Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • CFO of the Year
    • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Bioplastics Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • PFAS Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
    • Europe - Virgin
    • Europe - Recycled
    • Europe - Feedstock
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
News
September 27, 2004 02:00 AM

Spirex simplifies screw, barrel cleaning

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More

    Spirex Corp. has created a better way to purge old plastic material from screws and barrels for injection molding.

    PowerPurge closes off the barrel, then the screw rotates so that high-pressure backflow flushes a special purging compound backward. Spirex said that closed-barrel scrubbing action cleans the screw and barrel much better than standard purging that only extrudes through the barrel. The company said PowerPurge is especially effective in cleaning the leading edge of the screw flight — which often is missed by traditional purging.

    In most cases, molded parts are 100 percent acceptable with the first shot, according to Spirex, which manufactures screws and barrels in Youngs-town, Ohio.

    “You've got frost-free refrigerators. Then you have your self-cleaning oven. Now you have a self-cleaning injection unit,” said Bruce Kozak, vice president of sales and marketing.

    Kozak and Spirex President Paul T. Colby explained PowerPurge during an interview at Plastics News' office in Akron.

    PowerPurge was invented by Joel Thompson, who also invented the Twinshot coinjection molding process for Community Products LLC of Rifton, N.Y. Spirex is manufacturing both systems under license from Community Enterprises. A patent is pending.

    For PowerPurge, Spirex supplies the components, including a special nonreturn valve and a purge plug.

    The purging compound is supplied by Asaclean-Sun Plastech Inc. of Parsippany, N.J., a unit of Japan-based Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corp. Spirex and Asaclean are the distributors.

    In standard purging, a purging compound is poured in while the screw is rotated. The material extrudes out of the barrel until the old color is gone. Kozak said many times a molder will have to run 10, 20 or even 30 pounds of purging compounding.

    Even then, some old material often remains in the screw and barrel, because traditional purging is a one-way operation: the material is pushed forward only until it exits the barrel. That can mean taking apart the injection unit and manually scrubbing it clean, a time-consuming process.

    PowerPurge starts the same way, by regular extrusion. After the injection unit is moved away from the mold, the screw is rotated to remove as much resin as possible, using the proprietary compound. Then a purge plug is installed, which plugs the end of the barrel.

    The PowerPurge valve is a three-piece design consisting of a retainer body and check ring, with a special lock. By running rapid decompression, also known as rapid suck-back, the check ring moves into a locked-open position. When the screw is injected forward, the ring remains open — and the purging compound is pushed backward under abnormally high-pressure backflow. That causes turbulent, agitated scrubbing and cleaning under pressure. Each time the screw starts to rotate again, it pushes the ring into normal operation, moving the material forward. The process is repeated a number of times.

    The PowerPurge valve again works like a standard non-return valve as the new resin is introduced and the press returns to normal operation.

    Colby said an injection molder could do the PowerPurge manually, or set it up into the machine's controller for one-touch operation.

    Demag Plastics Group is the first injection press manufacturer to offer PowerPurge as an option on its machines. Spirex said it is working out details with Toshiba Machine Co. America to offer the system to its customers.

    Contact information for Spirex: Tel. (330) 726-4000, fax (330) 726-9437, e-mail [email protected].

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Ampacet workers in Luxembourg go on strike
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Dow moving ahead with $6.5B Path2Zero project
    2
    A tale of two industries for compounders at close of 2023
    3
    TC Transcontinental closing flexible packaging plant
    4
    Kickstart: Quieter pickleball play
    5
    Numbers That Matter Live November 2023: Will plastics markets recover in 2024?
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Find more newsletters at plasticsnews.com/newsletters.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • CFO of the Year
        • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
      • Podcasts
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Bioplastics Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • PFAS Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
      • Europe - Virgin
      • Europe - Recycled
      • Europe - Feedstock
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified