What is more eye-catching in a store than colorful products lining the shelves?  Especially when the consumer goes into a new season, they shop for new décor, perhaps new outdoor furniture, new toys for the children, you name it.  But nothing wrecks a brand more than having a product experience color fade or for there to be inconsistencies in a batch of product on a shelf.  People are not necessarily experts in manufacturing, but they can certainly tell when something seems “off.”  How do you avoid color issues?  By finding a better method of mixing your colorants in a melt stream.

Working with polymers presents some specific problems.  As they are sensitive to shear forces, their viscosity is dependent on the shear rate of their exposure in the mixer.  Dramatic drops in pressure, as some older mixers are wont to do, can create uneven flow and result in a batch of color that isn’t consistent throughout.  At that point, one can either start all over and pray for a different result or take a closer look at the equipment.  Older mixers have a churning function that isn’t as efficient at mixing product, particularly with a trickier component like color polymers.

Static mixing solves problems of viscosity by creating a minimal drop in pressure during the melt stream so that viscosity is consistent throughout the stream.   A Komax mixer with the SIDD (Special Introduction and Distribution Device) is specifically designed to introduce and mix the colorants in a melt stream.  Six cylindrical pipes containing mixers allow the additive to flow over the cone at the top before entering one of six cylinders.

We are a consumer driven society attracted by colors.  When there is inconsistency in color, consumers associate the product with cheapness – and we don’t mean a good sale!  A static mixer helps ensure your products are consistent and professional with every batch of color.