Moretto at PLAST 2018: energy saving, sustainability and smart machines

MORETTO exposes at PLAST 2018, in a 4.000 mq booth, his most representative machines for injection molding and PET processing (Hall 22).

An exhibition dedicated to machinery and specific solutions for the extrusion of blown film is present in Hall 13 on the CONTREX booth, a Moretto company.

Strong of the positive trend consolidated in 2017 in Italy and in the world, Moretto faces this new Plast’s appointment with great optimism and motivation, proposing specific solutions for plastics processors based on three guiding concepts:

Energy saving which is achieved through unique systems and automation like Moisture Meter BOX, GUARD and MANAGER, the only system able to measure In-line with absolute precision the exact residual moisture content of the polymer in ppm and even to automatically manage the drying process, and EUREKA PLUS “the most advanced low consumption drying system available on the market”. Eureka Plus has already become a standard in mature markets who demands more performance and which are looking for a truly 4.0 efficiency.

Sustainability, Plastics and future also mean sustainabilityfor Moretto company. Moretto presents “BE TOMORROW” the new project of eco-sustainable activities and the Crystallizer MPK, a solution for PET recycling.

Smart machinery: automatic systems, smart and adaptive machines like, Moisture Meter Manager for drying, One Wire for feeding, MOWIS supervision systems.

The context

Record performance achieved by Moretto Spa in 2017, economic data recorded double-digit growth, equal to 22% compared to the previous year.

The Italian market is in excellent health, it constantly grows and consolidates since 2009. Even the export is in clear progression and represents 75% of the business, the result of the excellent work done by the headquarters Moretto present in 8 countries (Germany, Eastern Europe, Turkey, Brazil, United States, Russia, India and China) and from the distribution network, that now covers 74 countries.

The company proceeds on a precise business strategy aimed at the future and continuous investment in technology, automation, research and specialized staff.

The goal is the world technological leadership, continuing to realize intelligent automations to support excellent and cutting-edge processes, adapted to the needs of an increasingly sophisticated clientele.The strategic plan includes an impressive project of expansion and production reengineering in view of the Smart Factory and Industry 4.0 criteria.

On 2017 Moretto has made important acquisitions of production spaces: today the company has 5 factories and over 75,000 m² of production space in the Padua area.

Work is underway to start a new production area of 20,000 m², which in 2019 will host Moretto of the future: a new 4.0 business dimension, an example of production efficiency, digital and logistics as well as an innovation hub, a training center and a permanent showroom.

A 4.0 approach is required mainly by sectors such as automotive, medical and packaging, areas that require major technological standards and where Moretto records his better performance.

Empowering Plastics, the new Moretto’s pay off

From more than 35 years Moretto is committed to providing intelligent, innovative and energy-efficient machinery that aims to sublimate and strengthen the value of plastic as an indispensable and irreplaceable "raw material" in the life of each of us.

In Moretto know-how, research and technological innovation enhance the materials characteristics, quality, importance and multiple uses.

The company has always recognized itself in this concept of "proactive" work aimed to improve polymer transformation processes and to give plastic a role of strength and power, and in this year of strategic reorganization, it adopts Empowering Plastics as new pay off.

Empowering Plastics means giving more power to plastic, helping the supply chain from the beginning, responding with competitive and high-tech solutions to the problems of plastic molding and environmental.

Energy saving

Moretto’s goal has always been to provide innovative and customized systems, able to maximize process efficiency, guarantee final quality and energy savings for their worldwide injection molding, extrusion and PET processing customers.

At Plast 2018 Moretto presents his full range products fully compliant with Industry 4.0 criteria, interconnected machines and software that allow the acquisition of new and important data to be processed and shared to achieve ever higher levels of efficiency.

Particular attention is given to drying, one of the most energizing processes in the transformation cycle of plastic materials, and where Moretto has always been strongly involved in the search for original solutions, able to make the difference in terms of quality and energy efficiency.

Moretto exposes at Plast 2018 the drying system Eureka, that evolves in Eureka Plus version thanks to the Moisture Meter Manager.

Moisture Meter BOX is the only device in the world able to analyze the polymer In line and to "read", with an accuracy of ± 3 ppm, the real residual moisture leaving the drying hopper.

A product that has already been very successful because it meets the needs of plastics transformers, offering the certainty of the result, production certification and the overcoming quality audits.

At Moretto research never stops, and the certification of quality is combined with the maximum energy efficiency for the development of Moisture Meter Manager, an absolutely brilliant and unique device that marks a real revolution in drying.

Moisture Meter Manager closes the loop of Moretto drying system by measuring In line each granule’s residual moisture (in ppm) and applying this data to the adaptive drying system as provided by the 4.0 Smart Factory.
It is constituted by the devices MM BOX and MM Crown and by the Manager control.

The double control of the granule’s moisture content at the hoppers input (through MM BOX) and output (through MM Crown), allows the system to manage the dryers work conditions by maximizing process performances.
The device is equipped with an extraordinary measurement capability thanks to the Power-Peak technology, which measures the dielectric characteristics of the granule.

Moisture Meter Manager creates a real “on demand drying”, focusing the process on the real drying needs of the polymer at any given time and managing the drying functions in response to the variables, internal and environmental, which interfere with the moisture level of the polymer. This Moretto device is able to guarantee production certification with maximum energy efficiency.

Moisture Meter Manager is one of the four technologies that creates EUREKA PLUS, the revolutionary drying system realized by Moretto to consistently reduce energy consumption and to improve performance in drying systems.
Eureka Plus is known to be “the most advanced low consumption drying system available on the market”. It has already become a standard in mature markets, such as the United States, which are not satisfied with the performance of traditional systems but aim at true efficiency 4.0.

