Maximized mill efficiency through innovative in-line flow measurement

Throughput measurement via microwaves

Hellweg Maschinenbau, a globally active manufacturer of digitally controlled shredding machines for efficient, energy-saving plastics recycling, is now integrating smart flow online flow measurement into its systems and will present this innovative option at K 2025 in Hall 11, Booth C39. It complements the information already available via Hellweg's Smart Control machine control system, including bearing temperatures, rotational speed, and power consumption. Together, this provides a solid, reliable foundation for Hellweg's next step: the integration of self-learning AI modules. These modules will calculate the optimal balance between material properties and feed rate, required power, and throughput at every moment of mill operation. The control system will then automatically adjust the machine parameters for maximum energy efficiency without any operator intervention.

This integration will allow the system to automatically adjust the machine parameters without requiring personnel intervention. Managing Director Mark Hellweg explains: “The importance of the grinding process for successful recycling is unfortunately still far too often underestimated. In fact, the energy consumption of the mills used for this purpose is not fixed on the nameplate. It is a variable that can be adjusted to the specific requirements of a particular material flow at any given time. Digitizing the relevant parameters, including the mass flow rate, is an essential prerequisite for AI to perform the desired optimization in order to reduce energy consumption and thus contribute to a reduced CO2 footprint for the mills.”

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