PDM Preview - Piovan

SSeptember
September 2006
With Head-office in Italy, and
September 2006
Table of contents
▪ Piovan’s Participation at the PDM 2006
▪ Piovan UK
▪ Product Innovations and News
MDP300
MDP2
MXP
New advertising campaign

Piovan at the PDM 2006: product innovations and controls
Piovan participates at the PDM of Telford (26 –28 Sept) presenting some of the
innovations produced during the latest months by its Research & Development Dept.
In Hall 2 – stand E15, Piovan displays machines to cover all plastics processing phases:
• New Drying System DP619 desiccant dryer with three PTUSET hopper modules
• New MDP300 volumetric dosing unit
• New MDP2 volumetric dosing unit
• MDP Volumetric dosing unit
• MDW20 Gravimetric blender
• C2, C3, C5, C10, C15 Vacuum receivers with Easy2 System control
• S41 Hopper loader
• GR1 + GR3 Glass receivers
• F48 Three-phase vacuum unit with CF1 filter
• SVS, WinDosing and WinFeeding computer softwares
• RSP15/38 Granulator
• TW9 and TP6 Mould Temperature Control Units
• CH90 Water chiller
The main innovations are represented by the new blenders, the new drying
systems and the Win Feeding System software.
As for dosers, the absolute innovation is expressed with the volumetric dosing unit
MDP300 and MDP2.
The MDP300 is the dosing unit that combines the
gravimetric-like principle of material dosing along with
the volumetric method of functioning. Every
component, virgin material, regrind, masterbatch and
additive is dosed by means of pneumatic slide gates

that allow to dose large quantities of material for production capacities of up to 300 kg/h.
A very efficient and overall effective solution from every perspective, ranging from
accuracy of dosage and capital equipment expenditure. In particular, the MDP300 finds
application in the injection moulding field from 30 to 200 kg/h, in the blow moulding field
up to 250 kg/h and in the extrusion field up to 300kg/h.
The MDP300 is suited for installation directly onto the throat of injection or blow moulding
machines as well as extruders and is available in configurations up to four dosing stations.
It is ideal to dose and manage regrind in variable percentages thanks to a bigger hopper
and a larger slide gate and provides precision and accurate control.
The homogenous mixing of the different components is ensured by the dynamic mixer
provided of conical chamber avoiding material stagnation.
Quick material discharge ports on the hoppers along with easy access to the internal parts
of the machine allow rapid maintenance and cleaning operations for material changes.
To fulfil demands of lower capacity but still high
precision and flexibility in injection, blow moulding
and extrusion the MDP2 volumetric dosing unit
was developed. Masterbatch, additive or regrind
metering take place by means of inclined augers, a
solution that ensures unmatchable accuracy.
The MDP2, with two metering stations and one
central gravity fed material station, covers applications where three components are to be
blended. The stations have capacities up to 120 kg/h each and are detachable from the
main body for ease of use and maintenance. This latter feature allows simple and rapid
adjustment in case of significant increase or decrease of material demand. No tools are to
be used to perform such operations.
The new brush-less motor drives confer the MDP2 high precision and reliability.
Excellence is featured by the innovative electronic control of both the MDP300 and
the MDP2, that can be used on more than one doser. It is possible to set the required

percentage of masterbatch or of additives time after time or by simply recalling one of the
stored-in formulas and input the code of the product to be moulded. The most distinctive
new function available on both MDP300 and MDP2 is the Regrind Management, which
keeps the right proportion of the components and ensures constant and optimal blend
quality independently from the quantity of regrind available.
The new operator interface provides alphanumerical messages and the programming
procedure for the determination of recipes is self-guided.
Other important innovations will be introduced in the dehumidifying field with the
two versions of drying systems on trolley. In
fact, two mobile solutions have been made
available, L and S, with different features
depending on installation typology and customer’s
needs.
Equipped with two or three drying hoppers, the
drying modules of the L type stand out for
exceptional ease of use. The operator simply
needs to set the drying temperature. The central
control, installed on the dryer, manages dryer
functions, heating chambers of each drying
hopper and a number of other facilities centrally.
Dehumidifying System on trolley L Series
The S type on-trolley drying systems are designed
to offer the advantage of a modular, multiple
hopper solution that can be enhanced with many automated features and provides the
highest level of flexibility for a vast range of applications and an unmatchable efficiency of
operation.
One more outstanding innovation on display is the Piovan Win Feeding System
software, that allows for the control and management of one or more centralised Easy²

feeding and conveying systems in any configuration, from just one PC station. From the
Win Feeding System homepage, it is possible to select the desired conveying system for
monitoring in real time all the elements from a single screen. Among the numerous
existing functions, a new function controlling the material availability in the
dehumidifying hoppers of a centralised drying system was implemented
recently. The Win Feeding System advises the operator in case the quantity of processing
machines and respective material consumption exceeds the real available dehumidifying
capacity. In this way quality of the finished product, constant production and maximum
efficiency of the processing machines are absolutely guaranteed.

