TWIN SCREW

EXTRUDERS
 FEATURES OF SINGLE SCREW EXTRUDER
LOWER OUTPUT MORE COST OF PRODUCTION

FIXED PRODUCTION DUE TO OPTIMUM RPM

OPERATES THROUGH FRICTION MORE DEGRADATION

LIMITATIONS OF L / D RATIO 24 32

MIXING THROUGH BACK PRESSURE & FRICTION -

NON HOMOGENITY AND
LIMITATIONS IN QUALITY

HIGHER RESIDENCE TIME MORE DEGRADATION &

MORE DOSES OF STABILIZER
 TWIN SCREW EXTRUDERS
THE DISADVANTAGES OF SINGLE SCREW EXTRUDERS ARE
RESPONSIBLEFOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF TWIN SCREW EXTRUDERS
(T. S. E.).

THEY HAVE TWO INTERMESHING SCREWS ENCASED IN A MATCHING

BARREL. THEY WORK LIKE A POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT PUMP,
INDEPENDENT OF FRICTIONAL CRITERION.

TWIN SCREW EXTRUDERS ARE ESSENTIALLY GEAR PUMPS.

WHATEVER GOES IN COMES OUT FROM THE DIE.

MORE THE BULK DENSITY OF DRY BLEND ENTERING IN THE HOPPER,

MORE IS THE OUTPUT. WHETHER THE SCREWS ARE STARVED OR
FILLED.
 TYPE OF TWIN SCREW EXTRUDERS
TWIN SCREWS CAN BE
CO-ROTATING OR
CONTRA ROTATING.

THE BARREL AND SCREW CAN BE

PARALLEL,
STEPPED,

CONICAL OR

SUPER CONICAL.

OVER ALL OUTPUT OF TWIN SCREW EXTRUDERS IS

MUCH MORE THAN SINGLE SCREW EXTRUDERS.
CO ROTATING VS. CONTRA ROTATING
IN THE CO-ROTATING SCREWS, THE SHEAR ON THE
POLYMER IS QUITE HIGH IN THE OVERLAP REGION,
BECAUSE THE FLIGHTS ARE MOVING IN OPPOSITE
DIRECTION.

THIS GIVES BETTER MIXING. BUT DEGRADES PVC.

CONTRA ROTATING SCREWS GENERATE LESS

SHEAR IN THE OVERLAPPING REGION, SINCE THE
FLIGHTS TRAVEL IN THE SAME DIRECTION.

THIS IS WHY CONTRA ROTATING SCREWS ACCOUNT

FOR BETTER POPULARITY.
 CONTRA ROTATING SCREWS
IN CONTRA ROTATING SCREWS, AGAIN THERE ARE TWO
POSSIBILITIES
WHEN VIEWED FROM THE TOP
THE SCREWS CAN ROTATE TOWARDS THE CENTER OR
TOWARDS THE SIDES.

AS FAR AS MIXING OR HEAT TRANSFER IS CONCERNED,

EITHER DIRECTION OF ROTATION WILL PROCESS THE
POLYMER IN THE SAME MANNER.

INWARD DIRECTION OF ROTATION MAY PULL THE MATERIAL

FROM THE HOPPER INTO THE BITE OF THE SCREWS MORE
EFFECTIVELY.

HOWEVER THERE IS ALWAYS A DANGER THAT A FOREIGN

OBJECT IS PULLED INTO THE SCREWS.
ADVANTAGES OF TWIN SCREW EXTRUDERS
IN CASE OF SINGLE SCREW EXTRUDERS, THE
MIXING ACTION DEPENDS MAINLY ON BACK
PRESSURE, RESULTING IN BACK FLOW IN THE
METERING SECTION.

IN TWIN SCREW EXTRUDER, ADDITIONAL MIXING

TAKES PLACE AT THE POINT OF SCREW
INTERMESHING.

NARROW RESIDENCE TIME ENABLES LESSER

DOSES OF STABILIZERS IN TWIN SCREW
EXTRUDERS

PROCESSING TEMP. RANGES FROM 180 190 C IN

T. S. E. AS AGAINST 205 225 C IN S. S. E.
ADVANTAGES OF TWIN SCREW EXTRUDERS
LESS THERMAL HISTORY PROVIDES LARGE MARGIN AGAINST
THERMAL DEGRADATION.

L / D RATIO IS 12 TO 16 IN TWIN SCREW EXTRUDER.

