Reifenhäuser to Focus on WPC and Extrusion Components at FAKUMA

The Troisdorf Extrusioneers will be represented in the economically important three-country region Germany, Austria and Switzerland with a focus on "wood extrusion and extrusion components". An impressive demonstration of the many possible applications of wood polymer composites was already given at the company's Open House held on occasion of "K". The reactions of the visitors to this event were decidedly positive. Wood Polymer Composites - WPC's - are relatively new to the European market. While they are established in the USA for some years already, they are unstoppable on the advance here, too. Thanks to their high resistance and flexibility they are used especially in the construction industry and as a substitute of traditional wood materials. Like in all extrusion processes, the extruder, in this case a Reifenhäuser twin-screw extruder "Bitruder" with counterrotating intermeshing screws, is the key component also in WPC production. Bitruders are available in a series of sizes appropriate to the customer's specific requirements. With screw diameters from 71 to 133mm and output capacities from 120 to 650kg/h, their efficiency proven over many years takes full effect in the extrusion of wood and polypropylene compounds. Gentle plasticising and excellent homogenisation, high output capacities at low screw speeds and a very favourable price/performance ratio are the prerequisites for high-quality products conforming to market requirements. Even if WPC's are only at the beginning of their success story, the subject of wood extrusion is actually not new to Reifenhäuser: In the mid 70ies already, a complete extrusion line for the production of wooden sheets was designed and supplied. In addition, Reifenhäuser can draw on 50 years of experience in the extrusion of different polymers. Specific experiences could also be gained in direct extrusion using twin-screw extruders. The visitors to FAKUMA in Friedrichshafen will now have the opportunity to witness the advantages and unique chances wood extrusion is offering. The process presented by Reifenhäuser provides optimal prerequisites for benefitting from new promising markets. A further highlight is the optimisation of energy consumption in cast film and thermoforming sheet lines. In the centre of attention is a novel copper cooling roll that uses cooling water at significantly higher temperatures compared to conventional rolls ensuring at the same time a good heat transmission. As a result, the cooling speed can be considerably increased and the total energy consumption of the cooling unit reduced. An "intelligent" heating-up program (a so-called EAP system) that copes with the different heating-up times of the individual extrusion components is another energy optimisation module. Company Press Release