Patent ID: 6976834

Claim:
A pelletizing die, comprising: a pelletizing die member with a die exit side exposed to cooling fluid and a die entry side for receiving polymer fed thereto, the pelletizing die member comprising: a plurality of polymer channels; a plurality of extrusion orifices, each of said extrusion orifices being connected to a respective one of said polymer channels to form an extrusion orifice section; heating medium conduits, each heating medium conduit connected to an undivided circumferential header including an inlet and an outlet forming a heating medium system, said heating medium conduits including at least one conduit adjacent to each polymer channel and at least one transition zone conduit between adjacent channels and adjacent to the transition zone of each of said extrusion orifices for uniformly heating polymer in each extrusion orifice, and for heating the polymer channel through a sufficiently large even pressure drop supplied by said undivided circumferential header; and a closed thermal stabilization cavity adjacent to each extrusion orifice in an associated one of said extrusion orifice sections, said thermal stabilization cavity defining a thermal stabilization zone between said die exit side exposed to cooling fluid and said heating medium conduits capable of allowing the polymer to remain in a liquid state up to solidification just as the polymer exits the extrusion orifice.