AGAINST 24 TO 32 IN SINGLE SCREW EXTRUDERS.

MORE VISCOUS & CONSISTENT MELT AND MORE UNIFORM

PUMPING ACTION GIVES SURGE FREE MELT DISCHARGE WITH
CONSISTENT PRODUCT IN CASE OF TWIN SCREW EXTRUDER.

VENTING OPERATION AT EASE.

SELF CLEANING ACTION.

RELATIVELY LOWER R. P. M. IN T.S.E. ( 15 30 )

AS AGAINST ( 40 - 60 ) R. P. M. IN S. S. E.
 MIXING & SHEARING

IN TWIN SCREW EXTRUDERS THE SCREW R.P.M. IS

LOW AND HENCE THERE IS LOW SHEAR AT THE
BARREL WALL RESULTING IN LOW MIXING.

HOWEVER GOOD MIXING TAKES PLACE THROUGH

1. THE CLEARANCE BETWEEN FLANKS OF

OPPOSING SCREWS, AS WELL AS

2. THE FLIGHT LAND OF ONE SCREW AND THE

BOTTOM CHANNEL OF THE OPPOSING SCREW
PROMOTE INTERCHANGE OF MATERIAL
BETWEEN SCREWS RESULTING IN GOOD MIXING.
 ENERGY UTILIZATION
MECHANICAL ENERGY FROM THE MOTOR IS USED
FOR

MIXING AND IN TURN IN RAISING THE

TEMPERATURE OF THE POLYMER.
THIS IS DESIRABLE, AS DUE TO POOR THERMAL
CONDUCTIVITY OF THE POLYMER, HEAT TRANSFER
FROM THE BARREL IS NOT SUFFICIENT.

IF HIGH OUTPUT IS ACHIEVED WITH INSUFFICIENT

MECHANICAL ENERGY, QUALITY OF THE PRODUCT
MAY BE POOR DUE TO INSUFFICIENT FUSION.
 COMPRESSION

THE BULK DENSITY OF THE DRY BLEND

ENTERING THE HOPPER IS ABOUT 0.6 g / cc.

THE MELT DENSITY IS ABOUT 1.45 g / cc.

A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF COMPRESSION

MUST TAKE PLACE WITHIN THE EXTRUDER.

THE SCREWS / BARREL MUST PROVIDE

COMPRESSION THROUGH THE DESIGN OF
BARREL AS WELL AS DESIGN OF FLIGHTS.
THE EXTRUDER HAS FEED ZONE, COMRESSION
ZONE AND METERING ZONE.
WAYS OF ACHIEVING COMPRESSION
1. DECREASE THE PITCH OF THE SCREW FROM FEED END TO
THE DISCHARGE. THE SCREW AT THE FEED END PUMPS THE
MATERIAL AT A FASTER RATE THAN AT THE DISCHARGE, SO
THAT MATERIAL IN BETWEEN IS COMPRESSED.

2. THE FLIGHT DIRECTION CAN BE REVERSED OVER A SMALL

LENGTH OF THE SCREW. THIS TECHNIQUE IS USED IN
COMPOUNDING EXTRUDERS.

3. INCREASING FLIGHT THICKNESS FROM FEED END TO

DISCHARGE END.

4. REDUCE THE DIAMETER TOWARDS THE DISCHARGE END BY

USING TAPERED SCREWS AND BARREL.

5. REDUCE BARREL AND SCREW DIAMETER STEP WISE.

PROCESSING IN TWIN SCREW EXTRUDERS

THE FOCUS IN TWIN SCREW EXTRUSION IS DIVIDED

IN FOUR PARTS -

1. THE DRY BLEND MIXING OPERATION.

2. BETWEEN FEED ZONE AND VACUUM PORT.

3. BETWEEN VACUUM PORT AND DIE.

4. WITHIN THE DIE.

IN PVC PROCESSING WHAT MATTERS IS THE

TEMPERATURE OF PVC AND NOT THE
TEMPERATURE OF ANY PART OF THE EXTRUDER.
APPROPRIATE PRODUCT QUALITY
CONTROL
CORRECT CORRECT
INPUTS OUTPUTS
PROCESS
PLASTIC PROCESSING -
1. PREPARING THE MATERIAL-COLOURING,
MIXING, DRYING ETC.
2. MELTING & HOMOGENIZING
3. SHAPING THROUGH DIE,MOULD, FORMING
4. COOLING THE SHAPED PRODUCT
5. FINISHING-PRINTING, ASSEMBLY ETC.
 HOT MIXING

UNIFORM OPERATION IN THE MIXING BATCHES IS

THE KEY TO SUCCESSFUL EXTRUSION.

