P/N: M0726(3)
| Rev: 012020 | ECO: 51182
www.dynisco.com
From lab to production, providing a window into the process
-1-
Setting the Standard for Evaluating
Polymer Melt Flow Characteristics
Operating Manual
Dynisco LMI5000 Series
Melt Indexer
Page 1: ... 012020 ECO 51182 www dynisco com From lab to production providing a window into the process 1 Setting the Standard for Evaluating Polymer Melt Flow Characteristics Operating Manual Dynisco LMI5000 Series Melt Indexer ...
Page 2: ...anel 2 Instrument serial number on back panel 3 Current version of instrument firmware Power up unit to see version shown on About screen under Maintenance Tab 4 Computer system make and operating system and version if applicable 5 Current version of LaVA Suite software if applicable By Internet For Technical and Service Support http www dynisco com polytest services For all Other Inquiries http w...
Page 3: ...hange any information route method or process which is discussed or provided herein withoutnotice Equipment or products made prior to or subsequent tothe publication date of this manual may have parts features options or configurations that are not covered in this manual Dynisco represents that to the best of its knowledge neither the products equipment and systems supplied by it nor their use for...
Page 4: ...on Menus 20 Instrument Operation Buttons 21 Instrument Operation Miscellaneous Touch Areas 24 Instrument Operation Panel Overview 24 Test Calculations 25 Calculations Method A 25 Calculations for the Method A test are 25 Calculations Method A B 25 Calculations Method B 26 Calculating PET Intrinsic Viscosity I V from theMelt Indexer 27 The Amount of Sample 28 Create Edit Test Conditions 29 System C...
Page 5: ...duction providing a window into the process 5 APPENDIX A DIGITAL ENCODER OPTION 40 APPENDIX B PNEUMATIC LIFT 43 APPENDIX C PNEUMATIC PACKER 49 APPENDIX D AUTO CUTTER 51 P N M0726 3 Rev 012020 ECO 51182 www dynisco com ...
Page 6: ...the operating instructions will help to avoid dangers to operate the product profitably and to secure the full use of theproduct Warnings Danger and Informational Symbols General safety instructions concerning the activities are given at the beginning of the relevant chapter Special safety instructions concerning the individual steps of action will be given together with the corresponding step of ...
Page 7: ... safety instruction must always be readcompletely Safety summary The following are recommended safety precautions unrelated to any specific procedures in this manual and therefore do not appear elsewhere Personnel must understand and apply them as appropriate during all phases of operation andmaintenance IN ALL CASES BE PRUDENT P N M0726 3 Rev 012020 ECO 51182 www dynisco com ...
Page 8: ...nly be done by a qualified DYNISCO Service Technician Be sure the outlet used to power the indexer is properly grounded Calibration Thermometers may useMercury To calibrate the temperature on the indexer a thermometer containing about 8 grams of mercury may be used Every lab with mercury thermometers or equipment containing mercury must be prepared for breakage Note that mercury exposed to air eva...
Page 9: ...ould also be given to additives that may degrade or decompose at elevated test temperatures Obligation of the operator to exercise duecare The LMFI was designed and constructed taking into consideration a hazard analysis having carefully adhering to the harmonised safety standards as well as further technical specifications Thus the LMFI conforms to the state of the art technology and ensures a ma...
Page 10: ...ly sufficiently qualified and authorized personnel will operate maintain and repair the LMFI 7 All safety and warning labels attached to the LMFI must not be removed and must remain fully legible 8 Additional instructions in accordance with facility local state and federal industrial safety regulations and their corresponding related ordinances for the use of work materials will have to be made av...
Page 11: ...y of the test has been determined by ASTM method D1238 Contributing to both precision and accuracy are operator variances such as packing technique cleaning cutting weighing etc With moisture sensitive polymers dryness can also play a major role and time can be a factor with thermally unstable polymers so procedures must be identical Dynisco Polymer Test Systems has found that charging a consisten...
Page 12: ...2 5A 500VA normal operational power 50 Hz 60 Hz PNEUMATICS Lift Option PSI Bar MIN 60 4 2 MAX 80 5 5 Packer Option PSI Bar MIN 20 1 4 MAX 50 3 5 Instrument with weight system could have up to 70lbs 31 6Kg weights installed shipped uninstalled with unit OTHER Complies with ISO ASTM D1238 and ISO 1133 1 ISO 1133 2 P N M0726 3 Rev 012020 ECO 51182 www dynisco com ...
Page 13: ... orifice Orifice length 0 3150 8mm 0 0010 0 0254mm Weights still weigh correctly Digital Encoder calibration Gages can be purchased from Dynisco Polymer Test Barrel Diameter Once the barrel is extremely clean all dimensional measurements are to be made at room temperature it can be checked using a bore gage Gage can be purchased from Dynisco Polymer Test At the time of manufacture the barrel cente...
