What to Look for in an Extruder Machine

Edan ShayakPipe Extrusion

what to look for in an extruder machine

Achieving optimal performance from your plastic pipe production line requires many machines to work together in tandem. And at the heart of every plastic pipe production line is the extruder. It is important to the success of your business that you know what to look for when choosing a new extruder machine. Selecting a new extruder can have big impact on the quality of pipe you produce and presents a daunting task for new manufacturers.

Single & Twin Screw Extruders

First you must determine what type of pipe you want to produce. For standard HDPE and PPR pipe  there are single screw extruders and twin screw extruders for PVC pipe.

The reason PVC piping requires a Double or Twin Screw Extruder is to ensure that the PVC powder is properly mixed. Since PVC powder is a rough material a second screw is required to mix it without damaging the extruder. On the other hand, for PE pipe production a Single Screw Extruder is up to task. Extensive information regarding the two types of piping can be found in the article PE vs. PVC Pipe Extrusion: Which is Right For My Application?.

DRTS offers a wide range of single or double screw standalone extruder machines, with outputs ranging from 5 to as high as 1200 kg per hour, depending on plastic material properties and application.

Ease of use & integration

A plastics extruder machine most often operates as part of a series of downstream connected machines. Therefore, the integration options offered by an extruder are of critical importance to the extruder operation, as part of your production line.

DRTS offers a variety of features that make every extruder machine easy to integrate and operate such as industry 4.0 connectivity, allowing you to control your entire line from your extruders HMI. DRTS specializes in manufacturing high quality connected extruders and can help in upgrading or refurbishing your existing extruder.

Modern PLC/HMI Extruder Control

As mentioned above the integration of a touch screen control panel offers a variety of options in terms of extruder machine communication with a SCADA system and upstream or downstream production line machines. This allows for seamless integration of the extruder with any existing pipe production line machinery. In many cases we have found that our clients do not need a new production line but by upgrading their extruder they can increase quality and productivity with their existing machinery.

Remote Control Options

Remote control option provide the extruder machine with the ability of on the spot monitoring and data acquisition. This can be a key factor in line integration and optimizing the extruder machine’s performance. This feature also gives the ability to utilize DRTS’ online live support enabling troubleshooting and fixing production issues in a timely, cost efficient manner.

Direct Drive Material Feeding System

On double screw PVC extruder machines DRTS uses a direct drive material feeding system instead of a regular dosing system. Direct drive dosing ensures extruder feeding with a precise quantity of material at a consistent pressure. This results are constant extrusion productivity and output, as well as maintaining superior product quality and physical properties, strength and appearance.

drts twin screw pvc pipe extruder machine

DRTS Twin Screw PVC Pipe Extruder Machine

High quality construction, components & parts

A very important thing to look for when selecting a plastics extruder machine, is whether it uses quality components from industry leading manufacturers such as; Siemens, Omron, and ABB. This is always a plus over locally sourced, no-name brand or outdated components.Using quality components ensures that spare parts are available allowing for easy servicing and guaranteed high performance.

Extruder screw, barrel & gearbox

The most important parts of a plastic pipe extruder machine are the screw, barrel and gearbox, which are the components who work the hardest or have the largest product contact and are subjected to extreme thermal as well as mechanical wear and tear.

For the screw & barrel, DRTS uses specialized Bimetallic or Nitrated components, manufactured by leading vendors of metallic industrial parts, such as Reiloy  from the German manufacturer Metall GmbH. This ensures reliable and predictable extruder machine operation, long extruder life and durability, even in increased technically challenging applications such as Double Screw PVC Extruders.

For the gearbox, DRTS uses Zambello Gearboxes from Italy, combined with motors from ABB, SIEMENS and BAUMULLER, ensuring extruder reliability, durability and consistency.

Gearbox

Extruder Features a Zambello Gearbox & your Choice of ABB/Siemens/Baumuller Motors.

DRTS Extruder Gearbox & Motor
Screw & Barrel

Our Extruders Utilize a Bimetallic Screw & Barrel from Reiloy.

DRTS Extruder Screw & Barrel

HMI / PLC

Our Extruder Have a 12 Inch HMI comprised of components from B&R / Siemens / Omron.

DRTS Extruder HMI / PLC

Electronics

DRTS Pipe Extruders Exclusively Feature Industry Leading Electronics Brands.

DRTS Extruder Electronics

Electronic components

Using quality electric components is critical for the operation of a plastics extruder machine. This ensures good operation, modular parts replacement, easy troubleshooting and low maintenance downtimes.

DRTS uses high quality electronic components from world class leading industrial brands like Siemens, ABB, Omron, Schneider and Celduc. Our extruder machines make use of the latest technological advancements in ceramic heating elements for the barrel, to the B&R, Siemens and Omron control panels and HMI. We ensure that our extruders are reliable and productive, while remaining serviceable and easy to use.

DRTS Extruder Component Breakdown

Screw & Barrel:
Bimetallic (Germany) or Nitreated DIN 1.8850
Main Motor:
ABB / Siemens / Baumuller
Driver:
ABB / Siemens / Baumuller
HMI/PLC Control:
12” B&R/Siemens/Omron
PC Control:
Optional 19”
Gearbox:
Zambello – Italy
Heating Elements:
Ceramic Heaters + Aluminium Separators
Melt-Pressure Sensor:
Gerfan – Italy
Electric Components:
Wago – ABB – Siemens – Schneider
Solid State Relays:
Celduc / France
Air Condition:
Optional

DRTS Plastic Pipe Extruder Machines

At DRTS we provide the expertise required to help you find and custom build the perfect extruder machine for your business. Contact a representative to find out everything you need to know about the DRTS extruder machines and get a price quote.

Free Consultation - Pipe Extrusion Machinery

More from DRTS

DRTS Single & Twin Screw Extruders

The Importance of a Gravimetric Feeder System in Extrusion

Insider Highlight: A Look at Extrusion Die-Heads

3 Things to Consider When Choosing an Extruder Machine Manufacturer

PE vs. PVC Pipe Extrusion: Which is Right For My Application?