Melt pressure indicator/controller!

Invensys Eurotherm has launched the new piccolo™ P304i Melt Pressure Indicator and P304c Controller. Monitoring and control of the pressure in plastics manufacture leads to higher quality end product with lower scrap, and can prevent damage to machinery caused by overpressure conditions. The latest addition to Eurotherm’s range of products offers versatile solutions with advanced features and a wide range of hardware options that make them ideal for all types of plastic processing.

Eurotherm of course has decades of knowledge and understanding of the needs of plastics producers and machinery builders, combining this insight with its leading control and automation expertise, the company has developed products, solutions and services for precision control in plastics processing.

This new, innovative Melt Pressure Indicator and Controller is ideal for extrusion and injection moulding in plastics processing as Tim Linnell, Product Portfolio Manager at Invensys Eurotherm explains: “Compatible with industry standard probes and strain gauges including Dynisco, the P304 uses automatic standard shunt calibration procedures making it ideal for new installations and retrofit. It has been designed to monitor and automate the pressure of molten plastic being forced through a die or into a mould. Usually a screen is used to filter out impurities, and as these build up on the screen, the pressure needed to push plastic through increases. If not carefully monitored and controlled, this pressure can cause damage to equipment.

“P304 combines the most advanced features for management of melt pressure of any instrument in its class with simplicity of use and a high speed 50ms cycle time so that rapid changes in pressure can be monitored and dealt with.”

Key features aimed at improving operational efficiency include:

• Easy to integrate and use in new and legacy applications
• Fast-acting alarms to protect against overpressure
• Responsive, precision PID control with overshoot inhibit
• Easy, effective auto-tune
• Universal + strain gauge inputs
• Second input for differential pressure indication / control
• Analogue retransmission
• Easy and flexible configuration via PC software or front panel
• Modbus RTU digital communications
• High visibility three colour LED display
• Wipedown, customizable front fascia
• High reliability and quality
• Three year warranty
• Global expert support available

The P304 is the latest from Eurotherm’s piccolo range which has been designed for plastics and small furnace applications and provides advanced precision PID control in an easy to use and very cost effective format. Plastics extrusion applications benefit from specialised algorithms designed to optimise use of water, fan or oil cooling, and the fast reacting overshoot free control assures continuous high quality production without waste. The units are quick to commission and apply with industry standard connections to sensors and actuators and a quick code guided configuration.

Tim concluded: “Continuing a thread of Eurotherm product innovation that spans 50 years, 2014 will see an ambitious product release schedule. Our philosophy is to package advanced control and automation algorithms in cost effective ways so that our industrial customers benefit from the latest advances but with products that are easy to use and apply.”