An extrudate cooling tank having cooling water chambers adapted for running passage of extrudate serially therethrough at a preselected regulated variable pressures with water in the chambers being at different temperatures, and a wheel-servo motor combination hingedly connected to the chamber and being movable with respect thereto between a first position with the wheel engaging running extrudate and a second position with the wheel remote from engagement with the extrudate.

Methods and systems for making a film made of dynamically vulcanized thermoplastic elastomeric material are provided herein. The subject methods and systems achieve dimensional stability of an elastic film by applying thermal treatment as part of the film making process and enhance the shrinkage of the film by intentionally with stretching the film while hot and freezing the film in the stretch. The systems and methods are useful in controlling shrinkage of DVA post film extrusion.

A method and apparatus for processing a formable material having at least first and second relatively repositionable units. The first unit has a sheet die, with the second unit having a rotary drum with a peripheral forming surface for receiving flowable material from the sheet die. The first and second units can be selectively changed between an operating relationship and a setup relationship, with the latter causing at least one space to be defined/enlarged and within which an operator can maneuver to gain access to a region of at least one of the first and second units. With the first and second units in the operating relationship, moldable sheets can be processed by causing the moldable sheets to be applied, and conformed, to the peripheral forming surface on the rotary drum.

A method and apparatus for processing a formable material having at least first and second relatively repositionable units. The first unit has a sheet die, with the second unit having a rotary drum with a peripheral forming surface for receiving flowable material from the sheet die. The first and second units can be selectively changed between an operating relationship and a setup relationship, with the latter causing at least one space to be defined/enlarged and within which an operator can maneuver to gain access to a region of at least one of the first and second units. With the first and second units in the operating relationship, moldable sheets can be processed by causing the moldable sheets to be applied, and conformed, to the peripheral forming surface on the rotary drum.

A method of manufacturing a plurality of colors of bulked continuous carpet filament from a single multi-screw extruder which, in various embodiments, comprises: (A) passing PET through an extruder that melts the PET and purifies the resulting PET polymer melt; (B) splitting the extruded polymer melt into a plurality of melt streams and adding a colorant to each of the plurality of melt streams; (C) using one or more static mixers (e.g., thirty six static mixers) to substantially uniformly mix (e.g., homogeneously mix) each of the plurality of melt streams with its respective added colorant; and (D) feed each of the uniformly mixed and colored plurality of melt streams into a respective spinning machines that turns the polymer into filament for use in manufacturing carpet, rugs, and other products.

A pelletizing system including a supporting rail, a pelletizer that is suspended from the supporting rail, a suspension base, a supporting arm, and an articulated arm. The supporting arm is supported at a first end on the suspension base by means of a first swivel joint and is hinged to the supporting rail at a second end by means of a second swivel joint. The articulated arm includes a first articulated arm branch which is connected to a second articulated arm branch by a third swivel joint. The first articulated arm branch is supported on the suspension base by means of a fourth swivel joint, and the second articulated arm branch is hinged to the supporting rail by means of a fifth swivel joint. In an embodiment, the first through fifth swivel joints each have an essentially vertical swivel axis.

A pelletizing system including a supporting rail, a pelletizer that is suspended from the supporting rail, a suspension base, a supporting arm, and an articulated arm. The supporting arm is supported at a first end on the suspension base by means of a first swivel joint and is hinged to the supporting rail at a second end by means of a second swivel joint. The articulated arm includes a first articulated arm branch which is connected to a second articulated arm branch by a third swivel joint. The first articulated arm branch is supported on the suspension base by means of a fourth swivel joint, and the second articulated arm branch is hinged to the supporting rail by means of a fifth swivel joint. In an embodiment, the first through fifth swivel joints each have an essentially vertical swivel axis.

The present invention is directed to an apparatus for forming a multi-layer web formed from at least two polymeric film tubes in intimate contact with each other but not bonded to each other. The apparatus includes the use of a blown film extrusion die that extrudes two separate blown film polymeric tubes via two separate annular die lips. A fluid cooling system applies cooling fluid across a plurality of surfaces of the two blown film tubes. One of the die lips may be at a different height from the other die lip. The frost line of one blown film tube may be at a different height from the other blown film tube.

A modular plastic pipe formation apparatus to extrude plastic pipe is disclosed and includes a plurality of modules each having a transportable container and at least one component of the pipe formation apparatus located therein. The plurality of modules are aligned in a predetermined manner during formation of plastic pipe with the components aligned for pipe extrusion. The apparatus may also include a closed circuit fluid cooling system to provide cooling fluid to some of modules to cool the pipe being formed, the cooling circuit may flows in a counter direction to the direction of pipe forming in the pipe formation apparatus.

A modular plastic pipe formation apparatus to extrude plastic pipe is disclosed and includes a plurality of modules each having a transportable container and at least one component of the pipe formation apparatus located therein. The plurality of modules are aligned in a predetermined manner during formation of plastic pipe with the components aligned for pipe extrusion. The apparatus may also include a closed circuit fluid cooling system to provide cooling fluid to some of modules to cool the pipe being formed, the cooling circuit may flows in a counter direction to the direction of pipe forming in the pipe formation apparatus.