With the power of the vacuum

What a dissolver takes six to eight hours to do, the Conti-TDS does in three minutes

If plastics are to be "refined" using conventional technology, several problems often arise. Traditional agitators or dissolvers do not wet powdery fillers singularly, but agglomerated. This cannot be avoided - it is the principle of these systems. Powders inside these agglomerates are not completely wetted. Later, these agglomerates can usually still be wetted internally due to capillary action, but only selectively. The liquid template usually consists of several components, e.g. resin and solvent. The powder always has a higher affinity to one component, such as the solvent. When the solvent evaporates during curing, the fillers are unwetted again, i.e. dry. This can often be seen in the finished product. It can even lead to indentations on the surface of molded parts. This is not acceptable for high-quality components. TDS machines are systems with which powders are sucked into liquids using an internally generated vacuum, wetted and dispersed in the liquid without agglomerates. The machines are available in different versions. The inline version of this machine, the Conti-TDS, is particularly important for powder application in plastics production. With this machine, powders can be sucked in directly from the bag, big bag, powder hopper or silo without dust or loss and wetted in the liquid. The Conti-TDS is installed outside the container and is connected to it via pipes in the circuit. No powder is poured onto the surface of the liquid. No bag has to be lifted onto the container. No dust sticks to the container wall, no powder is emptied onto the liquid surface in the presence of solvent vapors. Powder and liquid enter the machine via separate paths and only come into contact with each other in the dispersion zone. Dispersion takes place there under massive shearing action and vacuum. The powder therefore does not come into contact with solvent vapors above the liquid; it is always sucked directly into the liquid. The vacuum has an extraordinary effect: air expands under vacuum. The powder contains up to 98 % air. All particles are in flight in the powder that is sucked in and flows at high speed. During vacuum conveying, the vacuum in the powder increases steadily from the point of addition to the zone of maximum vacuum. The distances between the individual particles increase accordingly along the way. Pseudo-wetting is excluded. Dispersion qualities and solid concentrations can be produced that could never be achieved by stirring in via the liquid surface or with dissolvers. After powder application is complete, the powder inlet is closed. The Conti-TDS can then continue to be used as a normal inline disperser. It can be installed on existing tanks or in complete systems. Similar to a pump, it conveys the liquid independently in a circuit. The machine is often connected not just to a single container, but to two or more. Faster results with the Conti-TDS. The greatest time savings are achieved when dissolving resin powders or resin granules. The powder or granulate is completely wetted on first contact with the solvent. What a dissolver needs six to eight hours for, the Conti-TDS achieves in three minutes - with better quality.