Piovan UK: the consolidation of a successful start
The strategic importance for Piovan of having more and more commercial, technical and
after sales presence all around the world is confirmed by the success of its English
affiliate, Piovan UK, established in January 2005.
The new subsidiary, located in Bromsgrove, in a vast industrial park south of Birmingham,
accommodates personnel to cover the whole of the UK and also services the long
established Irish distributor for Piovan UK, J.L.Goor LTD. The objective: To assure the best
possible promptness of service and care.
The structure of Piovan UK, counting 12 employees in all, is headed
by Nick Fox, Director & General Manager, who joined Piovan with
experience in the plastics industry going back over 25 years.
Nick’s direct reports are
Jeremy Love, Sales Manager
(left), and Francesco Mussi
(right), Service Manager.
Jeremy, who joined Piovan UK
in the second half of 2005,
brings profound knowledge
and expertise. His past experiences in the auxiliary equipment business have mainly been
characterised by a long co-operation with PL Plastics, the former distributor of Piovan in
the UK.

Francesco, with his thorough understanding of the equipment of Piovan and exceptional
technical culture, joined Piovan UK in January 2006. Francesco contributes to the growth
of Piovan UK with his six-year experience at the Piovan Headquarters in Italy.
Attention to the customer from every point of view is the main objective of Piovan UK,
expressing its real contribution to the market by providing added value to the finished
products of all its customers.
In line with this spirit, the activity of Piovan UK is supported by an own Project
Development Dept. headed by Gareth Hallett.
The premises offer 600sqm of warehouse, allowing equipment and spare parts to be
stocked and available for prompt delivery.
The success of Piovan UK is expressed in the testimony of many companies that have
chosen its equipment and have relied on its services. Many are the projects concluded
with success, in particular it is worth mentioning the most recent ones with Siemens VDO
Automotive, in the electronics and mechatronics sector, and with Esterform Packaging,
operating in the field of PET containers.
In the first case of Siemens VDO Automotive, Piovan implemented the original plant of
Siemens VDO Automotive injection hall with
Piovan feeding and blending equipment
Telford with the supply of a complete package of
auxiliaries. These are for the automatic
management of feeding & conveying, drying,
dosing and mould temperature control of the new
production lines comprising 7 injection moulding
machines.
The most important objective was to obtain flexible,
fast and safe handling of the 10 different types of
polymers. With the Easy2 system – the specific
control/software developed by Piovan to integrate

all functions of every element of a conveying system – through a single keyboard the
customer controls the silos, the material distribution stations and the granule receivers
and rapidly sends the new setting parameters to the lines.
Esterform production site: View of the Piovan
PET system with gas and electric heaters
As far as the Esterform project is concerned,
the Piovan supply consists of one PET feeding,
drying and mould dehumidification system for
the production of preforms.
The main characteristic or better contribution
of the whole system is expressed in the
optimisation of production efficiency and
energy utilisation. This is possible thanks to
the Energy Management Kit, Piovan’s
exclusive, that ensures a correct drying
process, energy and cooling water
requirements in line with the hourly
throughput of the injection moulding machine.
Another exclusive and unique characteristic of
the Piovan supply is the possibility to choose
between the gas or electric heating for the
process air.
The combination of these two technologies represents the most efficient, valuable and
beneficial technical solution available in the PET drying field.

Product Innovations and News
Profit booster: the MDP300
Absolute innovation is expressed with the MDP300, the dosing unit that combines the
gravimetric-like principle of material dosing and the volumetric method of functioning.
Every component, virgin material, regrind, masterbatch and additive is dosed by means of
pneumatic slide gates that allow to dose large quantities of material for production
capacities of up to 300 kg/h.
The operating time of the slide gates is inferior of 300 milliseconds and assure constant
and uniform material descent avoiding any sort of jamming. In this way the repeatability
of the quantities to be dosed is guaranteed.
Moreover, the compressed air required for the slide gates functioning allows to obtain
considerable savings in energy utilisation.
The MDP300 is suited for installation
directly onto the throat of injection or
blow moulding machines as well as
extruders, or floor-mounted.
In particular, the MDP300 finds
application in the injection moulding
field from 30 to 200 kg/h, in the blow
moulding field up to 250 kg/h and in the
extrusion field up to 300kg/h.
This new volumetric dosing unit is
available in configurations up to four dosing stations. It is ideal to dose and manage
regrind in variable percentages thanks to a bigger hopper and a larger slide gate.
The homogenous mixing of the different components is ensured by the dynamic mixer
provided of conical chamber avoiding material stagnation.

