Bauer adds portable gas-injection system, cloud platform

“The benefits of the N2IT XL are reduced resin costs, increased production due to faster mold cycle times, improved structural performance of the molded part, a higher-quality finish due to less molded-in stress, and more energy-efficient production,”  said Rick Goralski, the company’s business unit manager, plastics system.

Compared to parts that are made with conventional injection molding, parts made through gas-assisted molding can require as little as half as much resin, he said. Molders also can expect to achieve production increases from 20 percent to 30 percent due to faster mold cycle times.

“This is a good solution for a company that will only run the gas-assist process on one molding machine at a time,” Goralski said. “The unit is portable, so it can be rolled from one press to another.” The N2IT XL is a larger, improved version of Bauer’s N2IT system, which it replaces.

“We learned that we needed a more robust compressor system with additional flow and storage capacity,” he said.

The new model has been upgraded with gas-storage vessels known as UNs that have five times as much capacity as the tanks, known as SCBAs, that came on the original N2IT. The UNs have a storage capacity of 486 cubic feet at 5,000 pounds per square inch of pressure.

The new tanks also are more user-friendly, Goralski said.

“The old SCBA cylinder needed to be changed out more frequently,” he said. “The UN cylinder does not need to be changed at all; it just needs to be tested and recertified after 10 years of operation.”

The N2IT XL also is easier for operators to use, according to Dennis Paul, the company’s product sales manager. “It offers signal control timers for shut-off pins and shut-off nozzles, which makes it easier for the operators,” he said. “They can control everything from one screen. The N2IT did not offer this.”

Air flows into the N2IT XL system from a compressed air source, and nitrogen is separated from oxygen in the shop air through air-separation membranes. Resin is injected into the mold and the N2IT XL supplies the precise amount of nitrogen into the mold to create a consistent, repeatable process, he said. Nitrogen fills the cavity while maintaining a consistent pressure to form the shape of the part as it cools.

Using a proprietary feature called True Track Ramping, Goralski said, “we are able to precisely control the rate of pressure increase and decrease at any time during a cycle.” True Track Ramping allows users to increase or reduce gas pressure at any rate they desire and can help eliminate the possibility of defects such as hesitation lines, or the permeation of the gas into unwanted areas of a part.

The N2IT XL comes with a three-stage, air-cooled reciprocating compressor; very durable air-separation membranes; electric motor with belt drive; a 7-inch Siemens touch screen; nitrogen purity monitoring; an integrated storage vessel; and multiple pressure sensors. It has an operating temperature range from 40 degrees Fahrenheit to 113 degrees Fahrenheit and provides pressure of up to 4,500 pounds per square inch gauge (psig). Its capacity is 5 cubic feet per minute at 98 percent purity.

BAUER CONNECT

Bauer Connect is mobile technology that can be deployed with any of the company’s products, including gas-assist technology. It integrates the Bauer compressor system — including systems such as flow meters and miscellaneous sensors — into the Bauer Cloud. From the Bauer Cloud, the company offers customers many ways to view critical system performance data in real-time through tables, graphs and charts. Users also can remotely control their systems through the internet.

Bauer Connect allows users to work remotely and provides them with the tools they need to make sense of data. It can generate customized reports providing information on variables such as gas volumetric flow for any given time period. Using artificial intelligence and information stored on the Bauer Cloud, Bauer Connect can perform advanced data analytics to predict maintenance cycles and potential system faults. Specific features include the Bauer Remote HMI function, a Bauer Mobile smartphone app and a predictive analytics algorithm.

“If process control is critical, you can analyze pressure profiles over time to see if there are any unusual spikes and/or fluctuations during process operation that could help optimize that process,” Pruss said. “When deployed with our control units, users can potentially analyze pressure fluctuations to identify inconsistencies that may be signs of upcoming component failure — this would allow them to address the situation before it escalates and possibly causes downtime. In the future, it may even be possible for customers to change gas-assist profiles remotely via Bauer Connect. For those customers that also utilize our nitrogen compressor and/or nitrogen generator technology, users can also monitor nitrogen purity to ensure that molding processes are optimized, and proactively avoid interruptions in service.”

The Bauer Remote HMI function allows personnel to remotely operate and control all aspects of the compressor system. It’s interactive and replicates the functionality of the compressor system’s HMI.

The Bauer Mobile smartphone app provides compressor performance indicators in real time. The dashboard displays information such as compressor system status, error log, pressures, temperatures and volume of gas dispensed. The information can be monitored from any smartphone or internet-connected computer.

Bauer’s predictive analytics algorithm uses artificial intelligence to analyze the collected system information on the Bauer Cloud to predict upcoming maintenance requirements and identify preventive actions to avoid unplanned shutdowns. These predictive actions and alerts can be sent to mobile devices as push notifications.

Bruce Adams, senior staff reporter

[email protected]

Contact:

Bauer Compressors Inc.  Norfolk, Va., 757-855-6006,

www.bauercomp.com