Extrusion

Extrusion equipment suppliers strive to meet new needs of the marketplace.

While they continue upgrading speed, output and quality, they're also offering solutions to emerging demands in bioresin processing, medical extrusions, 3-D manufacturing, solar energy and more during NPE 2015 in Orlando, Fla.

Addex Inc. (Booth W3283): Integrated automatic air ring to retrofit existing auto-profile components. For its own blown film systems it has upgraded electronics and reduced maintenance needs.

Addex overhauled auto-profile hardware and software and increased the number of thickness measuring devices from the all lay-flat capacitive sensor in the collapsing frame to the IR scanner in the lay-flat which can discern barrier material.

A new Smart-Fusion distributed control is the only interconnection between major modules. A differently controlled Smart-Fusion blueboard distributes locally to each main function of gauge control. A new user-interface panel has a separate Ethernet channel for data mining and connection to other modules.

An upgraded Live Ring module has pre-made cables for plug-and-play connection. A new Shuttle Module is also plug-and-play.

The upgraded Mapper Module is near the reversing nip unit and provides a fully mapped thickness profile.

Three Auto-Profile systems will be on exhibit, one with all lay-flat capacitive sensor module, one with Kundig non-contact capacitive sensor and the other with an Addex Live Ring with the above upgrades.

Also on display will be the Digital Internal Bubble Cooling system with fast reaction time for precise bubble control.

ADG Solutions (Booth W6754): Highlighting new control programming on Fimic continuous, self-cleaning screen changers. The upgrade reduces the amount of polymer required to purge contaminants filtered from the process stream. The screen changers handle contaminated reclaim extrusion streams and other contaminated streams.

On display will be a ram stuffer feed section assembly suited for processing irregular shaped feedstock at high output.

Amut SpA (Booth W8371): Single- and twin-screw extruders. Complete extrusion lines.

Apex Engineering PLLC (Booth W164): Presenting its modular compounding extrusion systems to allow flexibility. Customers can choose among control systems with Allen Bradley being the default. Project schedules and costs are cut by as much as 30 percent. Module assembly is simplified and electrical systems are plug and play.

B&P Process Equipment and Systems LLC (Booth W2432): Reciprocal kneader for mixing.

Battenfeld-Cincinnati USA (Booth W1810): A feature of new machine sizes for its TwinEx and SolEx machines. The company formerly was American Maplan Corp.

TwinEx parallel twin-screw extruder lineup has been expanded with the 148-28 model, with unusually high output of up to 4,400 pounds per hour for a large-diameter machine. It is designed for large diameter PVC pipe and high-output profiles. Foamed PVC sheet is also suitable.

SolEx high-performance single-screw extruders yield high outputs with low melt temperatures and homogeneous melt for polyolefins. New is SolEX 150 particularly suited for large diameter heavy wall polyolefin pipe. It offers output of up to 6,000 pounds per hour for high density PE. Continuous speed control and air-cooled barrel with high-conveying capacity will be available for energy efficiency.

Battenfeld-Cincinnati offers PE pipe lines of diameters up to about 8 feet, 2 inches and PVC pipe lines up to about 5 feet, 2 inches.

On display is Multi-Touch roll stack for thermoforming sheet extrusion. With speed in mind, the stack is designed to run only one web for every output. Sheet passes through multiple nips. The roll stack creates uniform cooling. High cooling efficiency improves transparency of semi-crystalline polymers like PP and PE. Highlighted is Multi-Touch 1400 developed for the U.S. market.

A ConEx 63 from the versatile ConEx conical twin screw series will be displayed in a co-extrusion set-up that could be used for foam core, triple-walled pipe extrusion, PVC fence and siding.

The CoEx 25-20 is a compact, flexible co-extruder low-output utility profile extrusion or to apply color stripes.

Biax Laboratories LLC (Booth S20072): Will discuss its extrusion and biaxial orientation technology capabilities, including research and development on plastics orientation and equipment for trials.