Quick material discharge ports on the hoppers along with easy access to the internal parts
of the machine allow rapid maintenance and cleaning operations for material changes.
Excellence is featured by the innovative electronic control that can be used on more
than one doser. It is possible to set the required percentage of masterbatch or of additives
time after time or by simply recalling one of the stored-in formulas and input the code of
the product to be moulded. The most distinctive new function available on the MDP300 is
the Regrind Management, which keeps the right proportion of the components and
ensures constant and optimal blend quality independently from the quantity of regrind
available.
The new operator interface provides alphanumerical messages and the programming
procedure for the determination of recipes is self-guided.
A very efficient and overall effective solution from every perspective, ranging from
accuracy of dosage and capital equipment expenditure.

Precision of metering: the new MDP2 Volumetric Dosing
Unit
The latest evolution in Piovan volumetric dosing is represented by the MDP2, designed to
fulfil demands of high precision and flexibility in injection and blow moulding and
extrusion. Masterbatch metering takes place by means of inclined augers, a solution that
ensures unmatchable accuracy.
The MDP2, with two metering stations and one central gravity fed material station, covers
applications where three components are to be blended. The stations have capacities up
to 120 kg/h each and are
detachable from the main body
for ease of use and maintenance.
This latter feature allows simple
and rapid adjustment in case of
significant increase or decrease
of material demand.
The new brush-less motor drives
confer the MDP2 high precision
and reliability.
Excellence is featured by the
innovative electronic control, that can be used on more than one doser. Two dosing
modes can be selected: manual or automatic. The most distinctive new function of the
MDP2 is the Regrind Management, which keeps the right proportion of the components
and ensures constant and optimal blend quality independently from the quantity of regrind
available.
The new operator interface provides alphanumerical messages and the programming
procedure for the determination of recipes is self-guided.

Extrusion: Innovative technology and global competences
in the new line of Piovan gravimetric blenders
Piovan enters the extrusion market with a state of the art technology: the new MXP
gravimetric blenders line.
The MXP combines a gravimetric batch preparation with a subsequent loss-in-weight
function.
Designed for application on extrusion lines, the MXP dosers are perfectly suited for the
production of blown films, pipes and profiles.
Three are the models for the MXP range: MXP200, MXP300 and MXP500.
The MXP200 and MXP300 models are equipped with four dosing stations of which two
can have auger dosing facilities for the smaller percentages.
The MXP500 is equipped with six dosing stations, four of which are furnished with
pneumatic slide gate and two with metering auger. The auger stations can be added at
any later stage.
Savings and reduction of production costs
MXP300
Gravimetric
blender for
extrusion
The objective of the ambitious project of Piovan is to
obtain high accuracy and repeatability of the
gravimetric batch preparation. This is possible by
coupling the dosing of a wide variety of granule sizes
and bulk densities with a perfect mixing action that
homogenises the blend to be fed into the extruder. The
various components are dosed by means of pneumatic
slide gates and servo driven augers, whereas the blend
is mixed in a chamber installed on load cells that
monitor the consumption of the extruder.

For the dosage of low percentage materials, the auger stations guarantee absolute
precision. The consequent optimisation of the material consumption will refeclet into
exceptional reduction of the production costs.
Flexibility
One of the major advantages offered the MXP is flexibility.
Piovan puts in the market a unit furnished with standard functions/options to fit each and
every user needs and type of material to be dosed. This eliminates the needs for special
applications requiring long delivery times. Moreover, the MXP blenders are designed to be
expanded, in fact it is possible to add one auger station at any time, avoiding big
investmenrs for new machines and optimising the production capacity with evident
reduced costs.
The control of the loss-in-weight function allows quick response to process parameters
variations.
The application of the MXP blenders on coextrusion lines is facilitated by the possibility of
changing the recipe “on the fly” and consequent rapid self-adjustment of the working
parameters.
Unique standards of the MXP line are:
• Individual quick discarge of every component
Every one of the possible dosing stations is equipped with a drain port that allows rapid
emptying procedures and material change. The mixer unit is furnished with a wide
inspection door to access mixing chamber and shaft.
Both are removable for possible inspection and allow simple maintenance and cleaning.
• thickness measurement function
the MXP are provided of a software for the management of the thickness control.
• width measurement function
the MXP software includes also the width signal management
• edge-trim control
the MXP control can manage the presence of the edge-trim and adapt the process
parameters

