 |
 |
||||||
[September 2003]
Advanced Viscosity Control Systems Use Eurotherm Solutions
Leading viscosity control company Fullbrook Systems offers a wide range of high accuracy solutions to measure, control and record the viscosity of printing inks and other coatings. In large scale multi-viscometer installations, the company has chosen to use Eurotherm control and data acquisition products for maximum flexibility. This approach allows systems consisting of 6, 8, 10 or more linked viscometers to be operated from one central touch screen control unit.
Viscosity control in printing and coating is important for a number of reasons, including product consistency, quality and consumption of raw materials. During a production run, solvent or water will naturally evaporate, often aided by dryers and heaters on the machine and, as a result, viscosity of the coating will naturally increase over time. This gradual increase manifests itself as an increase in coat weight and colour strength. By accurately controlling the viscosity of the coating, both the colour strength and coat weight will remain consistent throughout the run.
Trying to manually control the process can often lead to a series of see-saws in viscosity and the resulting colour of the finished product. Accurate viscosity control using precision viscometers enables solvent to be added in discreet amounts and avoids large swings in the fluid viscosity.
For large scale systems, Fullbrook has chosen to incorporate a combination of Eurotherm's Visual Supervisor controllers, 2500 System I/O controllers, 5000 Series Data Recorders and 2000 Series PID controllers, depending upon the application. This choice was made on the basis of product flexibility, system compatibility and the ability to provide high accuracy solutions to different customer requirements. Eurotherm systems are also supported by a comprehensive applications and engineering infrastructure.
www.eurotherm.co.ukwww.fullbrook.com
ENDS