PROCESSING | SMALL BATCH COMPOUNDING
pelletiser, if you need to change the die it is done in 10 minutes, or five minutes. The best is to have an automatic strand pelletiser because of break- ages but I would not go with an underwater pelletiser for small batches. We have an automatic strand pelletiser, where you can start up the line easily and automatically. If you have a traditional water bath you need skilled people to take the hot spaghetti to the water bath and to check for strand breaks. If you have an automatic or semi-automatic strand pelletiser you avoid this because the extruded strands are automatically guided via a cooling water chute and downstream conveyor belt into the feed mecha- nism of the pelletiser. Its capex, for sure, but you don’t have an operator always watching or a camera system. Roca: Small batch means flexibility and this flexibility implies working with many different materials (melting capacities), so we need to think about the most complicated scenario in terms of the variety of mixing energies, feeding ports, and venting capacities in order to materialise the concepts in the compounding line that we need. We should also think about further needs and trends, like working with recycled materials or bioplastics. Normally compounding lines are configured based on current needs but not future needs; it is better to foresee than to regret.
CW: What advice can you offer to compounders looking to improve their small batch capabilities in terms of investment priority — what changes in your opinion deliver the biggest and fastest gains for the smallest capital outlay? Lindsey: Considering the current supply chain
issues, having critical spare parts on hand is imperative to minimising downtime in the event of equipment failure. VFD drives, large AC motors, and PLC components have been especially challenging to source in a timely manner. Any other spare components in the system that require cleaning between lots can also help minimise downtime. Roca: I would say not to be conservative in terms of investment and to ensure that future machine modification is taken into account when the extruder is purchased in order to reduce future costs and to maximise the range of compounds that companies can develop. Lechner: I always think if I was the owner of a compounding company I would like to be flexible because the market can change. For sure oversiz- ing a machine is not requested. We see customers order two big lines – two ZSK 70 extruders maybe – but then a smaller line to be more flexible. A 45 or a 26, maybe, so they can make their own master- batch for the bigger line. Many customers are doing this. If you have a robust, reliable and high-torque system then you are well prepared for small batch production. Of course it takes a little more capex but, in my opinion, the return on investment is less than six months. The worst case is you cannot run the machine because you need one or two hours to get the line in operation or you have a compro- mise on output rate. Then you lose money.
CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION: �
www.aimplas.net �
www.coperion.com �
www.entek.com
Learn more about the experts
Luis Roca is Leader of Compounding at the Aimplas plastics technical institute at Valencia in Spain. He has worked in
plastics processing since 1999, most of that time in the compounding area covering projects as diverse as nanocomposites, bioplastics, wood plastic composites and general polymer modification.
36 COMPOUNDING WORLD | April 2023
Austin Lindsey is Regional Sales Manager at US-based
compounding machinery and wear parts manufacturer
Entek. He joined the Lebanon, Oregon-headquartered company in 2012 and his roles includes sales management, product engineering and development, and process improvement.
Frank Lechner is Head of Process Technology at German com- pounding
machinery and systems maker Coperion. He
joined the company in 2001 as a process engineer and has held a number of process development and optimisation roles, taking on his current position of Head of Process Technology in 2021.
www.compoundingworld.com
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