NEW BERLIN, Wis., April 29, 2020 — (PRNewswire) — AEC, building on its tradition of offering innovative solutions to the plastics industry, is excited to announce BlendTrac^®, a new software program for data automation of gravimetric blenders. BlendTrac Software collects useful data to help factories use raw materials in a smarter way. This powerful software is used to centralize inventory control, optimize quality and reduce labor and material costs. BlendTrac aggregates and presents blending data in a way that helps your operators make well informed decisions and reduce errors.

Centralize Inventory Control
Gravimetric blenders are used by almost any injection molder or extruder. A key role in operations is to make sure quality parts are produced and plants have the inventory to keep running. AEC's software program, BlendTrac, solves both issues by bringing inventory monitoring to a central computer system while adding additional data monitoring to optimize quality and reduce expenses. BlendTrac can look at multiple blenders within a facility or even machines all over the country, offering those in the plastics industry an easier, more efficient way to manage inventory. "The primary benefit of BlendTrac is labor cost savings. Because, with BlendTrac, operators do not have to run around to each blender, manually monitoring and aggregating the inventory of every blender" says Michael Gersmeyer, Senior Product Manager. "The software remotely tracks the materials in each blender's hopper so an operator can efficiently check material usage and make informed purchasing decisions."

Optimize Quality
BlendTrac is designed to help aggregate and present the data in a way that helps operators make blending decisions and reduce errors when manually adjusting recipes. Compatible with Windows 10, this software can monitor and control up to 100 A-B BD and OA Batch Weigh Blenders. It can also log up to 1,000 alarms per blender and up to 5,000 consecutive batch weights. Designed to be intuitive and easy to use, BlendTrac stores an infinite number of recipes and offers the ability to download recipes to blenders from the recipe book. Additionally, it can automatically generate time and date stamped reports on an hourly basis and track material reference numbers as well as lot numbers and silo numbers. This can help link material usage and specific jobs if a quality issue arises with a certain resin lot.

Save Labor & Material Costs
Operators are always looking at ways to increase productivity while keeping a high level of quality. With tight monitoring, operators can utilize BlendTrac to reduce part costs by reducing the use of expensive additives. For example, a job may specify a 4% set point of additive with a 1% allowed tolerance. With the useful information BlendTrac provides, operators can adjust the process and stay close to the low tolerance limit of 3%, reducing expensive additive usage. This will reduce part cost and increase profitability for a company. "When an operator or plant manager has useful data at their fingertips, they can make sound decisions that reduce costs and increase profitability. BlendTrac is really powerful for a plastics processor because it provides useful data on material usage and the blending process," says Gersmeyer.

BlendTrac can be added to new AEC Batch Weigh Blenders or installed with older versions. To learn more, visit https://www.aecinternet.com and connect with the AEC technical sales team.

About AEC

Since 1957, AEC has developed a reputation for being a leader in supplying the plastics industry with innovative solutions. In addition to offering a broad portfolio of packaged and central chillers, the company is also known for blending, drying, and conveying, serving a wide range of process industries. With a dedication to high quality products and services, on-time delivery, and cost effective solutions, AEC proudly offers solutions tailored to meet the needs of their clients.

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SOURCE AEC