Leistritz Extrusion (W6343) will exhibit a wide range of twin-screw extruders and auxiliary equipment at NPE2024 under the theme of "the race to success," which company officials said represents continued advancements that let plastics processors manufacture better products at a lower cost.
For example, the ZSE-12, which was designed for low rate and small batch processing, has been around for a few years but received some updates for its NPE debut.
The machine has modular stainless steel barrels and screws assembled on splined shafts. The process section can be configured for liquid injection and multistage devolatilization. The feed section is equipped with a patented microplunger feeder, which facilitates processing as little as 50- to 100-gram batches.
"The process section and barrels have been redesigned for up to a 400° C (752° F) operation, and it's the first time the microplunger has been integrated into the ZSE-12 design," Leistritz President Charlie Martin said in an email.
"It can run high-temperature engineering polymers like PEEK and Ultem," he added.
Previously, the microplunger device was only available on the nano-16.
Leistritz manufactures co-rotating, intermeshing twin-screw extruders with screw diameters from 12-260 millimeters and supplies systems for compounding, devolatilization, reactive processing, foaming and direct extrusion.
The company's areas of specialization include compounding concentrates and high-temperature resins; integrating twin-screw extruders into film and sheet systems; and life science applications for the medical device, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries.
As part of another update, the ZSE-18 twin-screw extruder now has Siemens programmable logic controller/human-machine interface (PLC/HMI) controls architecture, which will be introduced at NPE2024.
"This is a new program specifically for the North American market utilizing the latest technology from Siemens," Martin said.
The machine is ideal for research and development and can operate from ½ to 10-plus kilograms per hour. A base mounted LSB-brand side stuffer allows downstream introduction of fillers, fibers and shear sensitive materials into a process melt stream. The customized front end will be mated to a film die. All electricals are integrated into a roll-around stainless steel base.
Leistritz also will display:
• The ZSE-60 MAXX co-rotating twin-screw extruder, which the company said is the most popular production compounding twin-screw extruder in North America. It features a modular design for barrels and screws that are rated for 425° C (797° F) operation. Auxiliary equipment integrated with the machine includes an LSB side stuffer for downstream introduction of fillers into the process section and an LSA-brand swing gate strand die with provision for filtration.
• The ZSE-40 MAXX co-rotating twin-screw extruder, which is for color concentrates and small lot production. It features a modular design and an LSA swing gate strand die. A water-cooled motor is integrated into the machine design so it operates more quietly than air-cooled motors and eliminates unwanted air flows in the plant.
• The ZSE-27 MAXX co-rotating twin-screw extruder, which is suited for R&D full-scale production. It features a quick-change, flangeless-barrels design for accelerated barrel reconfiguration, and the gearbox is attached to a dovetail mounting plate so it can be quickly repositioned to facilitate different length and diameter ratios testing. All electricals are integrated into a roll-around stainless steel base, and an Allen-Bradley PLC/HMI controls architecture will be displayed.
Leistritz Extrusion W6343