Hopper Block
Traditional hopper casting designs with integral cooling commonly plug up due to calcium deposits that restrict cooling. These hopper castings also require bore scoping to assure proper barrel alignment.
The R. Dray Hopper Block was designed to replace these antiquated hopper castings. The two piece construction allows for easy cleaning and the barrel to extend to the thrust housing, utilizing an extended bimetallic inlay, reducing wear and eliminating alignment issues.
How the Hopper Block Works
The Dray Hopper Block design replaces hopper casting designs that incorporate brass sleeves and integral cooling. Hopper casting designs commonly plug up with calcium deposits that restricts or eliminates the cooling. They also require bore scoping to assure proper alignment.
The Dray Hopper Block design is of two-piece construction with integral cooling. The cooling ports are designed to be able to be easily cleaned. As the Hopper Block design clamps around the barrel, the barrel extends to the thrust housing. This eliminates the need for bore scoping and only requires leveling the barrel for alignment. With the barrel extending to the thrust housing the bimetallic inlay extends under the hopper, eliminating wear in this area.
The Dray Hopper Block design has been used in numerous extrusion and injection molding applications for over 20 years. To date there has never been a request for replacement.
Traditional Hopper Casting Trouble
Traditional hopper casting designs are bulky and antiquated. These designs can be difficult to clean, typically rely on brass sleeves as a wear component, and require bore scoping for proper alignment. With the R. Dray Hopper Block, there is no need for bore scoping for alignment, 2 piece construction allows for easy cleaning, and the barrel is extended to the thrust housing - utilizing the hard bimetallic inlay for extended wear-life!