Extrusion Troubleshooter

Extrusion is a good "black-box" process. We can not see how are you affected inside an extruder,
hence we depend on instruments. We need to be sure that all sensors will work and readouts happen
to be calibrated correctly.
Single-screw extruders are the most common machines in plastics processing. Though simple in
function basically, they are at the mercy of many destabilizing elements that can result in out-of-spec
item or a shutdown. When issues strikes, you will need a strategy for identifying the complexities
quickly. An essential element of that strategy is the troubleshooting timeline. Here we'll explain
what it really is and how it can be used to resolve one prevalent extrusion problem-melt fracture in
tube and profile extrusion.
Start with sensors
Prerequisites to effective troubleshooting include great machinery instrumentation, current and
historical process data, detailed feedstock info, complete maintenance information, and operators
with a good knowledge of the extrusion process.
Extrusion is a good "black-box" process. We can't see how are you affected inside an extruder, thus
we rely on instruments. We must make sure that all sensors are working and readouts will be
calibrated correctly.
These are the important process variables to monitor:
Melt pressure, typically about 100 times/sec.
Melt temperature every 1-10 sec with an immersion probe or every 1-10 millisec with an infrared
sensor.
Temperatures of the feed casing (if it's water-cooled).
Barrel temperatures (a couple of sensors per zone).
Die temperatures (one to 30 or more sensors, based on die type).
Heater power found in kw.
Cooling power, measured mainly because fan rpm if air-cooled or water-temperature enhance and
flow cost if water-cooled.
Screw speed.
Motor load in amps.
Line speed.
Finished-product dimensions.

Other process variables may be monitored on upstream devices such as dryers, blenders, conveyors,
and feeders-and about downstream devices like gear pumps, screen changers, calibrators, water
troughs, laser gauges, pullers, and winders.
In order to solve extrusion problems, you must understand the process. So operators new to
extrusion should consider classes covering materials machinery and attributes features such as
instrumentation, controls, and screw and die design and style. Many extrusion operations,
nevertheless, primarily on on-the-job teaching rely, though right here is the least effective and often,
in some respects, the most expensive method. Improper operation of an extruder by untrained staff
can lead to costly damage as well as injuries.
Troubleshooting timeline
To understand why an activity isn't behaving effectively, you have to compare current process
conditions to previous conditions once the problem didn't exist. Constructing a process timeline
helps determine what changes in conditions upset the process.
The screw extruder manufacturer timeline requires records from periods of process stability through
the idea once the process upset was noticed. You'll need information of most process datatemperatures, pressures, and dimensions. Ensure that you list all events that could have affected the
procedure (see Fig. 1), just like a electricity outage, change of screw, or a new resin lot. Some
possibly important events are not as much obvious, such as construction for the reason that certain
area of the plant, changes in substances handling, maintenance activities on the plant's drinking
water system, or the start of a new operator.
Note that not absolutely all events have an instantaneous effect. There can be a considerable
incubation time before the effects of a modification are noticeable, so it's important not to jump to
conclusions. It's also important to take up a timeline far plenty of back, several months before the
problem appeared even.
Stopping melt fracture
A troubleshooting timeline helped a tubing processor to isolate the foundation of a processing
problem. One extrusion series started making tubing with surface area roughness due to melt
fracture suddenly. Melt fracture can take a number of appearances-slip-stay (or "bamboo"), palmtree, spiral, or random roughness (Fig. 2).
The timeline showed that the tube collection ran well for pretty much six months until the processor
switched to a new resin. The timeline as well showed that a thermocouple have been changedanother suspect. The thermocouple was checked for accuracy, and it turned out to be calibrated
properly and was reading temperatures accurately. That still left the resin as the utmost likely
culprit. It was a metallocene-type polyolefin, which is commonly more vunerable to melt fracture
because it maintains bigger viscosities at higher shear rates-i.e., it really is less shear-thinning.
In basic, melt fracture involves stresses in the die and is often resin-related. It can be healed by
either material or mechanical means. In this full case, the processor cannot change the material.
Melt fracture could be reduced or eliminated by streamlining the die circulation channel, reducing
shear tension in the land region, using a processing aid, adding die-terrain heaters, operating above
the critical shear tension for melt fracture (known as "super extrusion"), or adding ultrasonic
vibration-a little noted but highly successful strategy.

Streamlining the die's flow channel is always smart to end melt fracture, nonetheless it adds
expense. For a high-volume product it seems sensible to shell out for a fully streamlined die, but
which could not pay dividends for a small-volume product.
Reducing shear pressure in the property region can be achieved by increasing the die gap,
minimizing the extrusion amount, increasing die-land temp, increasing melt temperatures, or
lowering melt viscosity. Viscosity can be reduced by using a process lubricant or aid. When 500 to
1000 ppm of fluoroelastomer is usually added to a polyolefin, a covering is formed by it on the die.
This coating takes from five minutes to over one hour to form anywhere.
Other common solutions to melt fracture are to install a heater to raise die-land temperature to the
stage where the shear stress drops below the vital shear stress for melt fracture.
Residence period of melt found in the die-land area is so short that temperatures there can be set
relatively high. HDPE, for instance, which processes at about 400 F, can go through a die l and
at575 F without degrading. Die-land heaters could be retrofitted externally of the land area of a
tubing die.
A die-land heater may also reduce die-mind pressure and present up to 20% higher extrusion
throughputs while preserving good product appearance and dimensional tolerances.
Super-extrusion is a method in which shear stress in the die-land spot is well in this article the
critical shear price for melt fracture. That is possible with HDPE and particular fluoropolymers (FEP
and PFA types), which exhibit another region of stable extrusion at bigger shear than in the area
where melt fracture happens (Fig. 3).
Ultrasonic vibration of the die with attached transducers also causes shear thinning of plastics
externally. Limited information is available on this technique, nonetheless it can reduce melt
viscosity by orders of magnitude when the fee of deformation is large enough. The plastic material
melt coating at the die wall structure is most subjected to high-frequency deformation, producing a
large drop in melt viscosity at the die wall structure. This reduces die-brain pressure, die swell, melt
fracture, and die-lip drool.
-Edited by Jan H. Schut
Chris Rauwendaal has worked in extrusion for 30 years nearly. He heads his personal consulting
company in Los Altos Hills, Calif., which gives screw and die process and designs troubleshooting
services.