Page 14: ...e saved a few days until you are certain the machine is functioning as expected Bench Requirements and Placement Typical laboratory benches are too high for efficient use of the indexers Cleaning and material packing can be difficult and requires awkward hand positions and forces that could lead to carpal tunnel syndrome or back discomfort We strongly suggest a bench height of 29 inches desk top h...
Page 15: ...ine into level Tighten the locking nuts to keep the feet in level position Test shake the melt indexer for stability Some companies may choose to bolt the machines directly to their benches This can be done by removing the levelling feet and using their mounting holes to mount the instrument to a bench or table Use caution and remove power before doing so Mounting this way will entail removing som...
Page 16: ... Auto Cutter Power Switch Power Cord Figure 3 LMFI rear view Power connections Instrument Overview Front View Figure 1 LMFI with lift encoder and packer Cutter Location Shown Figure2 LMFI base unit Encoder and Cutter Location Shown Rear View P N M0726 3 Rev 012020 ECO 51182 www dynisco com ...
Page 17: ... the side USB connections with a PC cable connection to the USB Type A connection If using the LaVA Suite software there is one cable connection that must be made from the instrument to the computer a USB cable The product sticker on the back of the LMFI will show the model power requirements and the instrument serial number P N M0726 3 Rev 012020 ECO 51182 www dynisco com ...
Page 18: ...d password and levels of access The system has 5 levels of default user types Admin and Maintenance user levels are defaulted with instruments at shipment Users of Guest Tester and Manager levels will have to be added by the Admin level user if desired Logging in at power up can be turned off if not desired Simply log in at the Admin level P N M0726 3 Rev 012020 ECO 51182 www dynisco com ...
Page 19: ...providing a window into the process 19 Instrument Operation Icons Icons An icon will be displayed when a device has been connected to either the master or host USB connections P N M0726 3 Rev 012020 ECO 51182 www dynisco com ...
Page 20: ...From lab to production providing a window into the process 20 Instrument Operation Menus P N M0726 3 Rev 012020 ECO 51182 www dynisco com ...
Page 21: ...ll perform a specific action on the release of the button There are three states to a button released pressed and disabled along with the option of a press and hold which will repeat the desired action as long as the button is pressed Instrument Operation Buttons P N M0726 3 Rev 012020 ECO 51182 www dynisco com ...
Page 22: ...m is running a series Displays the lift override manual operation window Creates new test conditions and changes to the test conditions Edit screen Prints a test page to a connected printer Displays the import test conditions window Displays the test results export ti Displays the export test conditions i d Saves the current information Selects all Deselects all P N M0726 3 Rev 012020 ECO 51182 ww...
Page 23: ...te and time screen Sets the system volume to the the maximum level Sets the system volume to the medium level Sets the system volume to the minimum level Sets the system volume to Select OK button that will accept the current condition Displays the tool tip Logs the user in or displays the Edit user window Displays the RTD calibration Displays the LCD Display Calibration i d P N M0726 3 Rev 012020...
Page 24: ...on Miscellaneous Touch Areas Miscellaneous Touch Areas The following items are touch areas that will perform the specified operation after the button has been released There are three states to a button released pressed and disabled P N M0726 3 Rev 012020 ECO 51182 www dynisco com ...
Page 25: ...here R radius piston cm TB sec is time to traverse the Method B distance L L Method B length of flag mm M is the mass in grams of material collected over the time TA in seconds MFR has units of g 10 min grams 10 minutes ρ g cc is called the apparent melt density and is defined by equating the methods the Method B flow rate must equal Method A This apparent melt density definition forces the two te...
Page 26: ...e any length desired and a test can have any number as long as the total distance of flags is not longer than the distance from the start point and where the piston would land on the top of the die 25 4mm Recently Method B has become the more common test because it is simpler to run hands free after material load and more precise for routine analysis In addition the encoder system makes it possibl...
Page 27: ...wet chemistry technique used to assess the specific volume of an isolated polymer chain when dissolved in a good solvent This value is directly related to the molecular weight of the polymer Melt viscosity or MFI measurement is another empirical non absolute like I V way to assess molecular weight Melt Viscosity and Intrinsic Viscosity are related in such a way that IV can be directly calculated f...
Page 28: ... hours at 150 ºC use 6 grams material per test clean machine thoroughly and run at a temperature of 285 ºC This option if purchased enables only at 285 ºC 1 Clean the orifice piston rod and barrel thoroughly This is very important Put piston rod back into barrel until temperature has locked 2 Enable IV calculations under the Setup on the indexer Note that a typical Pet test temperature is to 285 º...
