MECGIANT 8.6 METERS
The MecGiant vacuum dryer presents a number of technical improvements that, while simple, allow to significantly reduce energy and maintenance costs, as compared to other similar plants. The maintenance experience has also allowed us to limit the consumption of the parts subject to wear, cutting off the production of industrial waste.
How Does a Vacuum Dryer Work?
A vacuum dryer is made up of various tables, ranging from a minimum of 1 to a maximum of 8. On these tables, the leathers are laid to be dried. The tables in question have inside them a coil full of hot water, which heats the surface, and hence the leathers. Temperature alone, however, is not enough to dry the leather, and here the vacuum comes into play. During operations, the tables go to rest against each other and, thanks to special plastic gaskets and covers, the surface where the leathers lie is hermetically sealed. Once the table is closed, the vacuum generation system intervenes, by dramatically lowering the pressure in the environment where the leathers are located (from ambient pressure of 1 bar, to almost zero absolute with 5 milliBar). This lowers the boiling temperature of the water molecules present in the leather to such an extent that it can dry completely at 36 ° – 40 ° C, preserving its quality.
What are the advantages of the MecGiant Vacuum Drying System compared to other similar systems?
1) The first advantage offered by MecGiant compared to other vacuum dryers lies in the size of the tables. To date, the maximum size of a table was 7 mt x 3.4 mt. Structural innovations we designed allow us to provide machines with longer plans, up to 8.6 mt. These lengths allow an increase in production from 20% to 50% while maintaining the same management costs compared to a standard size machine.
2) The second advantage comes from the constructional specifications of the vacuum dryers. The metal sheets that make up the tables have 50% more thickness than our competitors, while the table itself contains a larger mass of hot water. The greater insulation due to increased thicknesses, and the greater thermal mass, determine a better capacity to maintain heat. Once the tables have been heated, the reduced heat losses allow for heating savings that empirical data have placed between 10% and 20%.
3) To date, most vacuum generation systems worked on oil. Our IceVacuum system, integrated in the vacuum dryer MecGiant, works on water instead. This brings a decrease in management costs (purchasing and refilling of oil costs around € 250 per year) and environmental costs, considering the disposal of oil and the potential for leakage to the environment.
4) The IceVacuum system gets a vacuum so deep that it allows drying at very low temperatures. This allows to work with lower temperatures (36 ° – 40 ° C against 70 ° – 80 ° C of less advanced alternatives) thus significantly reducing heating costs.
Vacuum drying at high temperatures (higher than 60 ° C) leads to considerable reduction in leather size due to the shrinking of its fibers. Using the vacuum dryer MecGiant this problem is eliminated due to the low temperatures. A rather important detail is that using a high efficiency vacuum system allows you to get higher quality leather (high temperatures ruins the leather), allowing increases in sales prices and reducing drying time, making the production process faster.
5) All the metal components of the vacuum and water circuits are made of stainless steel (condensators, valves, cups, collectors …), instead of cheaper alternatives used by other manufacturers (iron, brass …). This ensures a longer life, with considerable savings for the customer and reduction in the production of industrial waste (these spare parts cannot be recovered). The rubber tubing arrangement leads to less attrition, compared with those of the competition, allowing for longer use.
In summary::
1) The increase in work size allows an increase in production resulting in lower average costs.
2) Thicker planks and more water content reduce heat dispersion and consequent management costs.
3) Water vacuum pump saves oil usage, avoids disposal problems and possible leakages.
4) A more efficient vacuum pump involves: a) lower heating consumption; b) no leather surface loss; c) higher product quality; d) faster working times.
5) Stainless steel components and pipes management make for less maintenance and less industrial waste.