Mr. Schmidt, please briefly list the advantages of the 1.7 mm pellets over the larger pellets.
These so-called micropellets can be used in a variety of blasting machines and ensure an even finer blasting experience without having to crush or grind the pellets first. This means that our customers and dry ice producers are now able to supply their blasting customers with an extensive range of different dry ice pellet sizes of the highest quality using the existing dry ice production.
How did the development of the new extruder plate proceed? What were the biggest challenges?
The 1.7 mm extruder plates were already available in the past for older ASCO pelletizers such as the A120P, so we were basically familiar with the development steps and designs. However, the biggest limitation to date has always been the significant reduction in the maximum production capacity of the pelletizers to less than 50% in some cases.
From the outset, our aim was to ensure that the new extruder plates could be used on all of our current pelletizers, from the P15i and P28i to the powerful P55i with two press chambers, and that the capacity restrictions would be minimal. This was the major challenge, as the capacities of these pelletizers differ greatly and therefore also exert different forces during the pressing process.
We were able to put this balancing act into practice with our many years of expertise and have only minor capacity restrictions (7 - 29 %, depending on the pelletizer) with the new extruder plates on the machines mentioned. Only a few producers on the market achieve this.
Where do you see opportunities for the future?
The ongoing optimization of our products and adaptation to customer requirements is only part of our work. We still see great potential in flexible solutions and a high degree of combinability of our dry ice production machines in systems. To this end, we are currently developing solutions that offer our customers a high degree of flexibility and reliability when setting up or expanding their dry ice production and also generate enormous added value with the latest technologies. Our customers will soon be able to look forward to one or two new products...
Alex Schmidt, Head of Product Management