A device and a method for extruding plastics, comprising an extruder screw, a housing with a cavity, a drive unit for rotatably driving the extruder screw, a heating element arranged on the housing alongside the extruder screw, a filling unit through which shredded plastic can be supplied into the cavity, and a filler metering device. Upon rotation, the extruder screw conveys the shredded plastic in the transport direction along a longitudinal axis of the extruder screw. The housing has a feeding port for the filler opening into the cavity, wherein the filler metering device is connected to the feeding port and is designed for supplying a filler dispersed in a gas stream into the cavity.

A method of operating an additive manufacturing system feeds solid extrusion material into a heater using a slip clutch coupled to an actuator of a mechanical driver to supply thermoplastic material into a manifold in an extruder head. The method sets a speed of the actuator so the actuator operates at a rotational speed that is slightly greater than the rotational speed of the mechanical mover. This method helps maintain the pressure of the thermoplastic material in the manifold of the extruder head in a predetermined range no matter how many nozzles are opened in the extruder head.

A method for manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament, the method comprising: (1) reducing a chamber pressure within a chamber to below about 5 millibars; (2) after reducing the chamber pressure to below about 5 millibars, providing a polymer melt to the chamber; (3) separating the polymer melt into at least eight streams; (4) while the at least eight streams of the polymer melt are within the chamber, exposing the at least eight streams of the polymer melt to the chamber pressure of below about 5 millibars; (5) after exposing the at least eight streams of the polymer melt to the chamber pressure of below about 5 millibars, recombining the at least eight streams into a single polymer stream; and (6) forming polymer from the single polymer stream into bulked continuous carpet filament.

Disclosed are a system and method tuning PET raw material processing process by employing real time process management and machine learning steps and reactive addition of dosing of homogenizing composition for impregnating chain extenders and compatibilizing agents in thermoplastic resin using the liquid additive as a carrier into the process for modifying material performance. The properties of PET blend are no longer fixed once dry-blending and melting is complete.

An extruder for extrusion of material, the extruder comprising a screw (110), a barrel (120), a controller, and a force sensor wherein at least a section (110b) of the screw (110) is conical and wherein at last a section (120b) of the barrel (120) is conical wherein the extruder (100) is adapted for displacing the screw (110) in an axial direction of the screw (110), such that by an axial displacement of the screw with regard to the barrel the size of a leakage gap (180) between the screw (110) and the barrel (120) is modified, wherein the extruder is adapted for actively obtaining operational characteristics and wherein the controller (160) is adapted for controlling the axial displacement of the screw (110) as a function of the operational characteristics of which at least one is an upward force of the material or an upward force on the screw.

An extruder for extrusion of material, the extruder comprising a screw (110), a barrel (120), a controller, and a force sensor wherein at least a section (110b) of the screw (110) is conical and wherein at last a section (120b) of the barrel (120) is conical wherein the extruder (100) is adapted for displacing the screw (110) in an axial direction of the screw (110), such that by an axial displacement of the screw with regard to the barrel the size of a leakage gap (180) between the screw (110) and the barrel (120) is modified, wherein the extruder is adapted for actively obtaining operational characteristics and wherein the controller (160) is adapted for controlling the axial displacement of the screw (110) as a function of the operational characteristics of which at least one is an upward force of the material or an upward force on the screw.

A method for manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament, the method comprising: (1) reducing a chamber pressure within a chamber to below about 5 millibars; (2) after reducing the chamber pressure to below about 5 millibars, providing a polymer melt to the chamber; (3) separating the polymer melt into at least eight streams; (4) while the at least eight streams of the polymer melt are within the chamber, exposing the at least eight streams of the polymer melt to the chamber pressure of below about 5 millibars; (5) after exposing the at least eight streams of the polymer melt to the chamber pressure of below about 5 millibars, recombining the at least eight streams into a single polymer stream; and (6) forming polymer from the single polymer stream into bulked continuous carpet filament.

Thermoplastic compositions useful for roadway markings may be produced using a continuous systems and process methods that can reduce costs and improve product quality. Systems may comprise a feed system comprising a plurality of feeders and a mixing system comprising a mixer and a smoothing system. Each feeder may be configured to discharge a material at a feed rate according to a selected product formulation The mixing system may be configured to receive, heat, and combine the materials to produce a thermoplastic material, and discharge the thermoplastic material at a determined discharge rate.

A method of operating an additive manufacturing system feeds solid extrusion material into a heater using a slip clutch coupled to an actuator of a mechanical driver to supply thermoplastic material into a manifold in an extruder head. The method sets a speed of the actuator so the actuator operates at a rotational speed that is slightly greater than the rotational speed of the mechanical mover. This method helps maintain the pressure of the thermoplastic material in the manifold of the extruder head in a predetermined range no matter how many nozzles are opened in the extruder head.

An additive manufacturing system includes a slip clutch coupled to an actuator of a mechanical driver that feeds solid extrusion material into a heater for supplying thermoplastic material to a manifold in an extruder head. A speed of the actuator can be set to enable the actuator to operate at a rotational speed that is slightly greater than the rotational speed of the mechanical mover. This configuration enables the pressure of the thermoplastic material in the manifold of the extruder head to be in a predetermined range no matter how many nozzles are opened in the extruder head.