Material Management Unit (MMU)
Material preparation is key to producing accurate, repeatable and consistent results. Do you know the characteristics of your material? Do you know at what state it performs its best? Here is a list of questions we’re frequently asked and the answers our experience has provided us. Please note these answers are to help you choose what material is the best for your application; you should always consult with your material provider for these answers if you do not know the answers.
A couple of questions you should ask about the material:
- Should I use a filler?
- How thick is the material I need to dispense?
- Which Machine best solves your needs?
- Does my material need to be de-gassed or de-aired?
- Does my material need heating?
- Does my material need to be agitated?
- How long does pre-conditioning the material take before it’s ready for dispensing?
Does my material need to be de-gassed?
The first rule is to ask your material manufacturer if they recommend degassing/de-airing of your material. Some materials require degassing/de-airing prior to dispensing; others may not. If your material shot size needs to be perfect to the milligram, you want to investigate degassing/de-airing.
- Manual mixing introduces air in mixing and dispensing; there are bubbles both inside the material and on the top from pouring.
- Fluid Research’s Material Management Unit™ is an air-tight solution; where no air will be introduced in the mixing or dispensing of the product. However, degassing may still be needed if your material has a specification where the materials need to be dispensed in a specific consistency or you want a complete “airless” dispense.
Does my material need heating?
Most materials perform differently at different temperatures; there are many variables in play to decide if you need your material to be heated to a consistent temperature.
- Where is your production facility located? If you are in a climate where there is a temperature variance, you may need your materials to be heated.
- If you store your material outdoors prior to dispense preparation; you may need your materials to be heated.
- Does the product you are dispensing into have several ledges, angles, and nooks? If so, a warmer material generally is less viscous and fills all sections quicker and more efficient.
- If your material requires special care for dispensing; it is likely your material will need to be heated to a certain temperature prior to dispensing.
- Does my material need to be a specific temperature?
Does my material need to be agitated?
Agitation is the constant stirring of your material prior to dispensing. Most materials will need some type of agitation, depending up on their application and their
- If your material requires heating, you most likely will also need agitation; otherwise the material located nearest to the heater will get extremely warm while the outlying portions may not. Similar to a convection oven, the agitation ensures consistent material temperature throughout the entire unit.
- If you use a filler in your material; you may need agitation; fillers tend to settle at the bottom of a dispensing tank; without agitation, you may experience inconsistent dispense cycles from varying filler ratios.
- Many materials require agitation to maintain specific mixture levels to prevent stratifications
How long does my material take to condition?
Every material performs differently at varying temperatures. If all materials performed exactly the same, material selection would be a simple process. Some materials can be heated and degassed in a matter of minutes while others take overnight to condition for the next day.