[May 2005]

Emerson Helps Italian Supplier to Automate Ceramic Colour Blending

Emerson Process Management (Austin, TX, USA) has applied its Micro Motion(r) Coriolis technology to enable Euroelettra Sistemi SpA - a leader in the automation of ceramics production from Italy - to design a skid-mounted blending system for ceramic slip and colouring materials. Euroelettra customers have experienced up to 30% improvement in production quality by using the new skid systems that enable actual blending of batches of the ceramic raw materials to take place immediately at the time of use, compared to the traditional approach of mixing and maintaining mass quantities for use over extended periods.

Using the technology and measurement accuracy of the Micro Motion Coriolis flowmeter from Emerson, Euroelettra can now consistently monitor and control both the density and flow rate of the components being blended. Emerson said that the technique was likely to revolutionise the production of coloured ceramics, previously in its opinion based on craft rather than science.

The skid blending system has reportedly brought significant productivity and efficiency benefits when introduced to companies that had been using the traditional approach. In one of the first production installations at a manufacturer of floor and wall tiles, the benefits included:

• Major savings in production space required, since mixing tanks are not required when the blending is done only at the time of use.
  
• Electricity and water consumption is reduced due to elimination of the requirement for continuous agitation and significantly reduced cleaning.
  
• Production repeatability and consistency have reached a level of 90%, compared to a maximum of 70% previously, this owing to the close control over the colour mixing.
  
  www.emersonprocess.com
  
  
  
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