A plasticizing apparatus, includes: a drive motor; a rotor that is rotated around a rotation axis by the drive motor and that has a groove forming surface on which a groove is formed; a barrel that has a facing surface facing the groove forming surface and that includes a communication hole in the facing surface; a heating portion that heats a material supplied to between the groove and the barrel; and a controller that controls the drive motor and the heating portion to plasticize the material supplied to between the groove and the barrel and discharge the material from the communication hole, the facing surface includes a first region and a second region that is closer to the communication hole than is the first region, the controller controls the heating portion to set a temperature of the second region to be higher than a temperature of the first region, and the controller controls the heating portion to reduce a temperature difference between the first region and the second region when the material includes a crystalline resin as compared with a case where the material includes an amorphous resin.

A producing method for producing a foam-molded product by using a plasticizing cylinder having, from an upstream side in the following order: a plasticization zone, a flow rate adjusting zone and a starvation zone, the producing method includes: plasticizing and melting a thermoplastic resin into a molten resin in the plasticization zone; adjusting a flow rate of the molten resin in the flow rate adjusting zone; allowing the molten resin to be in a starved state in the starvation zone; introducing a pressurized fluid containing the physical foaming agent having a fixed pressure into the starvation zone so as to retain the starvation zone at the fixed pressure; bringing the molten resin in the starved state in contact with the pressurized fluid in the starvation zone in a state in which the starvation zone is retained at the fixed pressure; and molding the molten resin into the foam-molded product.

A producing method for producing a foam-molded product by using a plasticizing cylinder having, from an upstream side in the following order: a plasticization zone, a flow rate adjusting zone and a starvation zone, the producing method includes: plasticizing and melting a thermoplastic resin into a molten resin in the plasticization zone; adjusting a flow rate of the molten resin in the flow rate adjusting zone; allowing the molten resin to be in a starved state in the starvation zone; introducing a pressurized fluid containing the physical foaming agent having a fixed pressure into the starvation zone so as to retain the starvation zone at the fixed pressure; bringing the molten resin in the starved state in contact with the pressurized fluid in the starvation zone in a state in which the starvation zone is retained at the fixed pressure; and molding the molten resin into the foam-molded product.

There is provided a plasticizing device including a rotor which rotates around a rotational axis, and has a groove forming surface provided with a groove, a barrel which is opposed to the groove forming surface, and has a communication hole, and a first heating section configured to heat a material fed between the rotor and the barrel, wherein the material fed between the rotor and the barrel is plasticized and discharged from the communication hole due to a rotation of the rotor and heating by the first heating section. In the plasticizing device, the first heating section includes a first portion configured to house a first heat source, includes a second portion which is disposed closer to the groove forming surface than the first portion in an axial direction of the rotational axis, and which has a shape surrounding the communication hole when viewed along the axial direction, and is configured so that heat by the first heat source is transferred to the material between the rotor and the barrel via the second portion.

There is provided a plasticizing device including a rotor which rotates around a rotational axis, and has a groove forming surface provided with a groove, a barrel which is opposed to the groove forming surface, and has a communication hole, and a first heating section configured to heat a material fed between the rotor and the barrel, wherein the material fed between the rotor and the barrel is plasticized and discharged from the communication hole due to a rotation of the rotor and heating by the first heating section. In the plasticizing device, the first heating section includes a first portion configured to house a first heat source, includes a second portion which is disposed closer to the groove forming surface than the first portion in an axial direction of the rotational axis, and which has a shape surrounding the communication hole when viewed along the axial direction, and is configured so that heat by the first heat source is transferred to the material between the rotor and the barrel via the second portion.

A plasticizing apparatus includes a drive motor, a rotor rotated by the drive motor and having a groove-forming surface provided with a groove, a barrel facing the groove-forming surface and having a communication hole, an enclosure that accommodates the rotor, a heating section that heats a material, and a wear suppressor provided in at least one of the portion between the rotor and the barrel and the portion between the rotor and the enclosure. When the wear suppressor is provided between the rotor and the barrel, the wear suppressor is fixed to the rotor or the barrel and has Vickers hardness higher than the Vickers hardness of one of the rotor and the barrel, the one to which the wear suppressor is fixed, whereas when the wear suppressor is provided between the rotor and the enclosure, the wear suppressor is fixed to the rotor or the enclosure and has Vickers hardness higher than the Vickers hardness of one of the rotor and the enclosure, the one to which the wear suppressor is fixed.

A plasticizing apparatus includes a drive motor, a rotor rotated by the drive motor and having a groove-forming surface provided with a groove, a barrel facing the groove-forming surface and having a communication hole, an enclosure that accommodates the rotor, a heating section that heats a material, and a wear suppressor provided in at least one of the portion between the rotor and the barrel and the portion between the rotor and the enclosure. When the wear suppressor is provided between the rotor and the barrel, the wear suppressor is fixed to the rotor or the barrel and has Vickers hardness higher than the Vickers hardness of one of the rotor and the barrel, the one to which the wear suppressor is fixed, whereas when the wear suppressor is provided between the rotor and the enclosure, the wear suppressor is fixed to the rotor or the enclosure and has Vickers hardness higher than the Vickers hardness of one of the rotor and the enclosure, the one to which the wear suppressor is fixed.

A method for producing a foam-molded product by using a plasticizing cylinder, includes: plasticizing and melting the thermoplastic resin to provide the molten resin in a plasticization zone of the plasticizing cylinder; introducing a pressurized fluid containing the physical foaming agent at a fixed pressure into a starvation zone of the plasticizing cylinder to retain the starvation zone at the fixed pressure; allowing the molten resin to be in the starved state in the starvation zone; bringing the molten resin in contact with the pressurized fluid containing the physical foaming agent at the fixed pressure, in the starvation zone in a state in which the starvation zone is retained at the fixed pressure; and molding the molten resin having been brought in contact with the pressurized fluid containing the physical foaming agent into the foam-molded product.

The invention relates to a low pressure extruder (3) for manufacturing a low density plastic composite material, characterized in that, the volume between the cylinder and the screw per unit length is not decreased along the direction from the hopper to the die in order that the mixture is extruded at low pressure in the melted state out of the cylinder of the extruder; the die is heated by the heater to maintain the melted state of the material in order not to create resistance to the flow in the process of pushing the material mixture out of the cylinder of the extruder. Furthermore, the present invention provides a method and equipment for manufacturing this material.

A plasticating screw is proposed, with a screw channel, which runs spirally around a screw core, is laterally delimited by a flight (1), (2) and has flow elements (3), (4) that are distributed over its longitudinal direction, extend transversely over the screw channel and comprise a deep section (5) and a compression section (6), rising radially in the longitudinal direction. In order to design a plasticating screw of the type mentioned at the beginning in such a way that its length is reduced and good melting characteristics can be achieved even with little energy input, it is proposed that the compression section (6) forms at least one run-up surface (7), which is inclined towards the flight (1), (2) and is adjoined in the longitudinal direction by a plateau (8) for forming the flow.