machinery feature | Twin-screw extruders As for quality control, Entek says that all QC3
twin-screw extruders are engineered and built at its headquarters in Lebanon, Oregon, USA. Entek also cites increased production rates (33% higher output shaft torque) with a 200-HP/1,200 rpm motor and increased screw OD/ID (up from 1.51 to 1.61) for compounding the most challenging formulations. “It all started with our customers telling us they
using German high-precision quality measuring equipment.
Coperion is marketing the new Chinese- made series worldwide.
Entek’s new QC3 machine focuses on quick change, quick clean and quality control
Born in the USA Entek will introduce an all-new 43-mm co-rotating twin-screw extruder at NPE 2015 later this month. The company has been working on the QC3
-43MM (an
upgrade of an existing 40-mm unit) for several years, co-operating closely with its compounding customers. It says that it used lean principles to drive its develop- ment. As mentioned in last year’s feature on twin- screws, the company has put a particular focus on quick change and quick clean, as well as on quality control – hence the QC3
designation. A new self-alignment feature for installing the
Extension units on Feddem’s FED 43 MTS allow for variable extruder lengths and different side units
screws into their couplings permits the screws to only be fi tted the correct way. Guards come off quickly, and go back on the same way. All necessary tools for changeover and maintenance are mounted at point-of- use on the extruder. To facilitate cleaning, a new extruder frame design
“defl ects dust” and keeps the machine clean under the hood. The stainless steel construction is powder-coated for good looks that should last. An optional device is also offered for fast, easy barrel cleaning.
wanted more power and speed as standard,” says John Effmann, Entek Extruders’ director of sales and marketing. “That led to a newly designed gearbox to go with a 200 HP motor that can generate 565 Nm of output shaft torque vs. 425 on the 40 mm. That increased power led to a change from a 24-tooth shaft to a 36, which has increased the cross section of the shaft that provides the margin of safety that is needed.” The 43-mm barrel bore diameter on the QC3
-43MM
is a new size for Entek machines. Effmann says this size is the most common for general material com- pounding applications. “For now, the QC3
-43MM is the
only Entek twin-screw extruder with these new features, but we will phase in these design changes to our other machines as well. “One of the things our customers requested was that
we provide more throughput in this class [40 mm range], as their businesses were being driven to more short ‘bursts’ of product with many changes per day,” says Effmann. The German extruder maker Feddem has also
introduced a 43-mm extruder to fi ll a gap in its own line-up. The FED 43 MTS made its debut at the K 2013 show in Düsseldorf, Germany, and now several examples are in operation at customers. German compounder Compraxx has two machines, equipped with several extensions, side feeders, side vacuum degassing systems, side ventilation systems and various screw mountings. “We are equipped for just about any process task, from standard plastics to high-tech polymers”, says Maik Weber, managing director at Compraxx.
Gearing up for more torque Now Feddem is readying another new machine size, the FED 82 MTS. This machine is equipped with a new gearbox that enables a torque density of over 16 Nm/ cm³, in comparison with 14 on other MTS models. “Our fi rst installation will be used for engineering plastics, and production of large lot sizes,” says managing director Dieter Gross. It should be installed at a customer around the beginning of June. The unit is designed with an L/D of 32, but since the machine is modular, this can be changed relatively easily. The new gearbox (from Henschel) enables use of
32 COMPOUNDING WORLD | March 2015
www.compoundingworld.com
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