allowing the operator to react before the
drift and low creep. product goes out of specification. Thanks
As shown in Fig- to computer and networking technology,
ure 2 it is the integrat- data can also be more easily exchanged
ed control of the loss- between multiple systems for both alarm
KSC in-weight feed system and control purposes. Since most extruder
KCM with a precision weigh suppliers also control their systems with
KCM hopper that provides a computer or PLC, information like ex-
the most accurate truder screw speed, die pressure, haul-off
CAUTION - Disconnect power before opening.
115/230 VAC 50/60 HZ, 2000 Watts (Max)

gravimetric extrusion system speed, and even gauge data can

control. Under this ap- easily be made available to the gravimet-
Ingredient
Ratio & Rate
proach extruder head- ric extrusion control system.
KCM

load is held constant,

Haul-off Speed
Die Pressure
feeding is continuous Operating Modes
CAUTION - Disconnect power before opening.
115/230 VAC 50/60 HZ, 2000 Watts (Max)

Hopper Weight / Level and accurate, material Once extruder mass flow can be continu-
Extruder Speed Command ratios are always cor- ously and accurately measured, there are
Extruder Speed rect, material segrega- several control modes that can be imple-
tion is unlikely, and mented. Obviously the simplest gravi-
extruder mass flow can metric extrusion control mode is mass-
be continuously mea- per-time (kg/hr), which is nothing more
sured and controlled. than controlled mass flow. This can give
In the integrated a simple profile or sheet extrusion a high
system the extruder’s level of consistency when combined with
mass flow is calculat- a constant speed take-off system. Dimen-
Figure 2 - Integrated gravimetric extrusion control with loss-in-weight
ed as: sional checks can be made on-line or off-
feed system and precision weigh-hopper maintains constant headload
at extruder inlet line and the operator can make changes
Mass Flow = by adjusting the extruder mass flow or the
ily used for on/off applications, but in this Sum of Feeder Mass take-off speed. Once the process is stable,
case the level must be measured over a Flows + long production runs are possible since
considerable range with good resolution. (Weigh-Hopper Weight Change ÷ Time) the extruder will now output a constant
Capacitive ring sensors have been used mass flow rate until maximum pressure
but they are problematic and require reca- If the weigh-hopper weight is con- or speed limits are exceeded.
libration for material changes and drift. stant (no weight change) then the extruder A highly engineered co-extruded
Other possibilities include ultrasonic, mi- mass flow is equal to the total feed sys- sheet may have six or more layers. Each
crowave, or even laser, but these tend to tem mass flow. If the feed system needs of the layers is the output of a single ex-
be costly and can be confused by the in- to be stopped for a quick adjustment or truder. The feed streams are usually com-
coming streams of material from the feed repair, the mass flow calculation simple bined in a single die to form the multi-lay-
system. reverts to that of a loss-in-
It turns out that the best way to mea- weight weigh-hopper. The
sure the material level is by weight. Al- operator need only be con-
though an open bottom weigh-hopper cerned with the mass flow
cannot measure absolute weight, relative set point of the extruder
weight is good enough to maintain a con- and the percent ratio of
stant material head. The weigh-hopper the various materials be-
does not care that material is entering and ing fed. The control system
exiting, that the material surface is not has an internal set point
flat on top due to its angle of repose, that for the level in the weigh-
its dielectric constant changes with for- hopper and to satisfy this
mulation and humidity, or that the mate- set point the controller will
rial has an electrostatic charge. There are adjust both the feeder set
still many challenges for a weigh-hopper points and the speed of the
used in this way, however. The weighing extruder. This system pro-
system must deal with constant vibration vides additional benefits in
and large temperature variations but still that it can detect problems
have fast response, exhibit high resolu- sooner while there is still
Figure 3 - Layer thickness control in multi-layer co-extrusion
 #21 - Know it Now! Page 4

tion of speed so as to improve control ac-

curacy.

