New pilot plant station opens

FEDDEM enables customers to perform tests under real production conditions

A pilot plant station provides a vital link between research and development and serial production. FEDDEM GmbH & Co. KG customers now have the opportunity to perform complex, stringent tests under realistic production conditions over a space of about 300 m². The extrusion and compounding line manufacturer has leased a separate workshop with an adjacent office and meeting room from fellow Feddersen Group company AKRO-PLASTIC GmbH based in Niederzissen in Germany’s Rheinland-Pfalz.

Tasks such as blending, filling and reinforcing can be performed on up to thirteen metering feeders to produce everything from standard or technical plastics through to high-performance plastics. The compounding line is also available to masterbatch manufacturers to test extrusion starting from premix.

Not only has the Twin-Screw Extruder FED 52 MTS been protected against abrasive und corrosive wear, but peripheral equipment has also been fitted using high-grade materials.

“Thanks to its modular design, the line can be easily modified to cover a wide range of extrusion tasks,” explains Dieter Gross, Managing Director at FEDDEM GmbH & Co. KG. “The processing length can be extended from 32 L/D to 42 L/D and 52 L/D. We have also built the extruder frame in two sections, thus ensuring that processing units with a different Da/Di ratio with the same centre distance can be installed onto the drive unit in just a few steps.”

The dual-level platform features enough space for product feed and metering feeders and is intended to hold a second compounding line, which is already at the planning stage.

State-of-the-art peripheral equipment made by renowned manufacturers ensures that customers can test performance in a production-like environment.

The system includes up to three side extruders, vacuum degasing, strand pelletizing (underwater pelletizing also planned), a grading screen, a spiral conveyor, suction conveying, a bagging machine with scales and many other items.

The line is controlled from an operating terminal with a touch screen, to which all the machines in the process are linked. All relevant data are shown on screen during testing and also displayed in the meeting room using a suitable software application.

Material samples produced in the pilot station can then be analysed in AKRO-PLASTIC’s adjacent, accredited laboratory (DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025:2005) which features all the essential instruments and equipment required for testing.

FEDDEM’s pilot plant station will be officially opened on September 21, 2011, but is already freely available for customer testing.

The new pilot plant station with Twin-Screw Extruder FED 52 MTS