Extrusion Know How
EXTRUSION: How Slow Can You Go?
Larger screws designed for high outputs will generate a variety of problems if run too slowly. Here’s why.
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EXTRUSION: Finding the Sweet Spot in Screw Design
The compression ratio of a screw does not provide enough detail on how it will perform. Screw design is a balancing act that takes many variables into account.
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EXTRUSION: Understanding The Barrier Gap
All barrier screws are not created equal, and the barrier length and gap can be one of the reasons.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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EXTRUSION: The Two Main Causes of Screw Wear
Wedging and misalignment are often confused with each other when inspecting a worn screw.
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EXTRUSION: Pellet Geometry Can Impact Output
A simple angle-of-repose experiment can help you determine how your pellets will feed.
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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.
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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.
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