How to clean the plastic extrusion line correctly?

In today's technologically advanced, cleaning plastic extrusion lines would not be a big problem, but how to correctly and economically effective cleaning plastic extrusion lines, and so that the screw and barrel is not damaged, is a problem, once the improper manipulation will become a big problem.

Plastic extruders from jwell extrusion machinery can provide superior performance and reliability, with a wide range of custom designed solutions to meet any production requirement. They are built to last and offer superior quality and efficiency.

1, plastic extrusion line choose the right heating device

Fire or fire to remove the plastic fixed in the screw, is a common and effective way to plastic processing units, but never use acetylene flame to clean the screw. Acetylene flames can reach temperatures of up to 3000°C. Cleaning screws with acetylene flames will not only damage the metal properties of the screw, but will also affect the mechanical tolerances of the screw. If the acetylene flame turns permanently blue when baking a part of the screw, this means that the metal structure of this part of the screw has changed, which will lead to a reduction in the wear resistance of the part or even to the peeling off of the wear-resistant layer from the base metal. In addition, partial heating with an acetylene flame can cause overheating on one side of the screw, which can lead to bending of the screw. After the screw has been baked and cooled by the acetylene flame, it is often difficult to return it to its original straightness. The correct and effective way to clean the screw is to use a torch immediately after use. Because this time the screw with the heat of the process, so the heat distribution of the screw is still uniform.

2, the plastic extrusion line to choose the correct cleaner

Commodity economy is highly developed today, there is no shortage of all kinds of screw cleaner (screw cleaning material) on the market, most of them are expensive, the use of good and bad results. Whether to use commercial cleaning agents, according to different manufacturers and production situation; plastic processing enterprises can also be based on their own production, the use of different resins to do screw cleaning material, can save a lot of money for the unit.

3, the plastic extrusion line to choose the correct cleaning method

The start of cleaning plastic extrusion line screw is to turn off the charging switch, that is, close the sliding door at the bottom of the hopper; then reduce the screw speed to 15-25r/min, and keep this speed until the melt flow at the front of the die head stops flowing.

The temperature of all heating zones of the barrel should be set at 204°C. As soon as the barrel reaches this temperature, start cleaning. Depending on the extrusion process (it may be necessary to remove the die head to reduce the risk of excessive pressure at the front end of the extruder), cleaning must therefore be carried out by two people: one operator observing the screw speed and torque from the control panel and the other observing the extrusion pressure to ensure that the system pressure is not too high. The screw speed should be kept between 15 and 20 r/min throughout the process. In low pressure die applications, the die should not be removed for cleaning in the first place. Stop and remove the die head as soon as the extrudate is fully converted from process resin to clean resin, then restart the screw to allow residual clean resin to flow out.

4, choose the correct cleaning tools for your plastic extrusion line

The correct tools and cleaning materials should include: heat resistant gloves, goggles, copper scraper, copper brush, copper wire mesh, stearic acid, electric drill, barrel ruler, cotton cloth.

Once the cleaning resin has stopped extruding, the screw can be withdrawn from the machine. For screws with cooling systems, remove the hose lines and swivel connections before starting the screw extraction unit. Using the screw extraction device, the screw is pushed forward to expose 4-5 screw blocks for cleaning. The cleaning resin on the screw can be cleaned with a brass scraper and brush. After the exposed screw has been cleaned of cleaning resin, the screw is pushed forward 4-5 screw blocks using the screw extraction device and cleaning continues. This is repeated and the majority of the screw is pushed out of the barrel.

Once most of the cleaning resin has been removed, the screw is sprinkled with some stearic acid; the remaining residue is then removed using a brass wire mesh and, once the entire screw has been wiped with the mesh, a cotton cloth is used for the final wiping step. This is to ensure that the next production run of the plastic extrusion line screw is free of any contaminants. After the screw has been completely cleaned, it can be set aside until the rest of the machine has also been completely cleaned. If the screw is to be stored, a layer of grease should be applied to the surface to prevent rusting.

As a leading plastic pipe extrusion line manufacturer in China, Jwell Machinery provides quality plastic pipe extrusion line solutions and great after-sale services. Feel free to contact at any time.