Boston Matthews Inc. (Booth W5755): Complete turnkey extrusion line. Downstream equipment.

Brampton Engineering Inc. (Booth W5755): AeroFrost air-blown film lines, AquaFrost water-quenched film lines, control software, winders and other downstream equipment.

Brückner Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG (Booth W4763): Will present technologies for special functional films, including linear motor simultaneous stretching to give highly specific properties for high value films.

Technical films targeted include solar back sheet, optical grades of biaxially oriented PET, capacitors, membranes, thermal transfer printing ribbons, and battery separators.

Brückner capabilities include inline coating and high barrier 5-7 layer films, and in-line and off-line systems for high-value shrink sleeves.

The company will present improvements for commodity film stretching lines. Energy and material savings possible with low-energy twin screws and high-speed single screws, direct fluff feeding, transverse direction heat recovery, direct drives and regenerating energy for line drives. Highlight is intelligent line management to monitor energy consumption of film production.

Also presented will be ultra-high barrier obtained through multiple layers rather than subsequent processing, new lines and upgrades for biaxially oriented polylactide film.

Buss Inc. USA (Booth W5653): Kneading technology for compounding for PVC granulation, cable compounds, masterbatches, calender feeding. Material handling systems.

Chemineer Inc. (Booth W4377): Exhibiting Kenics KMX-V static mixer that achieves rapid blending through cross-stream mixing and flow splitting. Each element has multiple intersecting blades that generate fluid layers flowing downstream.

Converting Systems Inc. (Booth S21093): Launching its machine rebuilding loaner program to help customers refurbish bag machines, winders and similar equipment without disrupting production schedules. The company can refurbish leaky hydraulic systems with electronic servo technology and touchscreens. The program minimizes downtime and saves costs versus purchasing new machinery.

Coperion K-Tron (Booth W1329): Will display materials handling and extrusion machinery.

For extrusion, new to North America is the ZSK 26 Mc, a lab scale twin-screw extruder with higher torque and throughput and pre-installed heating and cooling systems. Mobile with a small footprint, simple design, ease of cleaning and operator friendliness and a throughput of 20 to 400 pounds per hour.

The SP 100 EN strand pelletizer generates 20 strands, with throughput up to 1,433 pounds per hour. The cutting head cover swings open wide for full access to the interior. Intake chute is removed quickly. Pellet outlet is accessible through the cutting head housing without disassembly. Inside surfaces are smooth to cut down residue accumulation.

The ZRD 400 heavy-duty premium rotary valve features variations for different materials. For plastics, the valve has an open rotor, chamfered blades, rotor with tilted blades and reduced volume, direct drive with flat gear motor, purge gas supply with solenoid valve, pressure controller, flow meter and pressure monitoring.

Davis-Standard LLC (Booth W6144): Presenting extrusion technologies and aftermarket capabilities with control upgrades for converting systems include more efficient Integrator Pro that can replace D-S's CMR system.

On display is a rebuilt 2.5-inch Thermatic extruder with improved efficiency and output.

A profile line will be running ABS printer rod for 3-D manufacturing. The line includes a 20-inch Super Blue extruder and DS-eTPC controller, a low-cost touchscreen unit for coordinated line drive control. Temperature control for up to eight barrel heating and cooling zones, built-in pressure control loop and pressure monitor and alarm are highlights. D-S will use the ABS rod in a 3-D printing demonstration.

The Medical Extruder Direct Drive extruder on display features energy efficiency and compact design. A replaceable feed section liner and interchangeable barrel assemblies allow material versatility. Tight tolerances and a Windows PLC control system are advantages. The MEDD fast-growing uses include microbore catheter tubing and multi-lumen tubing. D-S supports the technology with a clean room and lab line.

A 3.5-inch direct drive extruder improves energy use, sound level and output consistency vs. AC and DC extruders. Direct drive eliminates the need for a mechanical gear reducer.

