Extrusion 2 Process Optimisation
Course Dates
13 September 2010 - 16 September 2010Cost:
€1295 (10% discount for Plastic Ireland members)
Inclusive of course manual, lunch and refreshments.
Plastic Materials and Processing - Theory
This section of the course will concentrate on the theory of extrusion and plastic materials, including:
- Where plastics come from ·
- How material structures determine mechanical and other properties such as tensile and burst strength, heat ageing, etc
- Why do you need to dry plastic materials?
- Regrind vs. virgin material, amorphous vs. crystalline, thermoplastics vs. thermosets, additives, etc.
- Molecular weight, MFI test vs. flow
Theory Session covering:
- Typical process parameters and areas to consider for safety and quality reasons
Extrusion Process Overview - Construction of an extrusion line and machine design - Explanation of all components in an extrusion line:
- Dies, breaker plates, screen packs
- Pipe die vs. profile die design
- The Cooling Bath
- vacuum principles and temperature ranges
- Screw Cooling (where used), importance of coolant temperature and flow control - Handling tooling and cleaning tooling – importance of clean sealing surfaces
Start up and shut down procedures
A practical session - choosing and assembling/ disassembling extrusion tooling:
- Pin and bush (cone and die) selection, draw down ratio, draw down balance and reversion
- Dies and spacer ring sizes/ sealing surfaces/ hang-up areas
- Breaker plates and Screen Pack selection
- Bolts, Thread types and Torque required
- When to tighten – Cold or Hot?
- What to tighten first – Clamp or Face plate?
- Using steel on tooling and how it can damage the tooling (hang-ups, degradation, die lines, etc)
- Achieving the correct wall thickness, and Centring the die for uniform wall thickness
- Knowing what production orders will follow and arranging tooling to suit (set-up for multiple runs, etc)
A detailed practical set-up the line:
- Line Pre-start checks and component selection
Tools required - Stripping and easy cleaning of the die and Breaker plate while hot
- Reassembly, wiring up and testing the die
- Fitting the die and tightening procedure
- Setting up ancillaries
- The correct extruder start-up procedure
- Setting the bath coolant flow rate/ temperature
- Calibrator sizing and water set-up
- Stringing up the line.
- Achieving part specifications
- Condition v quality trial
- How Process Parameters interact, how to choose parameters for a particular set-up
- Heater bands and Thermocouples - effect of die temps on tubing/sheet specifications
- Forward or reverse barrel temp profile, PID control and Troubleshooting.
- Effects of breaker plate and filter pack on back-pressure and melt strength/ output
- Effects of changing the screw cooling flow rate
- Effects of changing the bath temperatures
Sheet Extrusion - Width<600mm - Thickness <700mm
Cast Film - Width <600mm - Thickness>30um
Pilot Blown Film - Layflat <50mm - Thickness 50 - 250um
Compounding - 50mm single screw - 19mm twin screw
Tube & Profile
Where possible we restrict extrusion course numbers to just six places. Our courses can be run in-company if required, or we can modify any course to your needs.
FETAC (NCVA/ CETEFOP) certification is included in the course costs - The FETAC approved examination conducted at the end of the course counts as one credit towards our Vocational Certificate in Polymer Processing
Who Should Attend?
Technicians, Operators, Supervisors, Engineers that need to understand how to select extrusion tooling and run/ optimise the process
Venue:
CNMR,
Athlone Business and Technology,
Dublin Road,
Athlone
Duration:
Four Days
Convenient Hotels: (w/parking)
Creggan Court Hotel Athlone Tel: 090-6477777
Radisson SAS Northgate Street, Athlone (Book through us for a special rate)
*This programme is a FETAC component (minor) award, certified at Level 5 on the national framework of qualifications (www.nfq.ie ).
The assessment at the end of the programme, if successfully completed, will lead to one credit towards a major(compound) award, of which 8 credits are needed in total. Please see How to achieve a FETAC major award with FPT. Some of our programmes have assignments as part of the assessment which should be completed by the learner after the programme has finished. Full instructions, timelines and ongoing guidance will be given by the course tutor. Most assessments are completed during the programme and results will be made available to learners as soon as they have gone through our Quality Assurance procedures and final submission to FETAC.
Please see our Protection for Learners Policy
Engineers Ireland CPD Scheme
In 2009, FPTS became a registered training provider with Engineers Ireland, recognising FPTS as a training provider who offers relevant learning opportunities for the career development of Engineers Ireland (EI) members.
Each FPTS course attended allows EI members to gain credits under the CPD scheme.
