Granulator II is a Max4Live synthesizer based on the principle of quasi-synchronous granular synthesis. It creates a constant stream of short crossfading sections of the source sample, and the pitch, position and volume of each grain can be modulated in many ways to create a great variety of interesting sounds.

Granulator Ii Ableton
Granulator Industry
Granulator Infeed Conveyor For Heads And Tails
Granular Synthesis Ableton

Granulator MK II

TRAP 4: A GRANULATOR THAT IS OVER-FED. Many processors seemingly try to destroy their granulator not long after receiving it, in the name of “testing the limits” of what the capacity of the granulator really is. Your granulator was sized for a particular application and, hopefully, it is still used in that same application.
The recovery of blowing scrap is entrusted to granulators and shredders built with several variants and customised according to customer requirements. This blowing scrap comes from processing swarf obtained during an industrial process, in which a portion of cylindrical shaped resin is expanded by blowing compressed air inside a hollow mould.
Granulator II is a Max For Live synthesizer based on the principle of quasi-synchronous granular synthesis. It creates a constant stream of short crossfading sections of the source sample, and the pitch, position and volume of each grain can be modulated in many ways to create a great variety of interesting sounds.
Granulate is a powerful granular manipulation engine for transforming any audio file into a range of pads, drones, textures and rhythmic sounds. Choose from over 80 inspiring presets, or import your own audio for limitless possibilities. Runs in Kontakt 5.1 or above.

Sound data recording setup

Background and Introduction[edit | edit source]

This project was developed mainly by Walker Nelson Peter Gorecki, who finished their capstone design project through Michigan Technological University in 2016. Since its publishing, the Granulator design and assembly itself has not changed, but information regarding the power consumption while granulating different thermoplastics has been researched.This Wiki page contains a link to the website where the project files and initial description are hosted, and updates for this project for the future. Cubase elements 6 trial.

All relevant files[edit | edit source]

As said in the Background and Introduction; all original files (CAD, construction, report, simulation) can be accessed on this site *plastic granulator

Files relating to power consumption, or noise reduction are located on this page

Fall 2019[edit | edit source]

Granulator Ii Ableton

After feedback on the design we will be redesigning portions of the granulator to improve the machines efficiency. The main change we will be looking at making will to have a pipe that encloses the granulation blades for 270 degrees of rotation. Other improvements such as particle collection, material change over and hopefully increase the material capabilities.

Spring 2019[edit | edit source]

Work done on the Granulator MK II in the spring semester of 2019 can be accredited to Sean Scsavnicki, Arvind Ravindran. Faculty who aided this project during this time include Shane Oberlier, Dr. Pearce, and Paul Fraley.

Power Consumption[edit | edit source]

With the aid of Shane Oberlier, an open-source printed circuit board and arduino nano were attached to the power supply to measure the power output of the granulator MKII while it was processing different materials. During each of the power recording sessions, thermoplastic was inserted at a rate the granulator MKII can handle. This rate is not measured, as it highly depends on the geometry and density of the inserted plastic.

This data was processed and its results appear below in a table

PLA (Polylactic Acid)	PETE (Polyethylene terephthalate)
Average power consumption	403.6488 W	383.9109 W

Noise Reduction[edit | edit source]

Recently, noise has been a big concern of the granulator MKII owing to the needs of power consumption and safety. To enhance adoption of the granulator by more people, it was decided to undertake noise control measures and make the device operate with reasonable noise tolerance.

Sound data recording setup

Tests were performed to find the sound pressure levels of the granulator MKII system including the auxiliary devices such as the vacuum pump. It was determined that the vacuum pump was the loudest source with a distinct 250 Hz octave band frequency wherein the levels were significantly higher. Panel gaps in the enclosure for the granulator provides leakage paths for the sound and hence it was decided to seal these gaps appropriately. The inner lining of the walls were packed with foam to increase transmission loss between the source and the surrounding.

Granulator holes filled with soundproof material

Using the sound data that was collected, dimensions were found for an expansion chamber that could be attached to the 5-gallon bucket shop vacuum, and a 3D model was produced to utilize the leftover PVC and a 3D printer. The CAD file is linked here, and the construction of the expansion chamber is described in this section. As 250Hz was the chosen frequency band for attenuation, the double tuned expansion chamber design was chosen as it provides good transmission loss around the frequency of interest while having good attenuation around the octave bands as well. However, the muffler aids in low frequency attenuation and by lining the inner walls of the muffler with fiberglass foam, we can achieve in higher frequency range as well.

Granulator Industry

CAD comparison between chamber and 5-gallon bucket vacuum

CAD photo of construction

Construction[edit | edit source]

Start by printing these four files, one of which (Middle_1_2x) must be printed twice as it is used twice, and cut two 8.7122 inch sections from the schedule 40 6' ID PVC used in the construction of the granulator. You will need some 1.5' or less thick fiberglass insulation as well and a hot glue gun.

Once everything is cut and printed start assembling the expansion chamber. First, get the Inside_half_of_Vacuum_half and glue it to the middle of the flat part of the Vacuum_half. Next, glue this onto one of the pipe segments with the smaller hole facing out. Next, insert the fiberglass insulation inside the chamber. To finish the first half, glue one Middle_1_2x with the long bit facing towards the inside of the chamber.

To start the second half, glue in the Middle_2 on the other pipe section, with the tube part facing inside and use fiberglass insulation to fill the inside around the walls. To finish the second half, glue in the other Middle_1_2x with the tube facing inside the chamber.

To complete the expansion chamber, glue both parts together, where the Middle_2 is matched with the Middle_1_2x on the first one.

Finished Expansion Chamber

File:Inside half of Vacuum half.SCAD

The modifications to the granulator were verified with sound level measurements and the following results were found:

1) Compared to the earlier design, a 4dB overall reduction in sound levels was achieved with attenuation at the 250Hz band particularly.

2) As the focus of the noise reduction was concentrated towards the vacuum, 5 dB reduction was achieved here.

3) Only marginal reduction in the granulator noise levels were achieved and this was possibly due to existing panel gaps in the enclosure. They were not sealed off due to ease of access.

Suggestions for Improvement[edit | edit source]

1) Highe