Brings Economy to Cooling Polymer Customer American Leistritz Extruder Corp., manufactures compound extruders in Nurnberg, Germany and assembles extruder-based systems in Somerville, New Jersey. Vibra Screw Spiral Feeders provide an economical way to cool polymer pellets produced by American Leistritz extruders. Problem Using high temperatures, compound extruders produce strands or pellets of polymer which are further processed or packaged for sale. Polymer, a good natural insulator, has high heat retention and takes a long time to cool. Operators of Leistritz extruders often use water to cool polymers, but polymers used as desiccants absorb water.
Polymers used for pharmaceutical or medical end uses prohibit the use of water for cooling.
In these cases, air, a less efficient coolant, is the only choice. Long, flat vibratory conveyors offer the appropriate air exposure but could waste considerable floor space to achieve the cooling. The company used spiral feeders which occupy the smallest of floor space, but, as sourced in Germany, they added considerable cost to the extruder systems. The Vibra Screw spiral feeder, used as a cooling tower, carries the pellets over the proper distance, for the proper time to release the pellet heat. And the heavy-duty Vibra Screw feeders save Leistritz considerable cost over imported units.