Cost-effective coextrusion technology for profile and sheeting

At the Competence Forum, KraussMaffei Berstorff is appearing once again as a system provider for complete solutions. Visitors can observe the manufacture of light covers made from polycarbonate on a profile line. In addition, a sheeting line will be displayed. The EdelweissCompounding system provides energy-efficient plastics recycling and high product quality.

Light covers in the coextrusion process

Production of light bar profiles made from polycarbonate in the coextrusion process

"Our customers can witness live how a lamp housing is made from polycarbonate at the coextrusion profile line," explains Matthias Sieverding, President of Extrusion Technology at the KraussMaffei Group. A combination of the single-screw extruder KME 60-30 D/P and KME 45-30 D/P produces a light cover that resembles the housing of fluorescent tubes. However, the profile is made of two sections; a colored floor and a translucent area for distributing light. In the line along with the die, a blade cutting unit for swarf-free cutting and a deposit tray as the upstream station for robot technology are integrated. This is displayed in an animation at the end of the line, along with the profile removal by a robot, visual inspection and forwarding to packaging. Production is completely integrated into the C6 control system. Only the LED elements and the end pieces, manufactured with KraussMaffei injection molding systems, have to be attached in a separate working step.
The live system is designed for an output of 35 kg/h with a speed of 1.5 m/min.

Coextruded PVC sheets produced on a KraussMaffei Berstorff sheeting line

System solution for sheet extrusion

"A completely built up sheet system shows our visitors the exemplary cost-effective and flexible manufacturing of PVC sheets," explains Sieverding. A wide variety of coextruded products can be created with cost-effective materials using the total system concept and utilized in the construction industry, container construction and even in advertising. The main extruder KMD 133-32/PL produces the foamed intermediate layer with an output of up to 1100 kg/h, while the coextruder KMD 75-26/PL produces the solid outer layer with an output of up to 240 kg/h. The flexible design allows the processor to modify a monoextrusion in just a few easy steps. "The twin-screw extruder KMD 164-32/PL features a very high output of up to 1400 kg/h and provides another exhibit of our comprehensive expertise in sheet extrusion," Sieverding concludes.

Plastics recycling and compounding in a single step

EdelweissCompounding system for energy efficient plastics recycling

EdelweissCompounding system offers obvious advantages regarding energy efficiency as well as a quality finished product. In this concept, a first extruder processes the recyclate before a second extruder compounds it. By integrating the process into a tandem system, repeat heating of input materials is not necessary. As a result, this saves energy, and the reduced portion of shear energy during plasticizing benefits the material quality.

The system can be seen at the Competence Forum as a display model recreated true-to-detail and through an augmented reality presentation for more detailed information.