On display will be an XP Express PS roll stand for packaging capable of direct extrusion, in-line thermoforming and production of roll stock. The system is geared to polypropylene, APET and polystyrene. Also equipped to extrude sheet incorporating ethylene vinyl alcohol and other polymers for solar energy uses and barrier structures with more than 100 layers. XP Express can process up to 8,000 pounds per hour

New dsX technology is a cost-effective package for blown film, cast film, extrusion coating and medical tubing.

Epic III, Integrator and DS-tablet are user-friendly, cost-effective for extrusion and converting.

D-S ram stuffer section assembly can process irregular shapes in feedstock and will be on display at ADG Solutions' booth.

D.R. Joseph (Booth W4474): Will tout its laboratory for blown film development. Equipment includes a three-layer, lab-scale line with a 50-millimeter die. Its internal bubble lay-flat control saves time and money. Also offered is non-IBC width controller based on ultrasonics and a pneumatic controller.

Entek Extruders (Booth W6486): Twin-screw extruders with enhanced control functions. New concepts for screws and elements. Gearbox and melt-pump remanufacturing capability.

Extrusion Control & Supply Inc. (Booth W2401): Will introduce its latest formulation of extruder coolant, EPF 2501. The fluid is designed for closed-loop water-cooled systems and minimizes corrosion and clogging.

Farrel Pomini (Booth W6444): Exhibiting the CP1000, a mid-sized compounder for efficient dispersion of highly filled, highly pigmented materials. It features an independently controlled continuous mixer and extruder system, and is suited to highly abrasive materials. Self-aligning seal, Synergy control system and newly designed vent assembly.

Gloucester Engineering Co. Inc. (Booth W6744): Highlighting the new ExtruTouch controls for blown film systems. It controls complete systems including vacuum loading, blending, speeds, temperatures, pressures, gauging, profile control and safety. Has the robustness of prior generation of controls with upgrades and enhanced graphics. Based on the X-20 generation PLC, ExtruTouch's 22-inch color touchscreen uses intuitive graphics. Based on off-the-shelf hardware and features multi-language capabilities, remote access, easy interfacing with other Windows applications and compatibility with third-party analysis tools. Can be retrofitted with an existing blown film line.

Gneuss Inc. (Booth W4675): The RSFgenius M filtration system, new to North America. A fully automatic, process-constant and pressure-constant rotary system aimed at highly contaminated materials, as in recycling. System has higher screen capacity and loses less material during back-flushing.

Also latest generation of MRS extrusion technology, displaying the largest MRS extruder Gneuss has ever exhibited at a show.

Graham Engineering Corp. (Booth W3142): Will feature innovations among its engineering brands.

American Kuhne's Modular Quick-Change extrusion system cuts time and contamination during changeover from a clean-room environment by "hot-swapping" the barrel, screw and die head. Demonstrations will show removal of the barrel and its replacement by a pre-heated barrel with pre-mounted tooling.

The firm's SMED Quick-Change design options will be shown on an E3 extruder, offering a rapid screw change through a quick-mount pusher, fast material change via rotary hopper design, and fast tooling change through dual-hinge design.

Welex's XSL Navigator control system for intuitive operator navigation on a Welex sheet extrusion line. System enables integration of data from a line to an enterprise resource planning system using client-server architecture. Features will be shown on a Welex roll stand.

Welex Converge CTS is a dryer-less conical twin-screw technology that can run polylactic acid and PET, as well as industrial sheet lines. Energy savings and shorter dwell time are possible due to higher pressure and torque. A major PLA supplier found no loss of molecular weight after the polymer was run eight times through the Converge CTS system.

Hosokawa Alpine American (Booth W4170): X-Die for barrier films up to 11 layers to save resin and to fine-tune structures.

Blown film systems including machine direction orientation with draw ratio up to 10:1 suited to in-line or out-of-line operation. Multilayers, high cooling rate triple-lip V-Ring. Double-stacked turret winder with scissor-style combination roll handling and shaft handling eliminates need to physically lift or move core shaft. Trio system to fine tune properties.

