Why is precise dosing so important in the plastics industry?

Because formulations and material properties are directly related. Even small deviations in additives, masterbatches, or fillers can alter appearance, processability, and component properties.

What advantages does gravimetric dosing offer over volumetric dosing?

Gravimetric dosing measures the actual mass and automatically accounts for material fluctuations—which is particularly helpful when dealing with varying bulk densities or changing batches.

Can powders and granules be processed using a single system?

Depending on the design, yes: There are dosing systems that can be used for both powders and granules, using either volumetric or gravimetric methods.

How does DEMIC support the addition of small amounts of additives?

Thanks to high-resolution weighing technology and dynamic control, even small amounts of additives can be precisely incorporated into larger material flows—in a stable and reproducible manner.

How can recipe changes be implemented more quickly?

Configurable control and operating concepts allow for structured material and recipe changes—with less manual readjustment and reduced downtime.

Plastics Industry – Precision Dosing and Control Solutions

Q: Are DEMIC solutions also suitable for existing plants?

Yes. In many cases, metering and control technology can be integrated into existing lines to improve accuracy, process stability, and transparency.

Q: In which areas of plastics processing are dosing devices typically used?

Among other areas, in plastics processing itself (e.g., extrusion, compounding), where defined material quantities are required to ensure consistent quality.

Challenges and Solutions in the Plastics Industry

Challenge ➢ Formulation Consistency & Material Consistency

In plastics processing, the formulation is the product: The interaction between the base polymer, additives, pigments, and fillers determines flow behavior, strength, color, and surface quality. In practice, however, raw material qualities can vary—especially with recycled materials or fluctuating supply batches. Differences in bulk density, particle size, or material flow lead to uneven feeding, unstable throughput rates, and consequently to deviations in the mixing ratio.

In continuous processes in particular, such fluctuations have an immediate impact: dimensional accuracy, viscosity, color stability, or mechanical properties can quickly drift out of the target range—often without being immediately apparent. This leads to unstable process windows, increased scrap, and time-consuming rework. In addition, frequent changes in materials and formulations increase the effort required for process control, prolong startup and changeover times, and make it difficult to achieve consistently reproducible quality across shifts and batches.

The DEMIC Solution

Gravimetric dosing systems continuously measure the actual mass flow and automatically compensate for deviations. This ensures that fluctuations in density or flow properties are not “produced along with the product” but are actively compensated for—a decisive advantage over purely volumetric methods.
For gravimetric dosing systems based on the “loss-in-weight” principle, the DE-CON/U controllers handle the control and weighing tasks and also manage the upstream refilling process—ensuring stable, reproducible process control.

Challenge ➢ Precise addition of additives and fillers

Additives, color masterbatches, blowing agents, UV stabilizers, or flame retardants often need to be incorporated into a larger material stream in small, precisely defined quantities. Even minimal deviations can lead to visible color variations, inhomogeneities, altered processing properties, or increased scrap.

At the same time, as the variety of product variants increases, systems must support rapid recipe changes—without long downtimes and without compromising dosing accuracy.

In addition, different requirements arise depending on the material form: granules are often conveyed differently than powders or fibrous components. In many applications, therefore, dosing devices and control systems must be coordinated so that they operate reliably with both stable standard formulations and varying additive packages.

THE DEMIC SOLUTION

High-precision weighing technology combined with dynamic process control enables the precise addition of even the most demanding components—either continuously or in batches. Depending on the application, dosing systems for powders and granules can be used flexibly, for example as a universal dosing solution for volumetric and gravimetric dosing.
DEMIC dosing devices are used in applications such as plastics processing and are designed to ensure consistent quality and efficient processes.

Solutions: Intelligent dosing and control technology for stable plastics processing

Precisely coordinated dosing and control systems are crucial for the reliable processing of granules, masterbatches, fillers, and additives. In compounding and extrusion in particular, it is essential to continuously monitor and actively control mass flow and material flow—ensuring that formulations remain stable even when raw material quantities fluctuate.

Gravimetric dosing combined with intelligent control technology forms the basis for this: It not only measures conveying capacity but also records the actual amount of material fed in and immediately compensates for deviations. This increases process stability and product quality—while simultaneously reducing scrap rates and improving resource utilization.

With the modular DEMIC approach, dosing devices, control systems, load cell measurement, drive technology, and operator interfaces can be combined to suit the specific application—from precise additive flow to robust main material throughput.

Ansprechpartner von DEMIC Datentechnik GmbH

Your Contacts

Björn Demmer

Partner - Managing Director

PHONE: 02247 918 90
EMAIL: bdemmer(at)demic-datentechnik.de

Heinz Demmer

Partner - Managing Director

PHONE: 02247 918 90
EMAIL: hdemmer(at)demic-datentechnik.de

FAQs About the Plastics Industry

Because the formulation and material properties are directly related. Even minor variations in additives, masterbatch, or fillers can alter the appearance, processability, and component properties.

Gravimetric dosing measures the actual mass and automatically accounts for material variations—which is particularly helpful when dealing with varying bulk densities or changing batches.

In the loss-in-weight principle, the mass flow is determined and controlled based on the change in weight at the feeder. This enables very stable, continuous dosing.

Through continuous mass flow measurement and adaptive control, fluctuations in the material flow can be actively compensated for, ensuring that the mixing ratio remains stable.

Depending on the design, yes: There are dosing systems that can be used for both volumetric and gravimetric dosing of powders and granules.

Thanks to high-resolution weighing technology and dynamic control, even small amounts can be precisely incorporated into larger material flows—in a stable and reproducible manner.

It keeps the dosing process stable by appropriately controlling the upstream refill process, thereby reducing dosing interruptions or control deviations.

Configurable control and operating concepts enable material and recipe changes to be carried out in a structured manner—with less manual readjustment and reduced downtime.

Yes. In many cases, dosing and control technology can be integrated into existing lines to improve accuracy, process stability, and transparency.

Among other things, in plastics processing itself (e.g., extrusion, compounding), where defined material quantities are necessary to ensure consistent quality.