MIX ALL THE BATCHES AT SAME TEMPERATURE,

TORQUE AND TIME AND FOLLOW THE SAME
SEQUENCE OF ADDITION OF ADDITIVES.

MORE THE DROP TEMPERATURE, MORE THE BULK

DENSITY OF THE DRY BLEND.

OPTIMUM DROP TEMPERATURE IS 120 C

 COLD MIXING

COOL THE BATCH TO SAME TEMPERATURE.

VARIATION IN THE FINAL TEMPERATURE OF THE DRY

BLEND AFFECTS THE LOCATION OF FUSION IN THE
EXTRUDER. THE OPTIMUM COMPOUND TEMPERATURE
FROM COLD MIXER IS 40 C.

TOO MUCH COOLING WILL RESULT IN MOISTURE

CONTENT IN THE DRY BLEND DUE TO
CONDENSATION.

CARBON BLACK HAS A VERY HIGH SURFACE AREA

PER UNIT WEIGHT AND HAS AFFINITY FOR GASES
AND MOISTURE, WHICH IT ABSORBS LIKE A
SPONGE.
BETWEEN FEED ZONE & VACUUM PORT

THE SCREWS SHOULD BE FILLED COMPLETELY FOR

MAXIMUM OUTPUT.

FAIRLY AGGRESSIVE HEATING IS REQUIRED IN THE

FIRST TWO ZONES TO FACILITATE EXTRACTION OF

1. VOLATILES,

2. MOISTURE

3. HCl GAS GENERATED DUE TO DEGRADATION.

DURING VACUUM DEGASSING.

AT VACUUM PORT
LOOK AT THE VACUUM PORT WITH A FLASH
LIGHT.

NO DRY POWDER SHOULD BE VISIBLE AT ANY TIME

FROM THE VACUUM PORT.

THE DRY BLEND SHOULD LOOK POWDERY BUT

STICKY LIKE WET SAND.

THE GRAINS MUST STICK TOGETHER BUT SHOULD

NOT FUSE. [ GELLATION ]

THE TEMPERATURE OF MATERIALAT VACUUM

PORT SHOULD BE AROUND 150 C.
 EFFECT OF DRY BLEND TEMPERATURE
DRY BLEND TEMP. PLAYS A VERY VITAL ROLE. IT SHOULD BE
AROUND 40 C.

SUPPOSE YOUR DRY BLEND TEMP IS 20 C MORE. THE

TEMPERATURE AT VACUUM PORT WILL RISE TO AROUND
170 C, INSTEAD OF 150 C.

THE TORQUE WILL RISE.

THE MATERIAL WILL BE FUSED BEFORE VACUUM PORT.

THE PRODUCT WILL HAVE VOIDS DUE TO TRAPPED AIR AND

MOISTURE RESULTING IN POORER IMPACT AND MECHANICAL
STRENGTH.

DUE TO MORE HEAT AND TORQUE IT MAY DEGRADE,

FURTHER RESULTING IN BAD QUALITY.
BETWEEN VACUUM PORT & ADAPTER
THIS IS THE AREA WHERE PVC SHOULD FUSE.
OPTIMUM FUSION SHOULD BE 60 TO 65 %

IF THE CONSISTENCY AT VACUUM PORT

LOOKS GOOD BUT THE TORQUE IS TOO
HIGH, TRY TO INCREASE THE ADAPTER
TEMPERATURE BY FEW DEGREES.

THE ADAPTER IS LIKE A VALVE.

-HIGHER TEMPERATURE OPENS IT UP.

-LOWER TEMPERATURE CLOSES IT.
 LOCATION OF FUSION

DEPENDING THE SIZE OF THE DIE, WE SHOULD BE

ABLE TO CHOOSE THE PLACE OF OPTIMUM FUSION.
SOME TIMES THE FUSION CAN TAKE PLACE EVEN IN
DIE.

IF YOU HAVE POOR FUSION AND THE METERING

ZONE TEMPERATURES ARE AT MAXIMUM LIMIT, TRY
TO REDUCE ADAPTER TEMP LITTLE BIT.

