Hanover, Germany — KraussMaffei Extrusion GmbH says the large ZE BluePower compounding extruders given a sales launch at K2019 went into operation this fall.
The twin-screw extruders for compounding engineered plastics and highly filled formulations have throughput capacity of 2,500 kilograms per hour.
"Thanks to the 1.65 OD/ID diameter ratio and the torque density of 16 Nm/cm³, these extruders are tailored for any customer-specific application — from the production of compounds, expanded sheets, biaxially oriented film and sheets up to the processing of recycled material," KraussMaffei says in a news release.
The large extruder variants have screw diameters of 98, 122, 142 and 166 millimeters and offer a range of 4D and 6D barrel housings and various side feeders and degassing units. The company says exchangeable oval liners ensure efficient wear protection of the housings, which is a benefit for wear-intensive compounding applications.
Minor design modifications were made by KraussMaffei to allow for the size of the new extruders. The company says housing elements are connected by means of screw unions instead of clamping flanges and the cartridge heaters are replaced by ceramic heaters.
The combination of high throughput rates and short set-up times has been extremely well received among numerous large national and international compounding companies, the release says.