All elements required for control and automatic monitoring such as push buttons, contactors, thermal relays for the pump motor, circuit breakers as well as the temperature controller are housed in the unit’s switch box.

Temperature control uses a PID controller with heat-neutral-cool settings. The electronics are so designed that heating and cooling signals cannot be activated at the same time. This makes the controller extremely energy efficient.

When using semi-conductor contactors, the automatic safety devices and/or fuses cut the power supply in the event of an overload or short circuit within the protected component (e.g. heater). A special feature of these universal units is that there is a ball valve in the unit that can be used to shut off automatic water refilling. When operating the unit with oil, this ensures that no water enters the system if the oil level gets too low.

Units with reservoir heating feature affordable prices and a simple design. When using water, the inlet temperature is limited to 90 °C due to evaporation. When using oil, the maximum recommend inlet temperature is 150 °C. Oil oxidation is the process whereby radicals appear that can then cause polymers and acids to form through several chemical processes when exposed to oxygen and heat. These polymers in the oil can result in increased viscosity and the oil taking on a brown colour. Gray-black changes in colour can occur when temperatures are even higher and without influence from oxygen. The molecular structure of the oil is broken up by this process. These reactions happen very quickly in components that are subject to high thermal loads (heaters, under certain conditions in the mould, or during the process). Products that result from the thermal breakdown of the oil are often insoluble and can lead to deposits forming that are very difficult to remove. Thermal breakdown sees the long molecular structures of the oil broken up into shorter molecules. These shorter molecules evaporate much more quickly, thus lowering the flash point and causing a strong odour to appear.

Tool-Temp places great value on ensuring robust construction. This means that the housing of all models is fully enclosed so that zero contamination through dirt from the floor can take place. Heaters are placed under minimal load and the ratio of load on the heating surface to flow rate is optimised. Critical components such as coolers and flow rate sensors are produced in our own facilities.

Despite their simple design, the universal temperature control units can be fitted out with a wide range of functions. These provide significant support to the operator in carrying out their daily work. Automatic mould evacuation, digital flow monitoring and vacuum operation can be integrated into the units as well as external temperature regulation or digital interfaces.

The range of possible applications for the universal temperature control units is extremely broad. They can be used for tool tempering in die casting as well as for zone heating in extruders or small rollers.