Auger conveyor assembly for heating and feeding polymer coated powder to the shuttle of a compacting press

摘要

An auger conveyor assembly for heating and feeding polymer coated powder from a powder supply assembly to a shuttle assembly for ultimate delivery to the die cavity of a compacting press. The auger conveyor has an auger tube having near its rearward end an inlet connected to the powder supply assembly and near its forward end an outlet for delivery of heated polymer coated powder to the shuttle assembly. A hollow tubular auger with flights on its exterior surface is rotatably mounted in the auger tube and is rotatable therein by a motor and gear assembly to advance the polymer coated powder. For the majority of its length the auger tube is surrounded by ceramic band heaters. An air heater is mounted on a manifold at the driven end of the auger. An air tube connected to the manifold extends through the length of the auger. The tube has perforations at the discharge end of the auger. Compressed air is heated and blown through the air tube and passes through the air tube perforations, returning to the manifold via the annular space between the air tube and the auger and exiting the manifold through a muffler to atmosphere. Heating the annular column of polymer coated powder from both the inside and outside, together with the mixing action of the auger provides better and more controlled heating of the polymer coated powder and increases throughput of the auger conveyor assembly.