KraussMaffei Berstorff (Booth W903): Will exhibit equipment for producing multilayer pipes. The spiral distributor pipe head of the KM-3L RKW 74-250 allows precise production of thin layers and allows pipe with a durable inner layer demanded in applications such as drinking water containing chlorine. The system includes internal cooling that allows output increases of up to 60 percent.

Also exhibited is the XS single-screw extruder series for technical profiles. The series can process such polymers as thermoplastic elastomers, thermoplastic polyurethane and acetal. The extruders allow small lot production.

The QuickSwitch calibration basket allows in-line dimensional changes at the touch of a button. Company claims it can reduce production and material costs.

Kuhne Group (Booth S18103): Presenting equipment for blown film and sheet production, including triple-bubble water-quenched blown film lines with up to 11 layers, air-cooled lines up to 11 layers, flat film geomembrane lines up to 26 feet wide, engineered membrane lines up to 16.5 feet wide, sheet lines up to 9 layers and thick sheet lines, up to 2 inches thick.

Leistritz Extrusion (Booth W6571): Exhibiting its latest in twin-screw extrusion. The ZSE-90 Maxx for highly filled compounds and engineering resins features water cooling of main motor for quieter operation, absence of blower exhaust reduces fine filler dust emissions. Enhanced LSB side stuffers facilitate high filler loading. Side stuffer screws can be cored for liquid cooling.

The ZSE-27 Maxx will be in a direct-to-sheet configuration speeds up in-line compounding, eliminating a heat/shear history step and saves cost by eliminating pellitization. A 14-inch die with chrome plating has a choker bar and push/pull flex lip design. Three rolls in the setup each has own AC drive and feature driven rotary shear edge trimming, dual unwinds for web lamination or encapsulation and air-expanding chucks on rewind and unwind shafts. Setup features PLC distributive processing useful when multiple companies supply line components. Pressure control algorithm corrects extruder screw speed and feed rate to maintain gear pump inlet pressure at a given setpoint.

A ZSE-18 designed for medical and good manufacturing practice includes segmented stainless steel screws on high-torque, splined shafts. Modular stainless steel barrels with a tie-rod assembly allow quick change. Brushless AC servo motor has 1,000:1 turndown with 0.01 percent speed accuracy. Gearbox positioning plate allows use of gear pump front-end and other devices. Process section mated to gearbox with quick-clamp assembly. Allen-Bradley PLC/operator interface.

Maachi SpA (Booth W6563): Operating a five-layer Coexflex blown film line specializing in polyolefins. It will run a 60-inch wide barrier film with thickness of 2 mils, with a 1-2-4-2-1 structure through a 12-inch die. Output can be as high as 1,540 pounds per hour. New to North America is a triple-lip carbon fiber cooling and internal bubble cooling antiblock setup. The five-extruder setup allows more flexibility in film design. Reduced downtime and higher output are benefits. Also shown is the new EasyControl 4Profinet man-machine interface to control film parameters.

Maag Pump Systems AG (Booth W5945): Showing the Extrex 90 extrusion pump combining high efficiency with low energy use. It features self-cleaning and long service life. System includes the CSC 116-RS screen changer with arched cavities that allow screen surface area to be enlarged 400 percent for high output and reduced costs. Also hooked up is new design of Sphero S underwater pelletizer.

Extrex GPD is a twin-outlet gear pump able to supply two different nozzle blocks with constant melt stream. Two separate nozzles can be fed with different throughput and pressure demands.

Also on show will be the Primo 200E pelletizer for masterbatches with rates up to 3,300 pounds per hour. The machine is a single-side mounted, dry-cut strand pelletizer with large cutting width and geometry allowing straight cutting of hard, abrasive materials and soft, flexible plastics. Pellet dimensions can be changed quickly with automatic pellet length system.

