MANUFACTURING | SMALL BATCH COMPOUNDING
extruder designed for small-batch compounding tasks in its masterbatch production. Based at Büren, Argus produces around 30,000 tonnes annually of additive masterbatch for applications such as film, pipe, sheet and artificial turf production, BOPP, injection moulding, mono- and multi-filaments, tapes and nonwovens. Wilfried Helle, the company’s Plant Manager, says the company was looking for a system at short notice to use in its technical centre both to develop formulations and to produce small batches. Leistritz says ZSE iMAXX machines offer high specific torque (up to 15.0 Nm/cm³) combined with an increased volume in the screw (Do
/Di
Above: Coperion’s ZSK 26 Mc18 twin-screw extruder now gets a quick- release screw coupling
— a win-win for both sides,” he says. “Think about a Formula 1 racing car during a pit stop. The car has all the quick-change features installed on-board to allow for rapid turnaround. However, all of the tech- nology in the world cannot help to reduce the time for changeover if the pit crew are not trained in how the technology works — not to mention safety issues that can also arise as a result.”
Speeding change
Speeding up job changeovers is one of the key development goals for small-batch production at German machinery maker Coperion. It recently developed a quick-release screw shaft coupling for its ZSK 26 Mc18
twin-screw extruder that allows the
screws to be pulled from the process section by simply releasing a metal lock at the gearbox lantern. This enables screw changes to be per- formed very quickly while cleaning times for recipe and colour changes are reduced to the minimum. Delivering a torque of 18 Nm/cm3
ratio of 1/55, Coperion says the ZSK Mc18
andDo/Di twin-
Right: Leistritz’s Guido Kra- schewski with Argus Plant Manager
Wilfried Helle during
commissioning of its ZSE 40 iMAXX extruder
screw extruder is highly suited to applications that require high torque, such as processing of engi- neering plastics (it offers 30% more torque com- pared to the company’s ZSK Mc Plus machines and can provide throughput gains of up to 100% in some applications). Typical ZSK Mc18
= 1.66),
which results in high-quality homogenisation with low energy input. The extruder is also able to handle product changeovers efficiently, which was important for Argus as it uses the ZSE 40 iMAXX for production and compound trials. Leistritz says the ZSE 40 iMAXX extruder is designed with closed surfaces that make it easy to clean. A stainless-steel cover protects the entire pro- cessing and drive unit from contact or contamina- tion. The temperature control unit is fully integrated into the frame, which results in a small footprint, and only a central water connection is required. The temperature control unit and cooling and heating elements are positioned to ensure optimum accessibility and are located behind doors, which also makes them easy to clean and replace. Leistritz says feeding additives during the masterbatch production process can be challeng- ing, particularly if they have a low melting point as they can melt in the main feed and cause block- ages. This could have a direct impact on product quality. To avoid this risk, Argus uses the company’s Leistritz LSB XX side feeder with cooled barrels and screws. The increased Do
/Di ratio of 2.0 on this
feeder results in increased conveying volume, as well as improved venting for materials with low
applications include continuous
processes with high energy consumption, as well as processing of torque-limited products such as glass fibre-reinforced PA, PBT and PP. Other applications for the machine include mixing and dispersing of pigments and additives; degassing of volatile components; filling with talc, calcium carbonate, sawdust or other fillers; alloying; and reactive extrusion. Germany-based Leistritz Extrusion Technology
recently supplied Argus Additive Plastics, also based in Germany, with a ZSE 40 iMAXX twin-screw
44 COMPOUNDING WORLD | April 2021
www.compoundingworld.com
IMAGE: COPERION
IMAGE: LEISTRITZ
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