A treatment element for treating material by means of a screw machine comprises a conveying section and a melting section. The melting section is arranged downstream of the conveying section in a conveying direction and is connected in one piece with the conveying section. This reduces wear and increases the service life.

A method for processing pharmaceutical powders, which comprises providing a feeder module including a plurality of feeder units each with a storage hopper, a weighing cell, a conveyer, and a discharge end, connecting the storage hopper to a refilling system with a refilling valve, connecting the refilling valve to a level or weight indicator disposed above the refilling valve, connecting the discharge end to a common receiving container, refilling the storage hopper with a powder intermittently 40 to 80 times per hour, storing data during refilling, transporting powder from the storage hopper with the respective conveyer, and discharging powder from each feeder unit into the common receiving container. During each refilling of the storage hopper, the refilling valve dispenses powder into the storage hopper and, during the step of transporting the powder from the storage hopper, the conveyer is operated according to the data collected during previous refills.

A main extruder and a side arm extruder are used in the extrusion of plastics with small amounts of additives or other small substances to be admixed. A minor portion of the plastic material is premixed with small quantity additive substances in a side arm extruder. The premixed material is discharged from the side arm extruder into the main extruder and there mixed with a major portion of feed material.

There is provided a screw of an injection molding machine that can eliminate uneven distribution of reinforcing fibers without giving an excessive shear force to the reinforcing fibers. A screw is provided inside a heating cylinder of an injection molding machine to which a resin pellet is fed on an upstream side in a conveyance direction of resin and to which reinforcing fibers are fed on a downstream side therein, and includes: a first stage at which the resin pellet which is fed is melted; and a second stage that continues to the first stage, and at which molten resin and the reinforcing fibers are mixed with each other. A second flight provided at the second stage includes: a large-diameter flight with a relatively large outer diameter; and a small-diameter flight with a relatively small outer diameter.

The invention describes an advanced mixing and metering technology with online analytics for a supply of formulated liquid thermosetting resins into an open or closed mold. The application addresses where a precise control of the composition of formulated components is required. Composite structures used in primary and secondary structural aerospace applications manufactured in Infusion or RTM processes are possible examples.

In a manufacturing method of a laminate structure according to the invention, a manufacturing apparatus of the laminate structure is used, which apparatus comprises material containers for the glue paste components, a separate pump for each glue paste component, which pumps are arranged to pump the components of the glue paste to be manufactured through the outlet pipes to the mixing unit. Furthermore, the glue paste manufacturing apparatus comprises a control unit of the glue manufacturing apparatus, which control unit is arranged to determine the mutual mixing ratio of the glue components at the starting moment of the glue manufacturing process, to start the pumping of the different glue components in connection with the starting of the mixing unit, to pump the glue components with component-specific pumps to the mixing unit in a mixture ratio determined by the control unit, and that the control unit is arranged to adjust the ratio of the glue components as a function of time so that the open time of the glue coming out from the mixing unit shortens towards the end of the gluing process, whereby the clamping time of the elements of the laminate to be glued together shortens so as to be as long as the clamping time of the glue layer having the shortest open time, upon the expiry of which all the glue layers of the laminate structure have reached the target hardness.

A color 3D printer and its method of use are disclosed. The color 3D printer uses a number of chambers to dye a filament to a given color. This colored filament is then extruded, pursuant to an associated 3D model of an object, to produce varying colored physical objects, on demand, with the use of a single filament and a single print head. Further, the color 3D printer features a waste management apparatus which provides a number of ways to dispose of waste fluid.

A process for continuously preparing a polyolefin composition made from or containing a polyolefin and carbon black in an extruder device. The process includes the steps of supplying polyolefin in form of a polyolefin powder and carbon black to a mixing device; alternatively, (a) measuring the flow rate of the polyolefin powder supplied to the mixing device or (b) measuring the flow rate of the polyolefin pellets prepared in the extruder device; adjusting the flow rate of the carbon black to the mixing device in response to the measured flow rate of the polyolefin powder or adjusting the flow rate of the polyolefin powder to the mixing device in response to the measured flow rate of the polyolefin pellets; melting and homogenizing the mixture within the extruder device; and pelletizing the polyolefin composition into the polyolefin pellets.

A processing system serves to process a polymer-filler composition, especially a polyvinylchloride-filler composition, and comprises a multi-shaft screw machine, a first feed device and a second feed device. By means of the first feed device, a polymer and a first proportion of a mineral filler are fed into the multi-shaft screw machine. Subsequently, by means of the second feed device, a second proportion of the mineral filler is fed into the multi-shaft screw machine. The gradual mixing-in of the mineral filler achieves a high proportion of the mineral filler in der polymer-filler composition.

A device for dosing bulk material, in particular plastic granules, for machines that process plastic granules, in particular for injection molding machines. The invention provides a bulk material feed (1), a material hopper (3) formed by multiple, preferably four, individually removable material hopper containers (2) and arranged under the bulk material feed (1) and ending in a dosing base device (4), and, optionally, a weighing container with a scale in the dosing base device (4). The individual material hopper containers (2) are arranged on a support spider (5) and the support spider (5) is formed by support spider plates (11) arranged vertically and perpendicular to one another. The support spider is mounted on the housing of the dosing base device (4). The support spider (5) has a height (h), which is at least the height (h.sub.1) of the material hopper container (2), which extends over the dosing base device (4), and corresponds to the immersion depth (h.sub.2) of the material hopper (3) into the dosing base device (4). A material hopper cover (6) is provided on the end of the support spider (5) facing away from the dosing base device (4).