Jim Frankland President

Extrusion Know How 22 Feb 2016

EXTRUSION: Understanding The Barrier Gap

All barrier screws are not created equal, and the barrier length and gap can be one of the reasons.

best practices 20 Jan 2016

EXTRUSION: Venerable Maddock Mixer Still an Extrusion Workhorse

Variations to this decades-old mixing section are widely used, but processors should carefully analyze these designs and not assume they will perform better.

sustainability 21 Dec 2015

EXTRUSION: Managing Regrind

Reusing scrap is a necessary evil. But be aware of the negative impact scrap has on properties and extrusion efficiencies. Start by developing a regrind-usage program.

Extrusion 2 Mar 2020

EXTRUSION: Melting 101

Learn the basics on how polymer melts in a single screw. Barrel temperature plays less of a role than you might think.

best practices 26 Oct 2015

EXTRUSION: The Two Main Causes of Screw Wear

Wedging and misalignment are often confused with each other when inspecting a worn screw.

best practices 25 Sep 2015

EXTRUSION: Pellet Geometry Can Impact Output

A simple angle-of-repose experiment can help you determine how your pellets will feed.

best practices 17 Aug 2015

EXTRUSION: Barrier Screws and Mixers

For some reason, there are a lot of barrier screws in operation with high-shear mixers, when a distributive mixer is usually a better choice.

processing tips 16 Jul 2015

Extrusion: How to Adjust for Polymer Shrinkage and Orientation

Polymers shrink and orient. Sometimes orientation is unbalanced, resulting in misshaped parts. But there are steps beyond tweaking the die that can mitigate these effects.

processing tips 1 Jul 2015

EXTRUSION: Another Technique for Controlling Melt Temperature

Flight widths are almost always designed at 10% of the screw diameter. But they can be optimized to reduce melt temperature and perhaps boost output.

best practices 25 May 2015

EXTRUSION: Cooling: The Critical Function in Extrusion

Figuring out how much cooling your process needs is complicated. But there are ways to approximate.

screws 27 Apr 2015

EXTRUSION: Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Run Your Extruders Dry

At least not for longer than a few minutes. The thin film that’s captured between the screw flights and barrel wall supports the screw and acts as a lubricant. Without it, galling can occur.

Extrusion Know How 31 Mar 2015

Extrusion: What’s the Best Way to Vent?

There are advantages and disadvantages to each, and they must be evaluated before making a decision.

Thinswitch confirms ejector plate return

Guill - World Leader in Extrusion Tooling

Glycon's DM2: The High Performance Feedscrew