More than 80 units sold since their introduction seven years ago - this is ample proof that Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik GmbH, Bad Oeynhausen, Germany, has firmly established its high-speed extruders for thermoforming and rigid sheet production on the market. Building on this success, a standardized series of extrusion lines has been developed during the last few months, consisting of an extruder and a polishing stack for inline applications. The series is currently available in four different sizes. To offer even more customer benefit, the outputs have been adapted to match the performance of established auto-matic thermoforming equipment.
Essential features of the high-speed extruders are their high output and considerably smaller footprint, as well as a reduction in specific energy consumption by up to 50% compared to conventional extruders. Moreover, these compact machines are easy to operate and less costly than standard equipment in their respective performance classes in terms of capital investment, maintenance and wear. The process advantages of these extruders are shorter dwell times and consequently less stress on materials during production, high end product quality through optimal blending and fast color or material changeovers, thanks to the smaller free volume inside the processing unit.
The roll stacks from Bad Oeynhausen are custom-made to fit the performance re-quirements. They have been completely revamped and optimized, keeping needs of machine operators in view and the focus on product quality as well as on easy oper-ation.
All roll stacks are equipped with OFL (one-force-line) technology to minimize toler-ances in sheet dimensions. A hydraulic system regulates the alignment of the rolls. The rolls themselves are driven by high-precision servo motors. Every inner ring of the bearings is seated separately.
To improve the handling properties, the exchange of rolls has been greatly simplified and now takes only a minimum of time. Furthermore, the roll nip is open to view to enable quick detection and implementation of any necessary corrections, especially during start-up. As a result, the start-up phase has been shortened considerably, which prevents unnecessary loss of material. Moreover, an additional control mechanism has been integrated, causing the rolls to open in the event of a power fail-ure and thus excluding the risk of damage.