Macro Engineering & Technology Inc. (Booth W5845): Macro will feature a new extrusion line for polylactic acid foam up to 5 millimeters thick and up to 49.5 inches wide and with a foam density of 0.07 grams per cubic centimeter. Foamed PLA sheet can be thermoformed into compostable clamshell packaging and trays. Macro's design overcomes PLA's inherent low melt strength, melt crystallinity and narrow processing window to provide uniform melt temperature and reliable foaming.

Maillefer SA (Booth W7345): Single- and multilayer extrusion systems.

NFM Welding Engineers (Booth W5963): TEM co-rotating compounding extruders. WE counter-rotating, non-intermeshing twin-screw extruder for polymer finishing and distributive mixing without high shear history. HSX-1 single-screw extruders, coextruders, lab extruders, calenders, roll mills, auxiliary equipment.

Peco Inc. (Booth W4589): Debuting in North America its Euroline plastic bag-making machinery for coreless rolls of trash bags. Exhibit includes operating equipment.

Pipe Coil Technology Ltd. (Booth S37135): Complete coiling, packaging and handling systems for extruded pipe.

Processing Technologies International LLC (Booth W4182): Will unveil G-Series configurable roll stand permitting flexibilty and reduced downtime. Modular and scalable.

PSI-Polymer Systems (Booth W6287): PSI will feature its new hydraulic die changer, a quick-shift slide plate to exchange die heads on a single extruder. Suited for lines that are purged during die changeovers, such as foam sheet production and batch operations, where it saves costs and boosts output.

Die changer provides a pre-heat zone for the new die and utilizes a hydraulic power unit to shift the die online, cutting changeover times from an hour to a minute. Designed for tight spaces, the current models will accept 12-inch and 18-inch annular dies but custom versions available for pipe, profiles and other extrusions.

R&B Plastics Machinery LLC (Booth W7065): The company will highlight its new Max extrusion control system. The cost-effective system includes Allen Bradley and Ifix technologies and provides integrated line control for a wide range of extrusion applications. R&B custom designs the Max system, including preferred hardware. Max can be retrofitted to all makes of extruders. It controls temperature, speed, amperage and pressure and provides real-time data. The PLC-based system has open architecture allowing use of off-the-shelf components. The large touch-screen is an easy-to-use operator interface.

Randcastle Extrusion Systems Inc. (Booth W7059): Single-screw compounding extruders, from lab-scale size to production size. Nano-compounding. Micro Batch mixer. Laboratory services.

Reifenhauser Inc. (Booth W3551): Display of Evolution C control panel, with 24-inch touch screen combines ergonomics and intuitive approach. Based on a smartphone-like interface easily understood globally, it helps line efficiency. Control assistants such as job size control, job change, start-up assistant and profile speeder.

Blown film technologies including Ultra Fusion blown film/compounding combination, Ultra Cool cooling system for higher output, Ultra Cool FFS for tubular heavy duty shipping sacks and Ultra Flat in-line flattening for higher quality in converting.

Rollepaal BV (Booth W929): Showcasing pipe extrusion machinery for resins such as PVC, oriented PVC, polyolefins and auxiliaries.

Steer America Inc. (Booth W5163): Extruders from lab scale to production scale. High-efficiency mixing elements for twin-screw extruders.

Techno Plastic srl (Booth S34139): Featuring extrusion lines for strapping, monofilament, concrete reinforcement. New for North America are winders for concrete reinforcement bundles, strapping band winders and twisters.

Windmoeller & Hoelscher Corp. (Booth W3371): Varex multilayer blown film line. Optimex mono- and three-layer blown film lines. Aquarex water-quenched film line. Opticool air-ring for exceptional cooling and high output. Filmex cast film lines with up to 33 coextrusion layers. Machine-direction-orientation film. Polytex tube machine for film and woven polypropylene. Converprint form-fill-seal machinery includes printing and microperforating.

Zars-USA LLC (Booth S29196): Representsing Artec Machinery GmbH, debuting for North America Artec's modular design extruders. Artec also supplies pelletizers and other extrusion-related auxiliaries. Also representing Cofit International srl and its automated, self-cleaning screen changers.

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