Page 29: ...ired 6 minute melt time is satisfied and there is no excessive waiting before the first cut is made or timing flag starts in timed tests A conservative estimate for charge weight can be calculated if an approximate melt flow rate and melt density for the material are known by using the following formula Charge Mass 3 6ρ 0 6 MFR Where the charge mass is in grams ρ is the melt density in g cc and MF...
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Page 36: ...to achieve the desired packing force The packer must be enabled through the System Configuration screen Material is loaded as stated above with a funnel The funnel is removed The packer is pivoted around and held above the barrel The packer s push button is pressed to extend the packer rod down into barrel The packer s push button is released The packer rod is released and the entire packer assemb...
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Page 38: ...k into the barrel This allows the piston plunger and the die to reheat before the next test With materials that are thermally stable less than 5 viscosity change over 1 2 hour of heat exposure we recommend only cleaning the barrel between every second run For materials that degrade or are moisture sensitive it is recommended that both the barrel and the die be cleaned completely between each test ...
Page 39: ... it is going to sit at room temperature for an extended period of time you may wish to coat the barrel with a light machine oil to prevent rusting The oil will need to be cleaned with cleaning patches from the machine before accurate data can be obtained Warning Do not heat the barrel back to elevated temperatures before cleaning the machine oil from the barrel Noxious fumes and or fire hazard exi...
Page 40: ...anched polyethylene with a MFR of 1 19 0 01 As of 2013 cost was 870 US for 12 grams SRM Catalog number is NIST Special Publication 260 To order 301 975 6776 Fax 301 948 3730 2 Mercury Hg spill kits Mercury Clean Up Spill Kits Mercon Products distributed by Fisher Scientific Unit 8 7551 Vantage Way Delta B C Canada V4G 1C9 Tech Assistance 800 926 8999 604 940 0975 or call Fisher Scientific 3 PRINCO...
Page 41: ...gitally Thus any flag length up to 1 ASTM or 30 mm ISO may be selected Up to 15 MFR or MVR results per barrel filling can be obtained The unit is securely fastened to the top rear of the LMFI and the arm latches down to facilitate cleaning of the unit after the test is completed Encoder Advantages Completely Automatic Test Length Selection on Single MFR Tests Up to 15 MFR readings per Barrel Filli...
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Page 44: ...rent shear stresses of generally a 10 1 ratio First the lower mass weight is added to the piston Next the higher mass weight is added to the piston The high mass weight may be well over 50 lbs The pneumatic lift automatically raises and lowers the weight safely Activation and Operation Lift Change to use lift chose on or off from drop down menu Option is only visible when the control cable for the...
Page 45: ...uring a test Auto Raise Enable to let the lift bucket raise the weight off piston after the test has ended automatically If Auto Raise is not enabled the operator will have to press a screen prompt to raise the weights and weight bucket Enter any delay time as required in the box next to Rise Time The Rise Time delay will expire before the lift is raised A raise delay can be used to Purge the barr...
Page 46: ...eights and weight bucket during a test Auto Raise Enable to let the lift bucket raise the weight off piston after the test has ended automatically If Auto Raise is not enabled the operator will have to press a screen prompt to raise the weights and weight bucket Enter any delay time as required in the box next to Rise Time The Rise Time delay will expire before the lift is raised A raise delay can...
Page 47: ...me of the test Bucket may be lower than weights during hold if there is a lot of material in barrel causing the pistons and weights to sit higher Hold is useful for high flow materials and can be used in conjunction with a melt plug The hold keeps the weights from extruding the melted sample before the melt time has expired After setting lift options press to get to button and save in test procedu...
Page 48: ...ay to test the lift without having to use a test procedure to do so It is useful if one wanted to check movement or positions of the lift for accuracy or workability Lift safety measures such as safety shield and weight fork must be employed for Lift Bypass to function P N M0726 3 Rev 012020 ECO 51182 www dynisco com ...
Page 49: ... positions within the LMI operation When setup correctly the system will alert the operator where to place the weight fork depending on the test procedures defined test weight An installation guide accompanies all weight system shipments showing how to install the physical weights in the LMFI P N M0726 3 Rev 012020 ECO 51182 www dynisco com ...
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Page 51: ...ased the packer tip will retract out of the barrel Activation and Operation Press button to bring up the System Configuration screen Packer Air Turn the Packer option from OFF to ON by pressing the white area around the word OFF and then selecting the ON option that displays When activated or turned ON the Packer is available during test material loading times Option is only visible when the contr...
Page 52: ...e above and to the rear of the display The cutting action is accomplished by using a thin flexible blade against the rigid bottom die holding plate The cutting blade is rotated via a stepper motor Homing and Positioning are controlled within the motor s own on board electronics and a position sensor tied to the motor control The Auto Cutter comes with a clear safety door This door must be closed f...
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