Control
One single control box is installed on board of the MXP blenders. This is equipped with an
extremely powerful micro processor control that manages each and any and every
function of the blender, collects field inputs and provides feed back data. The main
functions of the MXP control are:
- set up of recipes
- recipes database
- gravimetric weighing control
- loss-in-weight control
- extruder speed signal
- nip rolls signal
- thickness signal
- width signal
- management of material consumption for each dosing station
- management of material consumption for the extrusion line
- alarms management
The control boasts the ultimate technology in terms of operator interface. One 8.4-inch
colour touch screen guarantees excellent graphic visualisation of the dosing unit, the
extrusion line, the material consumption data and the alarm/warning messages. One
interface panel can visualise and allow operator interaction to five MXP units and five
extrusion machines.
The MXP control includes the possibility to generate individual diagrams monitoring the
consumption of each blender and Cartesian diagrams for the thickness distribution (this
last one for blown films appliocation).
The MXP is the perfect innovative solution for gravimetric blending and loss-in-weight
process control that Piovan launched in the extrusion field.

Integration and production management
The MXP blenders can be integrated with other machines of the Piovan range, like for
example the SVS supervising software and the Easy² conveying system.
The management of the production processes, the monitoring of the production lots and
the definition of the orders progress are essential functions of the SVS system, giving
high added value to the Piovan offer. This kind of supervision system gives several
advantages. From one single station the operator can monitor the entirely of a system,
even of big dimensions, enter all data and set up the functioning parameters of each
element.
Different control stations can be positioned in the production site and in the offices.
Moreover, it is possible to elaborate all the collected records for the qualty control of the
finished product, to check the single different processes and share all of that with an
existing management software.
The Easy²System is an innovative control for the management of centralised feeding
systems. Its logic has been specifically developed to integrate all functions of every
element of a conveying system. From one Easy²System keyboard, it is possible to manage
systems of various dimensions, controlling various elements up to a maximum of: 8 silos
(in- or out-door) or drying hoppers, 4 automatic material distribution stations, 1 manual
distribution station, 4 deviating valves, 47 material receivers and 8 vacuum conveying
systems, depending on plant requirements.
The keyboard represents the Easy²System operative core: it receives information from the
elements in the plant, all interconnected via a serial line, and it gives them operative
instructions. Piovan Easy²System functioning logic is of the so-called ”master-slave” kind:
each component included in the system is equipped with a microprocessor that, besides
managing all local functions of the machine, communicates with the keyboard, that
collects all information. The main features of this system are ease and speed in
communication; these features go hand in hand with the operator’s interface, that is
extremely simple and user-friendly.

The Easy²System can manage installations of various dimensions and types thanks to its
high level of flexibility and distributed control. The system can easely be expanded as per
the gradual needs of a growing production enviroment.
Global customer service
The Piovan offer goes beyond the supply of equipment. The customer service that the
Company is able to provide in any circumstance is thorough and efficient and makes the
approach of Piovan absolutely competitive in the market.
Piovan is an engineering partner too, that with its direct commercial structure is more and
more at the customer's side with competent and professional personnel. It Is with this
objective that during the years Piovan set up many subsidiaries in the four continents, three
production sites, respectively in Italy, Brasil and China and a distribution network that
represents the Piovan brand in the worldwide markets.
The Piovan structure is the most complete and vast in its own sector, a real advantage of
which all its customers can benefit.

The Piovan new advertising campaign: “Piovan Inside”
Piovan reasserts its role of unique player, capable of understanding all the needs of its
customers and able to strongly, attentively and actively fulfil them, through the testimony
of important companies, leaders of the industrial panorama. The result reflects from every
perspective the value of the contribution of Piovan.
Piovan Inside is the way the company approaches the market, with an innovative and
unique communication fashion and an exceptional witness: the plastic product.
The new advertising campaign of Piovan will start in September 2006 and will appear on
the major and most known specialised magazines. Piovan Inside is the expression of the
company contribution, whereas the plastic products, used in representation of the major
industrial sectors, express the concept of Outside, that is the final result: performance,
technological advance, perfection, attention, production flexibility and cost optimisation,
and so on…
Piovan Inside finds its roots in a further step the company entertained to strengthen the
concept of Piovan-Customer partnership, that inspired the well-known slogan Customers.
The core of our innovation.
Each subject of the new advertising campaign is given a dedicated space in the Piovan
web site: a complete case history will illustrate the striking points of the contribution of
Piovan and will provide an in-depth overview of the activity of the customer
(www.piovan.com/inside)