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The compounding process is very similar to injection moulding. Plastics and additives are metered into a hopper at one end of a barrel. The material is transported along the length of the barrel via an Archimedes screw and is melted by applying heat via external heater bands as well as the friction (shear heat) generated by the action of the screw(s) within the barrel of the compounding extruder.
As the material travels along the barrel, specially designed sections of the screw knead, mix and compound the plastic. Additives and fillers are added via side-feeders. At the end of the barrel, the melted plastic flows through a wire screen that filters out any residual dirt, grit or other contaminants, and is then forced through a die plate.
Special openings (vents) allow any volatiles to be removed.
As the material comes through the die plate, it is cut into pellets and then cooled in water or by air and subsequently dried during transfer to a packaging station at the end of the line.
Luxus use a variety of twin and single screw compounding equipment that allows us to remain flexible and competitive. The output from our plant varies from a few hundred kilograms per hour to just under 2000 kilograms per hour.
Twin screw compounding extruders give far greater control to the compounding process than a single screw machine. They are ideal for producing filled thermoplastics - G/F, talc, barium filled etc.
The underwater pelletizing unit attached to these machines allows us to process difficult soft polymers such as TPE.
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