Compounders and masterbatch companies' primary issue is striking the ideal balance between production efficiency and material quality, which can be achieved through process optimization.
AIMPLAS has been developing sophisticated plastic formulations for more than 25 years. The extensive understanding of the compounding process has allowed them to specialize in assessing and optimizing the masterbatch and compounding processes, assisting companies in increasing their output and quality.
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Common Problems Solved
- Insufficient Dispersion: Incorporating pigments like carbon black or titanium dioxide and nanofillers (CNT, graphene, nanoclays, etc.) correctly can be challenging. AIMPLAS examines the operating environment and redesigns screws to improve dispersion.
- Inefficient Fiber Performance: Issues with the proper integration of fibers into the polymer matrix and their length, which affect material quality and mechanical properties.
- Production Limitations and Bottlenecks: Identifying constraints that limit production capacity, such as inefficient peripheral equipment, and adjusting process settings to increase output.
- High Energy Consumption: Optimizing process parameters and feeding strategies to decrease specific energy consumption (SEI/SME) and increase efficiency.
- Recycling and Integration of New Materials: Adapting processes to recycled or bio-based resources, as well as regulatory changes, which are often more difficult to process (sensitivity) and handle (formats).
Audits to Optimize the Compounding Process
AIMPLAS professionals can perform on-site technological audits and complex process simulations to assess and optimize compound production in real and virtual environments.
Their approach includes:
- Evaluation of Screw Design and Configuration: Choosing and modifying mixing elements to increase dispersion and energy efficiency
- Process Simulation for Data-Driven Decision Making: Using sophisticated simulation technologies to predict:
- Shear distribution and residence time
- Pressures, melt temperatures, and material flow
- The effects of changing the screw design on production capacity and dispersion
- Enhancements in degassing and volatile/odor elimination
- KPI-Based Evaluation: Utilizing essential performance metrics to gauge advancements, such as:
- Specific Energy Consumption (SEC) [kWh/kg]: Evaluating energy efficiency and making quality adjustments
- Production Increase [%]: Calculating increases in productivity
- Dispersion Quality (MI, Color Consistency, Microscopic Analysis): Ensuring adherence to quality requirements
- Scrap Reduction [%]: Assessing the decrease in production rejections
AIMPLAS offers crucial technical insights to improve compound production's efficiency, quality, and profitability because of its vast experience with co-rotating twin-screw extrusion and sophisticated process simulation.
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