Since the introduction of the new solEX NG high-speed single screw extruder series three years ago, this series has proved highly successful in the market. Thanks to the innovative design of their processing unit, these extruders score with up to 40% higher throughput rates compared to their predecessor series – and with an extremely gentle melting process and low energy consumption as well. battenfeld-cincinnati Germany GmbH, Bad Oeynhausen recently installed the largest model, a solEX NG 120, for an Indian customer who uses it to produce large pipes up to 2.5 m in diameter. Its smaller sister, a solEX NG 75, will be showcased at this year’s K in hall 16, booth B 19.
The solEX NG series owes its resounding success to the new concept of its processing unit, which basically consists of an internally grooved barrel combined with matching screw and grooved bushing geometries. As a result, several significant improvements in process technology have been achieved: a reduced axial pressure profile lessens the strain on the entire unit, high specific output rates with low screw speeds ensure high efficiency and a gentle, yet very effective and homogeneous melting performance at about 10 °C lower melt temperatures, to enable substantial improvements in end product quality.
By comparison to a conventional solEX model, the solEX NG, for example, achieves a roughly 25% higher output in processing HDPE, with PP even an increase of up to 40 %. This makes it predestined for applications such as large-diameter pipe production. Producing thick-walled pipes with external diameters of up to 2.6 m requires enormous amounts of melt. The solEX NG also scores with its low melt temperatures that significantly reduce the undesirable sagging effect in large-diameter PE pipe production and the extrusion of extremely thick-walled pipes. Another field of application involving large quantities of perfectly homogenized melt is sheet extrusion. Here, too, the NG generation extruders available in the four sizes of 60, 75, 90 and 120 mm are the ideal equipment.
In response to the great success and proven applications of the new processing unit in the field, the battenfeld-cincinnati product range now also includes the uniEX all-rounder series in the uniEX NG version. The important point here is that the new processing unit is available as a retrofit kit for both solEX and uniEX extruder models, making it possible for customers to continue using their existing extruders in an upgraded version. This means that the same output rates as before can be achieved with lower melt temperatures and higher energy efficiency.
