Cincinnati Milacron will demonstrate its new compact plug-and-play extrusion line at K2007

Cincinnati Milacron will demonstrate its new compact plug-and-play extrusion line for wood and natural fibre plastic composites in Europe at the K 2007 fair, having introduced the system at Chinaplas in May.

Dave Bertke, vice president of Cincinnati Extrusion Systems said during Milacron’s K 2007 briefing in Freiburg last week that the new plug-and-play system is “the first really affordable complete wood-plastic-composite (WPC) system, starting with the raw materials and ending with the parts”. Bertke was referring to the ability to produce at a rate of 635 kg/h on the TC86 based system as will be shown at K with an investment cost below $750,000 (€545,000), while equivalent larger systems were said to cost $2.0-2.5m (€1.45-1.80m).

There has been “tremendous response in equipment for fibre composites, more than pipe and profile”, Bertke said of the company’s re-entry to the global extrusion market in 2006, with exports in markets outside the USA accounting for 40% of turnover in 2007, up from 31% in 2006. The company claims to now be the worldwide leader in the WPC industry with 280 extruders installed worldwide. Bertke says that the new plug-and-play system is available with outputs up to 1,000 kg/h or 2,000 kg/h and that it can handle raw material with 8% or less moisture content, reducing the moisture level to 3% during densification and then to below 1% for extrusion.

Cincinnati Milacron says that it is the only global source for the tungsten carbide clad conical barrels that are used in the plug-and-play system to withstand abrasive WPC recipes.