K-Tron will introduce the new K-Tron Quick Change/ Quick Clean T35/S60 feeder at the shows.  First designed with the needs of the Masterbatch industry in mind, this feeder allows the customer to quickly change from a single screw S60 screw configuration to a twin screw T35 screw configuration as material needs change, ideal for short customized runs.  The feeder comes with two bowl/ screw sets that mount to the same gearbox and can be cleaned and swapped out in minutes.

K-Tron’s new Shear Hopper, a compact alternative to traditional mechanical agitation, will also be exhibited mounted on the Quick Change feeder.  The shear hopper reliably prevents bridge-building of cohesive materials.  A flexible hopper liner is fixed to the top and bottom of a standard hopper, with a ring mounted around the middle of the flexible hopper liner.  A motor moves the ring in eccentric circles, thus agitating the flexible liner and preventing material bridging.

The newly expanded line of Hurricane vacuum conveyors will also be showcased.  In addition to the traditional M-series, based on the dual cyclone technology, K-Tron will exhibit the P-series, designed for tough to handle powder applications.  Hurricane vacuum conveyors can be easily integrated with K-Tron Soder feeders for feeder refill as well as applied for straight vacuum conveying applications for moving material from point A to point B.

K-Tron will also be demonstrating their award winning “Screw Speed Modulation algorithm,” that smoothes the material pulsation that often occurs on single screw feeders at low rates.   This improvement is standard in the latest generation of SmartConnex gravimetric feeder control software.
Single screw feeders, particularly at low rates, can have an unsteady feed rate within one revolution of the screw, resulting in mass flow pulsation.  A compact KQx feeder running pellets will demonstrate the improvement in accuracy when screw speed modulation is on.

A four-ingredient K2G feeding system, a gravimetric blender designed to compactly fit over an extruder, will present a complete material handling solution, with Hurricane vacuum conveyors with integrated feeder/loader SmartConnex controls.  In addition K-Tron will display a volumetric feeder with integrated P-series Hurricane vacuum receiver.

Other gravimetric feeding solutions exhibited by K-Tron will include a loss-in-weight vibratory feeder—often used to feed fiberglass, the Smart Weigh Belt Feeder (SWB)--now available in both 300 and 600 mm. belt width and in open and closed frame versions and the K-Tron Smart Flow Meter, Model 275, often used for high rates in resin production.