Elastoline F from Hennecke with new process features for an increased range of applications

According to Hennecke, if you ask the company's customers about the specific quality features of the Elastoline F, you will get very different answers because of the machine's wide range of applications. Two properties, however, are said to be appreciated by all customers throughout the world: versatility and performance under tough operating conditions. This systems advantage is demonstrated by the areas of application in which the solid machine system is preferably used, including the production of wear and spare parts for the global oil and mining industries. For example, such parts are used as wear protection for inside pipe linings, in elementary components of cleaning pigs for oil and gas pipelines or in the production of separators for the mining industry. In the model year 2012, new process features were successively added to enhance the specific possibilities of the processing system.

Automatic melter

For the worldwide demand for TDI prepolymer processing, MBOCA (4.4'-Methylene bis [2-Chlororaniline]) is still the number one crosslinker because of its good product and processing properties and its price-performance ratio. For processing MBOCA, Hennecke has developed an automatic melter that has been integrated into the Elastoline F. This ensures a uniform melting performance combined with easy and largely automated handling. One advantage is the careful treatment of MBOCA during the melting process, thus preventing excessive heating and quality losses of the crosslinker. This special type of melter has also been launched for other high-melting crosslinkers such as HQE (Hydroquinone Bis [beta-hydroxyethyl] Ether). When it comes to processing high-melting crosslinkers, the Elastoline F has proved very reliable, says Hennecke. For example, cold bridges are avoided throughout the whole metering flow so that the necessary processing times from 110 °C to 130 °C can be kept at a constant level without any problems.

Big worktanks for larger products

The Elastoline F can be equipped with a new type of 500 litre work tank. This provides the processor with sufficient homogenised material for producing especially large parts with high shotweights in a continuous casting process. For example, products such as maritime buoys or marine fenders with weights of over 200 kilograms can be manufactured on the machine in one casting operation. Compared to manual production, the customer also benefits from consistently homogeneous product qualities.

Online additive metering in the mixhead

The focus was not only on large, but also on very small processing quantities so that additives such as stabilisers or catalysts can also be processed directly. In cooperation with the customer, Hennecke has achieved the target of processing material quantities from as little as three grams per minute directly in the mixhead. For this purpose, the specific injector technology of the MEL series mixhead has been modified to ensure that small amounts can be safely controlled. Great importance was also attached to easy cleaning and reliable metering where clogged valves or the like are not an issue. The major customer benefit of the system is that common additives (Stabaxol; Dabko etc.) can be metered directly into the mixhead. This saves the customer the cost and time of premixing with a neutral substance, says Hennecke.