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.

An extruder screw includes a screw main body, conveyance portions, barrier portions, and paths. The raw materials, the conveyance of which is limited by the barrier portions, flow in from the entrance. The raw materials flowing in from the entrance flow through the paths in an opposite direction to a conveyance direction of the conveyance portions. The exit is opened in the outer circumferential surface of the screw main body at a position on an upstream side in the conveyance direction in the conveyance portions in which the entrance is opened.

A multi-shaft preparation unit for plastic melts, having an extruder housing with an enclosed treatment chamber in its interior, and at least one rotor body shaft mounted rotatably in the treatment chamber and a sealing and guiding body with multiple recesses, in each of which a satellite screw is mounted. The multi-shaft preparation unit has a drive unit in which a gearing unit is arranged outside the extruder housing between a drive motor and the treatment chamber and is connected to the drive shaft sections of the rotor body shaft and of the satellite screws which lead out of the treatment chamber of the extruder housing. A separating device for decoupling a flow of fluid and/or heat emanating from the treatment chamber is provided between the extruder housing and the gearing unit, through which the drive shaft ends of the rotor body shaft and of the satellite screws pass.

The invention relates to a process for removal of volatile components from an olefin polymer, the process carried out in an extruder comprising at least one vacuum degassing zone, said process comprising the steps of: (a) introducing a stream of an olefin polymer into the extruder; (b) extruding the olefin polymer in the extruder at a temperature which is higher than the melting temperature of the olefin polymer but lower than the decomposition temperature of the olefin polymer, thereby producing an olefin polymer melt having reduced amount of volatile components, wherein the process in the extruder has a residence time distribution broadness (σ2) in the range of 800 to 4000 as define by equation (1) wherein: σ2 is the residence time distribution broadness, T is the mean residence time, t is the interval of residence time a fluid element of the olefin polymer spends in the extruder, E(t) is the residence time distribution function, and wherein the process optionally comprises a step (c) where the melt of the olefin polymer is passed through a die zone to a pelletizer for pelletizing the obtained olefin polymer.
σ.sup.2=∫.sub.0.sup.∞(t−τ).sup.2E(t)dt  equation (1)

The present invention provides a process for preparing an improved compounded product and a compounded product prepared by that process.

A system comprising: (1) a grinding unit configured to receive and grind recycled PET bottles into a group of polymer flakes comprising up to about ten percent colored polymer flakes and balance substantially clear polymer flakes; (2) a washing unit configured to wash the group of polymer flakes; and (3) an extruder configured to extrude material in a plurality of different extrusion streams. The extruder may be further configured to: (1) receive a concentrate-polymer mixture comprising a mixture of the polymer flakes and a color concentrate; (2) melt the concentrate-polymer mixture to produce a polymer melt; (3) reduce a pressure within the extruder; and (4) pass the polymer melt through the extruder so that the polymer melt is divided into the plurality of extrusion streams. The system may then filter the polymer melt through at least one filter and form the polymer melt into bulked continuous carpet filament.

Methods and an apparatus are presented. A bulk molding compound is consolidated by sending the bulk molding compound through a die breaker and an extrusion die of a consolidation system.

A latex processing system and method involves mixing a latex and at least one solvent blend in an extruder, in order to remove resin found in the latex and to coagulate the latex to form a coagulum. The at least one solvent blend has a first solvent configured to coagulate the latex, and a second solvent configured to swell the resulting coagulum. In particular, a series of the solvent blends may be used at different locations along a length of the extruder, and may further include distinct blends of the first solvent and the second solvent, introduced at the different locations, and having different ratios of the first solvent and the second solvent.

Disclosed are additively manufactured extruder components including a surface layer configured to contact extrudable material. The surface layer has a first additively manufactured metal composition. A base support for the surface layer has a second additively manufactured metal composition that is different from the first additively manufactured metal composition. A functionally graded material (FGM) is formed from the first and second additively manufactured metal compositions connecting the surface layer to the base support.

Disclosed are additively manufactured extruder components comprising a lattice structure formed within a structural support frame that defines an impervious surface and an axial aperture. An axial aperture of a screw segment is configured to couple to a drive shaft, and its impervious surface is configured to contact extrudable material. An axial aperture of a barrel segment is configured to contact extrudable material.