At its booth B 19 in hall 16, battenfeld-cincinnati Germany GmbH, based in Bad Oeynhausen, will present as a world premiere the largest adjustable melt gap for a pipe extrusion die, with which a diameter range from 1,200 to 1,600 mm can be covered without nozzle change. With additional extension kits, it is possible to produce pipes ranging from 400 to 1600 mm in diameter. The exhibit has already been sold and will be delivered immediately after the fair to the Mexican customer, who was particularly impressed by the system’s flexibility and handling safety.
battenfeld-cincinnati not only has a wealth of almost 60 years of experience in manufacturing pipe extrusion equipment, the company also specializes in complete turn-key lines with perfectly synchronized individual components, and is one of the few companies whose name has become a synonym for enormous expertise in the field of large-diameter pipe extrusion lines. It is only natural that the extrusion specialist has now also been the first to produce the largest adjustable melt gap.
Previously, battenfeld-cincinnati supplied pipe dies with adjustable melt gaps in sizes ranging from 20 to 1200 mm for a great variety of applications. An adjustable melt gap always makes sense, especially if the pipe manufacturer wants to produce different pipe dimensions on its line and to respond fast and flexibly to market trends, or to make frequent dimensional changes.
For the extrusion of pipes in small dimensions, the adjustable melt gap is not used for dimensional change, but instead offers additional flexibility to cope with the typical, slightly different swelling behavior of every material whenever a material change is made, in order to achieve narrow tolerances and a high pipe quality. Another advantage of the adjustable melt gap is safe handling. Especially with large pipes, such as those within the 1,200 to 1,600 mm diameter range just realized for the Mexican customer, a nozzle change, which is necessary in conventional dies, always involves a special effort and, due to the size, also a safety risk. Both these drawbacks are now completely eliminated.
For several years now, , battenfeld-cincinnati has now been marketing very successfully under the name of fast dimension change (FDC) system adjustable melt gaps and the complete equipment of a pipe extrusion line, which can be automatically changed over to a new pipe dimension at the push of a button. Complete FDC lines are currently available for pipes with diameters ranging from 90 to 160 mm, 140 to 250 mm, 200 to 355 mm and 400 to 630 mm. Special customized sizes are available upon request. In addition to complete lines, the machine manufacturer also offers all components as individual aggregates, which can be used in new lines as well as retrofits for existing lines.
By the way, a video of an automatic dimensional change on an FDC line which has been producing pipes ranging from 200 to 800 mm in diameter since 2015 can be viewed on our YouTube channel.