Return On Investment
Gravimetric extrusion control provides
many cost savings benefits. It can reduce
start-up and product changeover times,
improve product quality, reduce scrap,
operate with less operator intervention,
and reduce the need for frequent off-line
quality assurance testing. In addition,
an integrated system can provide infor-
mation on long-term feed system and
extruder performance for maintenance
purposes and, of course, provide data for
inventory control. These are all indirect
savings, but direct savings can be even
more significant.
There are two areas where raw ma-
Five layer co-extrusion sheet line running purge material. Shows four of five loss-in-weigh blending sys- terials savings can be found. The first
tems with vacuum receivers. Each sits above a continuous weigh-hopper. is by operating the system closer to the
minimum gauge specification for the
er sheet. Often the overall sheet thickness can be adjusted while still maintaining the end product. Because of the short- and
is continuously measured on-line using a overall thickness of the sheet. long-term accuracy of the gravimetric
beta gauge. Unfortunately, the beta gauge Additional capabilities are possible extrusion control system, extruder output
can only measure overall thickness. Tra- when the take-off speed is also measured variations are significantly reduced. With
ditionally, to determine the thickness of by the gravimetric extrusion control sys- speed-based control, it is not uncommon
the individual layers pieces of the sheet tem. This provides the ability to control to run the extrusion system 5% above the
need to be taken from the run and ana- the weight-per-length (kg/m) of the ex- minimum thickness specification to avoid
lyzed off-line. As shown in Figure 3, us- truded product, which now becomes the producing non-conforming product. With
ing gravimetric extrusion control the indi- units for the system set point. This tech- a gravimetric system it is easily possible
vidual layer thicknesses can be measured nique is often used with precision small- to reduce this by half or more. For ex-
and controlled with good precision. Since bore tubing where only the outside diam- ample, if a sheet line running at 500 kg/
each layer is usually made up of multiple eter can be directly measured on-line. hr operated 6,000 hours per year, it would
ingredients, it is not as simple as looking Several system arrangements are require 3,000,000 kg of resin per year.
at the relative mass flow of each extruder, possible with a weight-per-length system. The gravimetric system could allow the
a blend density is also required. The gravimetric extrusion control system process to reduce throughput so that it
With initial calibration, the loss-in- can be set up to automatically adjust ei- could be run at only 2% above the mini-
weight feeder can dynamically estimate ther the extruder mass flow or the haul-off mum thickness. As a result there would be
each material’s bulk density, which is system speed as the primary control vari- a material savings of 90,000 kg annually.
usually a good estimate of relative spe- able to maintain the weight-per-length set Assuming an average resin cost of 1 Euro
cific gravity. To calculate the thickness point. The operator can adjust the sec- per kilogram, the direct material savings
contribution of each layer, the percentage ondary variable and the controlled vari- would be 90,000 Euro per year.
of each ingredient in the layer is multi- able will follow. This is particularly con- The second area of direct cost sav-
plied by its bulk density and then summed venient for applications where frequent ings is through recipe optimization. Just
together to determine the relative density line speed changes are required to change as the improved accuracy of gravimet-
of the layer. The relative density of all finished product spools or rolls. The op- ric extrusion control can provide mate-
layers is then summed and the thickness erator can slow down the haul-off system, rial savings, so can the high accuracy of
contribution of each layer is the ratio of change the spool, then ramp the haul-off the loss-in-weight feeding system. By
layer’s relative density to the sum. If a speed back to the operating rate while the adopting a new, tolerance-based model
beta gauge measurement is available, extruder and feed system follows along of recipe formulation the processor can
each layer’s thickness contribution can be maintaining the weight-per-length set employ high-accuracy feeding to stra-
expressed in the same units as the gauged point. If this ramping maneuver needs tegically exploit permitted variations in
thickness. Using the recipe capability of to be done rapidly the extrusion control recipe proportions. Minimizing the use
the gravimetric extrusion control system, system should be able to characterize and of expensive ingredients and maximiz-
each layer’s formulation and thickness store the extruder throughput as a func- ing the less costly ingredients can achieve
a maximum savings without violating
 #21 - Know it Now! Page 5

product specifications. Analytical tools

are available to perform the calculations,
but a good understanding of the process
requirements and equipment capabilities
is necessary.

Conclusion
Gravimetric extrusion control is a proven
and powerful way to improve many extru-
sion applications. It enables the processor
to directly close the control loop around
end product attributes where dimension-
al requirements or consistent mass per
length are critical. In all applications, it
can make extruder output predictable, re-
peatable, and stable over a wide range and
number of system variables.
The potential for both direct and in-
direct cost savings is significant, and will
easily outweigh the initial investment over
a modest timeframe. In addition, it can be
shown that investment in higher precision
and integration will result in greater sav-
ings and improved quality.

To download other papers in this series,

or for more information on
K-Tron Process Group equipment
and services, please visit
www.KtronProcessGroup.com
© 2009 by K-Tron International, Inc. T-900021-en (0990000421) 2009-01