Vortex Global Ltd Showcase UK Operation with Material Handling Project

Vortex Global Limited has been established in the UK now for over 17 years, delivering Vortex slide gate valves, diverter valves and loading systems for the plastics industry. Through innovation and product design, they are recognised as a valuable supplier to the plastics industry.

Vortex engineer valves to work in the most demanding of environments with design emphasis on the following:

• Dust retention.
• Wear compensating parts.
• Wear-resistant parts.
• Maintenance in process, reducing plant downtime.

Their knowledge and experience with handling plastics comes from a long history and close working relationship with the Plastics industry. They’ve identified slide gates and diverter valves’ key leaking points, developed proprietary sealing technologies and added features to reduce the time it takes to perform maintenance on components. These improvements extend the valve’s service life, while reducing life-cycle and housekeeping costs.

Areas served the Plastic industry include:

Compounding: Compounding consists of preparing plastic formulations by mixing or/and blending polymers and additives in a molten state, these blends are automatically dosed through feeders/hoppers

Manufacturing: Due to their relatively low cost, ease of manufacture, versatility, and imperviousness to water, plastics are used in an enormous and expanding range of products, from paper clips to spaceships

Recycling: Plastic recycling is the process of recovering scrap or waste plastic and reprocessing the material into useful products, sometimes completely different in form from their original state.

Whether you are a plastics compounder (blending polymers, fillers, plasticisers and colorants), a plastics company that utilises a compounder’s product to manufacture plastic products (e.g. plastic bags, bottles, compact discs, outdoor furniture, packaging, pipe, vinyl siding), or a plastic recycler, somewhere in your system a Vortex product may be needed.

Ashley Maxwell, Vortex UK and Ireland Sales Manager talks about our recent engineering applications and installations in the UK market:

Company:

Automotive industry plastics manufacturer

Product:

2 Two-Way Vortex Wye Line Diverters and 2 Four-Way Vortex Wye Line Diverters

Application:

Replace a cumbersome hose manifold system with an automated process. The system is used to convey different grades and colours of plastic pellets from individual storage bins into an extruder, where the pellets are heated and moulded into automotive parts.

Features:

The Diverter body & inlet/outlet weldments are constructed from aluminium.

• Blade & material contact areas are constructed from 304 stainless steel.
• Double-acting air cylinder actuator is equipped with a magnetic piston, to be used with magnetic reed switches for gate position indication.

Results:

For this plastics manufacturer, the process of conveying plastic pellets was a production and safety nightmare. The hoses took up space on the production floor, employees moving through the facility had to be cognisant of the ever-changing location of the hoses, and production slowed as hoses were relocated to different source bins. On occasion, hoses were connected to the wrong source bin, causing the extruded parts to be made with improper materials – therefore deeming them off-spec and rejected.

The company utilised Vortex Wye Line Diverters in other parts of their facility with great success. They were pleased with the valves’ performance and the lifecycle costs they provided. A decision was made to replace the hoses with additional Vortex Wye Line Diverters.

To free up space on the production floor and eliminate a potential safety hazard, the diverter valves were kept off the floor and instead installed in the ceiling. Because it is an automated system, operators are now able to remotely select a source bin for the different pellets. With each automated command, the Wye Line Diverter’s sliding blade shifts into place and conveying automatically begins.

All safety, production and quality control issues were solved with this new installation. After installation, the client had the foresight to expose one of the outlet ports in a two-way diverter valve – allowing an air intake so the system can be “purged,” on occasion.

“When the diverter valves arrived, we were surprised to see the new, lower profile design. The in-line serviceability and improved sealing features were an added bonus to a valve that has already provided us with quality performance.” – Production Superintendent.

Vortex Global
01325 728 577
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