It can be surprising to realize how much adhesive a hot melt drum melter leaves behind after it’s done pumping. This
waste doesn’t bother some manufacturers, but for others, it noticeably cuts into profits (especially with the rising cost of materials).
The good news is, it doesn’t have to be this way because, with a Uniflow drum unloader, you’re able to pump more from every barrel.
Let’s explore how a Uniflow pumps further down the drum, and how much money a more efficient machine can save you.
YOU’LL FIND SAVINGS INSIDE EVERY DRUM
A Uniflow offers many advantages for PSA and PUR adhesives applications, such as pumping 40% faster, speedy changeovers, and less maintenance. With our machines pumping to the bottom of the drum, you’re set to pump longer and with fewer barrel changes.
Here’s an example of how less waste saves big money.
Our competitors’ machines are done pumping when there are about 1.5 to 3 inches of leftover adhesive, about 20 to 40 lbs of waste. If you’re pumping PSA, it’s possible to remelt the leftovers. But with a moisture-cure adhesive (such as PUR), once it hardens, it’s done.
With PUR costing roughly $5/pound (and some selling for as much as $10 to $15/pound), a business could be tossing away $400/drum. Yikes.
Or, with a Uniflow, you could save nearly all of that money.
Uniflow drum unloaders pump nearly all the material out of each drum, typically leaving only 2 pounds or less in the bottom.
The more barrels of PUR a production line requires the more profits you keep. In fact, if you pump a lot of PUR, you should check this out, as savings with a Uniflow can be as much as $300K annually.
HOW A BETTER PLATEN GETS MORE FROM EACH BARREL
Customers expect their hot melt drum melters to run 8 to 24 hours/day for 20+ years. That’s a lot of wear and tear, and to survive, the machine must be built to last. Uniflow drum unloaders are a workhorse.
Our high-quality machines feature superior design, hardware, and software, giving you a material-savings advantage. Without a doubt, we out-pump the competition.
The unique design of our platens gets almost all adhesive out of the drum.
For instance, our Uniflow 4230 has a machined platen with nearly double the heat transfer surface of competing platens. The larger heat area provides a superior pump rate and a better melt pool so that a Uniflow leaves behind just 0.5% of the drum’s material.
CATCH DRIPS TO PROTECT PROFITS
Uniflow hot melt drum melters come with a drip tray. It’s a simple extra that we include, and we get lots of compliments on it.
When changing a drum, the operator raises the platen and the adhesive drips down. Our tray slides under the platen to catch those drippings. To keep life easy, we treat the tray with a non-stick coating so that the operator can strip off the drippings and (for a re-meltable product like PSA) drop them into the next full drum.
Capturing a pound of PSA here and there may not seem like much, but it adds up. At four drums a day, for 300 days a year, that’s an annual savings of about $4,000. Not too shabby for a simple drip tray.
AVOID LEAKS WITH SEG-O-SEALS
There’s nothing worse than losing a batch of adhesive to leaks. Once the air seeps in, the material starts to cure, which leads to waste. Our Seg-O-Seal system is excellent at preventing leaks and sealing adhesive from the atmosphere.
With Seg-O-Seal, there are two seals—one stacked above the other—to provide twice the protection against a leak. Our seals are about half the cost of competitors’ seals, last far longer, plus, if there’s a damaged section, a worker can replace them while the platen is hot.
PREVENT WASTEFUL DRUM RUPTURES
Drum leaks lead to costly material waste. While there are several reasons that a drum may split during use, the truth is, drum ruptures are all avoidable with the right equipment.
Exclusively using steel drums is the obvious (but expensive) solution. A steel drum will not split under pressure, even with a hydraulic hot melt drum melter. Fiber drums, on the other hand, sometimes require reinforcement.
If a fiber drum is damaged, it could leak or split under normal conditions. This is why we offer a stainless steel “clamshell” for fiber drums. It clamps around the drum, firmly supporting it to prevent splits. With these clamshells, you can pump without fear of rupturing the drum and wasting adhesive.
A UNIFLOW HOT MELT DRUM MELTER SAVES MORE MATERIAL AND MORE MONEY
Inferior hot melt drum melters could be wasting your adhesive bit by bit. These small losses add up. Waste could be unused adhesive hiding at the bottom of the barrel, small drips that aren’t reclaimed, or material that cures before it hits the production line (such as with drum leaks or ruptures).
A Uniflow machine stands above the competition, giving you faster-pumping speeds, greater uptime, and less material waste. Click below to see our case study that shows you how our machines pay for themselves
