Overview
This seminar will cover die design from a materials properties point of
view. Attendees will gain a good understanding of practical rheology and
how to use it for efficient die design. Explaining why certain extrusion
"phenomena" occur is a major theme of this seminar, and a number of
industry-relevant case studies will be provided. This course is intended
for anyone who is currently responsible for or interested in the design,
performance, optimization or purchase of an extrusion die. Extrusion die
designers, process engineers, technical service personnel, research and
development personnel and those responsible for specifying and
troubleshooting extrusion processes will obtain the most benefit from
this course. Topics covered will be applicable to all areas of extrusion
including pipe and tubing, film and sheet, wire and cable coating, blow
molding and profile extrusion. Attendees will learn about the most
important design criteria that go into good die designs and how to
differentiate between good and bad designs.
Content
Material Properties
-
Important rheological measurements (such as shear and elongational
viscosity), what they mean, how they are obtained and how they can
be used for die design.
The Extruder
-
Since the extruder determines the quality of the melt that is
delivered to a die, the die designer must understand how the
extruder performance can affect the die performance. This part of
the seminar will describe the functions of an extruder using a
combination of theory and videos of experiments performed on glass
window extruders.
Mono-Layer Dies
-
Focus is on extrusion die requirements. Design parameters and
criterion will be provided for a wide variety of processes and
materials. Topics will include flat dies, spiral dies, pipe and
tubing dies and coating dies. Video presentations of visualization
experiments will be used to help explain the concepts.
Profile Dies: Design & Optimization
-
Attendees will be shown a systematic and practical profile die
design procedure using the COMPUPLAST® Cross Flow Minimization
Method™ of profile die design.
Coextrusion
-
An overview and explanation of the most common problems associated
with coextrusion dies will be presented along with guidelines on how
to avoid the problems or solve them when they occur.
"Hands-On" Simulation Training
-
Attendees will use a "Virtual Extrusion Laboratory" to simulate and
design a variety of extrusion dies. The effect of design variables,
processing conditions and material changes will be demonstrated with
emphasis on optimization and troubleshooting.