>> As a pioneer in the development of the closely intermeshing, co-rotating twin screw extruder, we have a unique know-how and an extraordinary wealth of experience in this field.
Latest developments
Coperion has continuously set new standards in machine and system design for processing technology since the 1950s.
Considerable increase in wear protection on the die plate
The significant increase in performance of our new ZSK Mc18 series has been achieved by improvements in all functional areas of the twin screw extruder. This also applies to the latest Coperion die head generation. For the very high throughput ranges of the ZSK Mc18 as well as for heavily abrasive applications this die head with improved heating capacity and optimized flow behavior can be equipped with a special wear protected die plate.
This technology which was developed and proven in practice at LANXESS comes into action exactly where the shear stress in the compounding process is at its highest: at the narrowest point, namely the holes in the die plate. These are equipped with high wear resistant inserts so that the useful life of the die plate is extended considerably. For example, a high double-digit percentage increase in runtime is achieved in the processing of glass fiber-reinforced products with market typical percentages of 20-50 %.
If abrasion should occur in some places and the strand behavior is influenced, you benefit from the exchangeability of the hard metal sleeves. These can be changed individually if necessary, so that you do not have to replace the complete die plate. The bottom line is considerable cost reductions and assurance of a consistently high product quality.
FET – Feed Enhancement Technology for significantly improved feeding capacity and throughput rates
What is the innovative solution behind these three letters? FET stands for Feed Enhancement Technology. In this patent pending technology the feeding zone of an extruder is equipped with a porous, gas-permeable wall section to which a vacuum is applied externally. The resulting gas extraction increases the material intake capacity in the processing of feed limited products by up to three times.
The results of the FET technology are considerable increases in the throughput rate and greater cost effectiveness of the compounding plant. Both effects are increased further by optimizations of the screw geometry in the feeding area depending on the product.
The FET equipment can not only be retrofitted to the twin screw extruder. It can be used with the same throughput increasing result in the ZS-B twin screw side feeder. This allows low bulk densitiy products to be fed into the extruder reliably in large quantities downstream.
Retrofitted throughput rate increase? With the ZS-EG side degassing
The only prerequisites: You need enough room on your ZSK extruder’s process section. An open degassing barrel must be replaced by a combination barrel, the ZS-EG twin screw side degassing must be installed. And you are already reaping the benefits of higher throughput rates.
But first things first: The efficiency of the ZSK series can often not be fully exploited with a conventional devolatilization dome especially in the extrusion of low viscous thin melts and extrusion processes with high gas volumes. The ZS-EG twin screw side degassing provides the remedy. With its large cross section for the degassing, it keeps the melt in the processing section without product escape even at maximum specific torque of the extruder. Fumes or gases are reliably drawn off through the axially open screw flights. Increases in the throughput rate of up to 30 % with improved product quality are possible.
