The APZ 357 B type knock-off separating drum with the planetary central adjustment developed by MTF Technik is one of the easiest and fastest adjustable separating systems in the MTF separation program. Compared to the basic model PZ 357 B, it features a reversible drive and often a knock-off medium in combination with a catch plate at the drum outlet.

In addition to the actual separation process, the knock-off drum also serves, in the first step, to break existing connections between the good part and the sprue, i.e., to "knock off" the parts from the sprue. Depending on the part geometry and the "toughness" of the connection, it is sometimes sufficient for the components to be separated from the sprue by the rotation of the drum cage and the falling processes within the cage. For more stubborn joints, it is sometimes necessary for a knocking medium (e.g., a piece of hardwood, a plastic or steel pipe, a brush roller, etc.) to fall regularly onto the components. This knocking medium rests loosely in the drum cage. To prevent the knocking medium from falling out of the drum cage, an adjustable catch plate is mounted at the outlet end. A reversing control rotates the drum cage alternately clockwise and counterclockwise to precisely direct the discharge medium onto the parts. The APZ 357 B discharge roller separator drum consists of a drum cage with twelve pairs of rollers, which can be easily and quickly adjusted to new part geometries via a central adjustment mechanism. Between the roller pairs, this results in 12 separating slots with a continuously adjustable opening width between 3 mm and 53 mm. The length of the separating slot is approximately 700 mm (optionally also 500 mm, 1,000 mm, or 1,200 mm). The rollers are available in PVC, galvanized steel, or stainless steel. Two rollers are connected to each other in pairs via a belt. Another belt is stretched across the entire drum cage, so that when the cage rotates, all rollers rotate in opposite directions. This special feature of the MTF design significantly reduces the tendency for parts to jam and considerably improves separation performance compared to rigid rods. The drum cage is loosely mounted on four wheels, one of which serves as the drive wheel, powered by a high-torque planetary geared motor. The wheels are mounted in a welded subframe lined with anodized aluminum sheets, which guide the smaller parts below the drum cage into containers. Depending on the desired application, the sheets can optionally be made of stainless steel or galvanized sheet metal with various surface finishes. All adjustments to the separating drum regarding height, inclination, size of the separating gap, inclination and position of the infeed chute, etc., can be made without tools and in seconds. Thus, the separator can be used extremely flexibly and is the first choice, especially for a wide range of parts with many changeover processes. In particular, for die-cast parts, the separating drums can be additionally equipped with a soundproof enclosure if required to reduce noise emissions.