THE MELT WILL GET HOTTER AND THE TORQUE

WILL RISE AND THEN FALL OFF AGAIN TO A LEVEL
JUST ABOVE THE INITIAL LEVEL.
 CHANGES DURING EXTRUSION
ANY CHANGE YOU MAKE, DO IT GENTLY.

TEMP. INCREASE SHOULD BE AT THE MOST 5 C. AT A TIME.

WAIT FOR 20 MINUTES BEFORE YOU MAKE ANOTHER

CHANGE.

ANY CHANGE IN ONE PART OF AN EXTRUDER AFFECTS ALL

PARTS OF IT.

NOTE ALL YOUR CHANGES IN A LOG BOOK.

MAKE SURE THAT THE SAMPLE CHECKED FOR PHYSICAL

PROPERTIES MATCHES CORRECTLY WITH THE
CORRESPONDING EXTRUSION CONDITIONS, TO AVOID
WRONG CONCLUSIONS.

IF YOUR INPUTS ARE CONSISTENT, YOU MAY HAVE TO MAKE

MINOR CHANGES, BASED ON THE CONTROL PLAN DATA ON
PARAMETERS AND THE TEST RESULTS AVAILABLE.
 WHAT HAPPENS INSIDE THE DIE

MELT FROM THE EXTRUDER ENTERS THE DIE EITHER

THROUGH AN ORIFICE OR BREAKER PLATE AND SCREEN
PACK.

EXTRUSION DIE IS ESSENTIALLY A STREAM LINED CHANNEL

WHICH GIVES APPROPRIATE SHAPE TO THE POLYMER MELT.

THE MELT COMING OUT OF THE DIE MUST LOOK SHINY WITH
NO LUMPS, STREAKS OR ROUGHNESS.

THE MELT TEMPERATURE SHOULD BE BETWEEN 185 TO 190 C.

THE TORQUE SHOULD BE 60 % OR ABOVE.

 BASIC REQUIREMENTS
1. THE MELT VISCOSITY MUST BE MAINTAINED BY
CONTROLLING THE TEMPERATURE.

2. DEGRADATION DUE TO OVER HEATING SHOULD BE

AVOIDED.

3. FLOW SHOULD BE SMOOTH. NO STAGNANT AREAS

SHOULD BE PRESENT IN THE DIE.

4. CHANGE IN CROSS SECTION SHOULD BE

GRADUAL.

5. SUFFICIENT PRESSURE MUST BE MAINTAINED BY

GRADUALLY REDUCING THE CROSS-SECTIONAL
AREA OF THE DIE CHANNEL.
 BASIC REQUIREMENTS

6. THE MELT PATH RESTRICTION SHOULD BE

ADJUSTABLE.

7. THE DIE CONSTRUCTION SHOULD BE RIGID TO

WITHSTAND INTERNAL PRESSURE.

8. THE DIE SHOULD FILL COMPLETELY. [ INT. LUB]

9. USUALLY TOWARDS THE EXIT END OF THE DIE

REDUCTION IN CROSS SECTION IS AVOIDED.
INSTEAD A PARALLELITY IS MAINTAINED. THIS
PARALLEL PORTION IS CALLED DIE LAND.
 TWIN SCREW DESIGN DETAILS

INDIVIDUAL SCREWS ARE USUALLY CUT FROM ONE

PIECE OF METAL.

SOME MANUFACTURERS USE SMALL SCREW

SECTIONS THAT SLIDES ONTO SPLINED OR KEYED
SHAFTS.

THE TWIN SCREWS ARE NITRIDED FOR WEAR

RESISTANCE.

CHROME PLATING IS AVOIDED AS ITS LOW

COEFFICIENT OF FRICTION DEPRIVES THE
MECHANICAL WORKING OF THE POLYMER.
 TWIN SCREW DESIGN DETAILS
HIGH PERFORMANCE SCREWS ARE TEMPERATURE
CONTROLLED. THIS IS DONE BY PUMPING THE
TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED FLUID THROUGH THE
BORE OF THE SCREWS.

IN CASE THE BULK DENSITY OF THE DRY BLEND

VARIES FOR ANY REASON, GRAVITY FED HOPPERS
CAN NOT BE USED.