Eureka Plus combines four of Moretto's patented technologies:

• Moisture Meter Manager, a revolutionary in-line polymer moisture measuring system and automatic management of the drying process based on the real need of the polymer;
• X MAX, a high performance, multi-bed dryer with consistant dewpoint;
• Flowmatik, a dynamic airflow management device;
• OTX, drying hoppers with superior mass flow drying characteristics.

For the treatment of small quantities of technical polymers the OTX hopper can be combined with the compact X-Comb mini-dryer, for a customized drying totally adaptable to the various needs. At Plast, Moretto will also showcase the mini dryers (Dry Air e X Dry Air) and the DS MOULD DRYER, designed to prevent the formation of condensation in the molding area.

Cooling is also a very energetic process for which Moretto developed new solutions that can respond adequately to the needs of the sector: maximum performance, constant service, minimum consumption. X Cooler is the innovative modular refrigeration system, capable of connecting up to 6 units, creating highly efficient systems with cooling capacity up to 900 kW.

Particularly attention is also focusing on dosing, another essential phase which guarantees stability in both injection and extrusion processes. GRAMIXO the continuous loss-in-weight batch blender specifically developed for blown film is, with Gravix a real solution for DOSING 4.0: these machines are designed not only to dosing with an extreme precision (0,01%), but to exchange data in a networked environment, manage machine parameters remotely, run production, consumption, and costs statistics.

Moretto proposes a complete range of Te-Ko thermoregulators (water, oil or pressurized) that ensures absolute efficiency and precision in the automatic temperature control both in the molds of the injection presses and in the cylinders and rollers of the extruders.

Plastic and future for Moretto also means Sustainability

Sustainability is a principle on which Moretto's policy is based since 1980 when the company took his first steps. A principle that today the company perpetuates with more emphasis than ever by taking ever larger and transversal initiatives, to ensure a reduced environmental impact.

Be Tomorrow is a new eco-sustainable project launched by Moretto, which has always been committed to creating "energy-saving" machines and sponsoring projects to protect the environment. With “Be Tomorrow” Moretto think of safeguarding the world of tomorrow, that of our children. With this new project the company wants to involve and sensitize the entire supply chain towards eco-responsible attitudes.

There are several planned activities: investments in sustainable production processes, the provision of company electric cars, incentives for innovation with the R & D department, involved in the front line in the search for low consumption technologies and new solutions dedicated to bio plastics and recycling. The PET recycling is possible through “crystallization” a technique developed to re-use the re-granulated granules obtained from bottles, containers and fibers without any problems. Through the crystallization process, PET passes from the amorphous to the crystalline state, regaining its basic characteristics before being subjected to a new transformation process.

A proper crystallization also allows to achieve significant energy savings in the drying phase.

At Plast 2018 Moretto presents MPK crystallizer, designed to guarantee maximum reliability in the PET crystallization process. The MPK main characteristics are robustness, efficiency, ease and speed of maintenance and inspection of parts. The device is equipped with an exclusive mixing system with adjustable blades, the process is controlled by a series of sensors that manage the processing phase through the PLC logic. The MPK main characteristic is surely the cone that can be opened in just two minutes, which allows access to the mixing chamber in absolute safety.

Smart machines

The Moretto 4.0 project is a concept of Smart Industry where machines and software are interconnected, allowing constantly-refreshed data to always be available for achieving the highest possible levels of efficiency.

The 4.0 factory is able to automatically adapt the output to the needs of the market, predict in advance possible breakages or downtime and have a real time remote support. Today's challenge is to move from fragmented services to an interconnected supply chain model. The 4.0 impression is evident on all Moretto product lines.

At Plast Moretto presents MOWIS 3, the new update of the supervision and integrated management system for the connection of the machines and the control of the entire automation chain in plastics processing plants.
Mowis overcomes the barriers of traditional supervision by adapting to the needs and quality, production and management objectives of each client. A modular software with unique, auto-configurable and user friendly interface which allows immediate display of the system status. With Mowis the integrated process control is easily managed from any location, on-site or remote. Built on SCADA system Mowis makes safe and immediate the exchange of data between standard modules, taylor-made modules and the customer management system.

Kruis Kontrol, It is certainly one of the most sophisticated automation machines proposed by Moretto. A fundamental tool for feeding systems, able to automatically control and manage the speed of each material profile by guiding the granule to the destination at the most suitable speed, eliminating speed peaks, thus avoiding the phenomena of angel hair creation, dust and pipe wear. The exclusive patented Moretto technology defines, in fact, what are the best transport conditions for each material and guides it in the pipes up to the transformer machine. Kruise Kontrol is completely automatic, the operator must only set the type of material and the machine to be fed. The system automatically establishes the perfect transport condition for each individual cycle and, through self-learning, manages the speed of the granule smoothing the peaks and ensuring the best performance.

In 2017 Kruise Kontrol has been officially recognized from the European Patent Office (EPO) like “the only automatic and intelligent plastic material conveying system in the world.”

ONE WIRE is the intelligent transport system developed by Moretto. “Intelligent” because it is able to automatically handle the demands of the individual receivers, to adapt to changes and manage the entire process with maximum efficiency, without resorting to manual settings.

A single server could manage up to 80 receivers, 8 indipendent vacuum units, 4 Kruise Kontrol, 4 Dolphin manifolds, 4 manual manifolds and 10 info screens. All the equipment of the transport system can be programmed and controlled, from any point of the network, through the Touch View interface and handheld with the palmtop touch Master 600, One Wire is prepared for Mowis.

The range of KASKO receivers and containers and the automatic manifold DOLPHIN complete the exhibition.

Source: Moretto