Turnkey drip irrigation tube/pipe extrusion line from one source

27-Jan-07

The complete extrusion line for the production of drip irrigation tubes demon-strated at the latest Open House event of Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik GmbH, Bad Oeynhausen, Germany, has met with an enthusiastic response from visi-tors. With this fifth successful event, the machine manufacturer has completed its 25th anniversary program in Europe. In cooperation with the American company Drip Research Technology Services (DRTS), San Diego, a specialist with 20 years of experience in the field of irrigation systems, Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik has designed a turnkey extrusion line which can be universally used with virtually all types of drippers. Drippers are complex, in-jection-molded parts that take care of the even distribution of water over the whole length of the irrigation pipe. By means of a special feeding unit from DRTS, the drip-pers are inserted inline through a crosshead during the production of the pipe. An outstanding advantage of this new line is its extremely high line speed of up to 80 m/min, with the capacity to insert up to 250 drippers per minute into the pipe. For the Open House demonstration, a BEX-1-45-30D single-screw extruder with a screw diameter of 45 mm, a processing length of 30 D and an output of up to 220 kg/h was used. Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik took the opportunity to show two innovative fea-tures in the down-stream equipment of this new line as well. A full bath vacuum tank was used, which ensures an enormously high degree of stability in the vacuum. A special characteristic of the new haul-off unit, also presented for the first time, is its C-shaped design, making it significantly smaller and lighter than conventional haul-offs, as well as providing easier access and allowing a higher line speed. Irrigation pipe extrusion lines are a new product line in the portfolio of Battenfeld Ex-trusionstechnik. Like all turnkey lines from Battenfeld, they come with perfectly matching machine components. Of course, Battenfeld's proven, comprehensive after sales service is also included in the scope of supply.