INSTEAD, A VOLUMETRIC SCREW FEEDER IS USED

TO FEED THE MATERIAL WITH VARIABLE SPEED
ARRANGEMENT.
 BARREL DESIGNING DETAILS
BARRELS ARE NITRIDED.

THEY ARE SUBJECTED TO APPRECIABLE WEAR AND TEAR,

DUE TO SPREADING FORCES BETWEEN THE SCREWS.

CHROME PLATING IS AVOIDED AS THE DIFFERENCE IN THE

THERMAL EXPANSION BETWEEN THE CHROME PLATING AND
THE STEEL BARREL INDUCE STRESSES THAT CAUSE CHROME
PLATE TO PEAL OFF.

A TWIN SCREW EXTRUDER CAN FUNCTION WITH MUCH MORE

BARREL WEAR THAN SINGLE SCREW EXTRUDER.

IT IS BETTER TO TOLERATE THE WEAR AND THEN REPLACE

THE BARREL.

A GROWING PRACTICE IS TO USE HARD ALLOY LINERS.

 CONICAL VS. PARALLEL SCREW

OVER A PERIOD OF TIME, DUE TO WEAR AND TEAR,

THE OUTPUT IN PARALLEL SCREW DECREASES
GRADUALLY.

WHERE AS IN CASE OF CONICAL SCREWS THE

OUTPUT CAN BE MAINTAINED BY PERIODICALLY
FORWARDING THE SCREWS.

UNBALANCED FORCES ACTING ON THE SCREWS DO

PRESENT A PROBLEM OF DEFLECTION AS THE
SCREWS GET LONGER.
 CONICAL VS. PARALLEL SCREW
CONICAL TWIN SCREWS HAS A DISTINCT
ADVANTAGE AS A CONICAL SCREW IS A MORE
EFFECTIVE CANTILEVER BEAM AND RESIST
BENDING BETTER.

PARALLEL SCREWS LIE SO CLOSE THAT

PROVIDING ADEQUATE THRUST BEARING IS A
PROBLEM. OBVIOUSLY ONE SCREW SHAFT HAS TO
EXTEND BEYOND THE OTHER TO ACCOMMODATE
APPROPRIATE THRUST BEARING.

IN CASE OF CONICAL SCREWS THIS PROBLEM IS

SOLVED DUE TO MORE DIAMETER AT THE FEED END.
 ADAPTER & DIE DESIGN
TO MINIMIZE THRUST LOADS, THE DIE SYSTEMS FOR TWIN SCREW
EXTRUDERS ARE DESIGNED WITH WIDE INTERNAL OPENINGS TO
REDUCE THE BACK PRESSURE.

THE PRESSURE VARIES INVERSELY WITH THE THIRD POWER OF THE

THICKNESS OF THE OPENING. SO IT IS POSSIBLE TO REDUCE BACK
PRESSURE BY USING WIDE CLEARANCE UP TO THE FINAL DIE
OPENING.

THE END OF THE TWIN SCREWS ARE NOT SYMMETRICAL. THE

AMOUNT OF MATERIAL BETWEEN THE SCREW TIPS AND THE DIE IS
LARGE.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO KEEP THIS TO A MINIMUM.

AN EFFECTIVE DESIGN FOR A TWIN SCREW EXTRUDER ADAPTER
HAS THE CAVITY TO MATCH THE CONICAL TIPS OF THE SCREWS.

THESE CONICAL CAVITIES ARE CONVERGED TO A COMMON SMALL

DIAMETER HOLE.

ADAPTERS AND DIES ARE HARD CHROME PLATED FROM TIME TO

TIME.
 FLOW RATE IN THE PROFILE DIE

IF THE FLOW IS CHANGED BY CHANGING THE

THICKNESS OF THE DIE OPENING, THE VOLUME OF
FLOW VARIES INVERSELY WITH THE CUBE OF
THICKNESS OF THE OPENING.

SINCE THE FLOW IN THE REST OF THE DIE MUST

CHANGE IN OPPOSITE DIRECTION, THERE IS
ACTUALLY A MULTIPLYING EFFECT.

IN CASE OF PROFILE DIES, CHANGING DIE LAND

LENGTH TO BALANCE THE DIE IS PREFERABLE
BECAUSE THE EFFECT IS LINEAR.

PLATE TYPE DIES OFFER DEGRADATION PROBLEM

AFTER 12 18 HOURS. THESE DIES CAN NOT BE
USED FOR HIGH RATE EXTRUSION.