MAGUIRE Gravimetric Gateway LineMaster, Installation Operation & Maintenance

Page: 14 / 93

Maguire Products, Inc.
14
LineMaster

Overview - XC-2T LineMaster
®
Extrusion Yield Control - Take-off Drive Control
Provides control of haul-off to maintain weight per length via feedback from encoder mounted on
downstream haul-off
Component Installation
The system is comprised of a mass flow hopper assembly, a controller with operator interface, a
line speed control package and an encoder.
The mass flow hopper is mounted on the throat of the extruder. A weigh hopper suspended from a
set of load cells provides the material flow data to the LIW controller. The line speed control
package, which includes a digital potentiometer to replace the existing analog take-off speed pot,
is mounted in the control cabinet and monitors and controls the signal to the take-off drive. The
encoder or pulse generator is mounted on the haul off to monitor the speed of the line.
Principal of Operation
The XC-2T Extrusion Yield Control System is designed to maintain a products weight per length
(yield) by monitoring the material consumption of the process through the mass flow hopper on the
throat of the extruder in kilos per hour, and collates the data with the line speed monitored by an
encoder mounted on the shaft of the haul off in meters per minute to provide a calculated actual
product yield in grams or kilograms per meter. The actual yield is compared to a desired target
yield of the product entered on the LIW controller. The LIW controller communicates to the XCD-T
Take-off Drive Speed Control, which adjusts the voltage or reference signal to the Take-off drive,
which will increase or decrease with respect to the extruder speed to maintain the desired yield.
A digital potentiometer replaces the existing rotary drive speed control on the take-off drive panel
and communicates with the XCD-T Take-off Speed Control which is mounted in or on the control
cabinet and is connected to the LIW controller.
Typical Start-up
Upon a first time start-up of the process, the yield control system is placed in the Manual Mode.
The LIW controller learns the rate of the material flow through the mass flow hopper within 45
seconds and enters the logarithmic value in the control parameters. The controller will display the
learned yield rate and indicate the process can be switched into the Auto or Locked Mode. A
target value for the product weight per length desired is entered as a set point on the LIW
controller. The system can be switched into the Auto or Lock Mode and the speed of the extruder
will be adjusted to maintain the target weight per length value. As the line speed is increased to a
production level, the LIW controller will acknowledge the change and increase the signal to the
LIW w/ XCC
Encoder
XCE-01
EXTRUDER
Product
M
M
XCD-T
aspc0910
aspc2210
Line Speed Control