Sheet Extrusion

Get the Roll Surface Right

Roll finishes often cost more than the roll itself. The right finish improves film or sheet quality and raises output. Yet most processors don't know how to measure surface roughness or to specify it properly.

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Automation

Get Smart About Screens

Almost all extrusion processes pass melt through wire-mesh screens on the way to the die to provide filtering and improved mixing.

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NPE News Wrap-Up: Extrusion

Gearless extrusion, cryogenic profile calibration, wireless data communications, and automatic start-up of blown film lines are just a few of the new ways to raise efficiency and output that were highlighted at NPE.

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Film Extrusion

How to Fix Vent-Flow Problems

Putting one or two vents between the feed throat and die is a good way to remove moisture, trapped air, and other volatiles from melted plastic as it moves through an extruder.

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Film Extrusion

A Show Full of Surprises For Every Application

It doesn’t matter whether you extrude blown or cast film, sheet, pipe, profiles, or foam—the K 2001 show held something exciting and unexpected that will open your eyes to new possibilities.

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Film Extrusion

Boltless Flat Die Opens Faster

Without changing the inner workings of the die, Extrusion Dies Inc., Chippewa Falls, Wis., has come up with a revolutionary way to assemble flat dies without bolts. The closing mechanism replaces conventional die bolts with rods actuated by hydraulic toggles to hold the die halves together.

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Troubleshooting Melt Fracture in Profile, Tubing Extrusion

A troubleshooting timeline is essential to help you quickly identify problems and their causes. Here we'll describe such a timeline and how to use it to solve one common problem—melt fracture in tube and profile extrusion.

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Film Extrusion

Extrusion (K 2001 Preview)

Probably the most intriguing news in extrusion at K 2001 will be a novel way to extrude clear film that differs from standard blown and cast methods.

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Foamed PET Sheet Tackles New Markets

Perpetually in its infancy, PET foam sheet has been a hard sell for packaging producers over nearly a decade. It found successful niches in thermoformed ovenable bakery trays, meat trays, and reheatable dinner trays for home delivery to disabled persons.

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Can Your Sheet Lines Meet New ANSI Safety Standards?

The new standard relates to the design and use of the take-off equipment. Its biggest impact will be to require older sheet roll stacks to be extensively rebuilt or replaced in order to meet new emergency nip-opening requirements.

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Process Cooling