Diamond America is pleased to introduce our first cold feed extruder with a vented barrel.
Formerly, venting in a cold feed extruder was achieved by removing a batch of extrudate into a hopper or chute and pulling a vacuum on the material for a calculated period of time.
Borrowing from the thermal plastics process, internal venting has been implemented to effectively pull a vacuum on the material while it is still in the extruder barrel. This smart technology transfer enables trapped air or moisture to be removed from the extrudate without the need to stop the process.
A diaphragm-style plug is inserted into the barrel to create an open section at the transition point in the screw. Due to pressure as it passes by this vacuum port, the material is forced into the specially contoured recess allowing excess air or moisture to be drawn out of it in the process.
Our experienced Diamond America design engineers can fine-tune this special plug to meet the demands of many types of extruded material that requires venting.
The process advantages are obvious:
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More Continuous Production
Many manufacturers need moisture, impurities or certain volatiles to be removed from their material in the extrusion process. In the past, removal could be time-consuming and, sometimes, even ineffective. In-process venting, using a specially adapted Diamond America Extruder, pulls these unwanted components away from the material without stopping the motion of the screw, keeping the product running continuously through the equipment without engendering any delays.
Diamond America customers who have purchased extruders that accommodate venting are very satisfied with the resulting improvements in productivity and efficiency.
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Less Voids or Impurities
Testing in our own laboratory has shown a significant reduction in voids and impurities after the firing process, for products made of graphite and clay, when a vacuum is drawn on the material in Diamond America extruders that use our barrel plug technology. We are also currently testing this new venting method to remove gases from our proprietary pure white ceramics. These products cannot afford to contain any voids that could allow the possible formation of bacteria.
Diamond America machines are made of 100% food grade stainless steel, perfect for any application requiring process sterility.
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More Flexible Manufacturing
The venting plug can easily be changed to a solid plug, meaning that even our extruders which incorporate the new vacuum technology can quickly be transformed into non-vented extruders.
Diamond America’s clever modular construction also means that the entire vacuum section can be easily removed, if required, by the release of a couple of lock screws. The barrel can then slide back to mate up to the same flange, being secured with a shorter screw or an added spacer if a sectional screw has not been incorporated into the design. The options are almost unlimited with our custom extruder designs, with the added benefit of incorporating our new barrel venting technology where needed.
Diamond America customers rely on the modular design and flexible venting options of our Custom Extruders to meet their specific production targets and end product quality requirements.
Call Diamond America Now at 330-535-3330 to find out now our specialist extruder technology can increase your efficiency.
