Used twin screw extruder machines for sale 183

Twin Screw Extruders at Exapro

In the vast world of industrial machinery, the realm of plastic and rubber processing equipment stands out as a crucial cornerstone for many manufacturing sectors. When you delve deeper into this category, twin screw extruders shine brightly as some of the most sought-after and utilised machinery.

A twin screw extruder is a machine that is primarily designed for the mixing and compounding of polymers. It features two intermeshing, co-rotating screws that are mounted on splined shafts in a closed barrel. The screws' intricate design, combined with precise temperature and pressure control, ensures thorough mixing, yielding a homogeneous melt. They're pivotal in a range of processes, from plastic compounding to the creation of masterbatch, and are favoured for their efficiency, versatility, and high-quality output.

Exapro: Your Bridge to Superior Machinery Solutions

Navigating the industrial machinery marketplace can sometimes feel like a complex maze. That's where Exapro comes in, making the journey of buying and selling machinery as seamless as possible.

When professionals choose Exapro, they're not merely opting for a platform to transact; they're selecting a partner who understands the intricacies of the machinery world. One of the many advantages of Exapro is its vast, global network. This means that buyers can gain access to a wide variety of machinery, including rare and specialised equipment like twin screw extruders, from trusted sellers worldwide. Sellers can tap into an international pool of potential buyers, ensuring that their machinery finds a new home where it can continue to operate and contribute.

The value proposition of Exapro isn't just about range and reach. The platform is also renowned for its transparency and reliability. Every transaction is backed by a suite of security features and vetting processes, giving both buyers and sellers the confidence they need to seal the deal.

Sellers benefit from a streamlined process, enabling them to unlock the true value of their machinery, ensuring that their investments are capitalised upon rather than left dormant. For those on the buying end, there's an added attraction. The marketplace of used machinery such as Exapro often presents opportunities to acquire high-quality equipment at a fraction of the cost of new machines. It's an economically viable way to upgrade or expand operations without breaking the bank. The price range for twin screw extruders on Exapro tends to oscillate between €24,000 and €97,000. This wide spectrum is a reflection of various elements that impact the final price of each machine. The diverse price range of used twin screw extruders at Exapro is a testament to the platform's commitment to catering to a wide array of business needs, ensuring that quality doesn't always come at a prohibitive cost. 

Twin screw extruders, with their undeniable importance in the plastic and rubber industry, find an ideal marketplace in Exapro. Whether you're a buyer seeking a high-performance machine or a seller aiming to transition to different equipment, Exapro offers a trustworthy, efficient, and economically sound solution to meet your industrial machinery needs.

Main advantages of Twin screw extruders

Twin screw extruders are essential pieces of machinery in the realm of plastic and rubber processing. Their unique design offers several advantages over single screw extruders and other types of processing equipment. Here are the main benefits of twin screw extruders:

Enhanced Mixing Capability: Twin screw extruders offer superior mixing of materials due to their co-rotating, intermeshing screws. This ensures a more homogeneous melt and better dispersion of fillers, additives, and other ingredients.

Higher Output Rates: These machines can often produce material at a faster rate than single screw extruders, thanks to their efficient design and enhanced mixing capabilities.

Flexibility: Twin screw extruders can handle a broad range of materials, from rigid PVC to high-performance engineering plastics. Their design allows for flexibility in processing different material types with minimal adjustments.

Self-wiping Mechanism: The intermeshing design of the screws ensures that they clean or 'wipe' each other during rotation. This reduces material residue inside the extruder and helps in maintaining the consistency of the output.

Better Degassing: Twin screw extruders have an enhanced ability to vent and remove gases formed during the processing of materials, particularly important when working with materials that release moisture or volatiles.

Reduced Heat Buildup: The shearing action in twin screw extruders is more efficient, leading to a reduced need for external heating. This ensures that the material undergoes minimal thermal degradation.

Continuous Production: These extruders can operate continuously, leading to consistent product quality and increased production rates.

Quick Adaptability: Twin screw extruders can be swiftly adjusted or reconfigured for different tasks, making them suitable for a variety of applications and rapid changes in production demands.

Enhanced Feeding Capability: These extruders can effectively handle fillers, fibers, and other additives, allowing for a broader range of compound formulations.

Energy Efficiency: Due to their efficient design and operation, twin screw extruders often consume less energy per unit of output when compared to other types of extruders.

Twin screw extruders provide a blend of versatility, efficiency, and consistency, making them a preferred choice for many manufacturers in the plastic and rubber processing industry. They offer the ability to produce high-quality products while accommodating a wide range of materials and formulations.

Main machine parameters of Twin screw extruders

Twin screw extruders, being complex pieces of machinery designed for precision work in the plastics and rubber industry, have several critical machine parameters that dictate their performance and applicability. These parameters determine how the machine operates, the quality of the output, and its suitability for specific materials or processes. Here are the main machine parameters of twin screw extruders:

Screw Diameter: This parameter represents the size of the screws. It is directly related to the extruder's capacity and throughput.

L/D Ratio (Length to Diameter Ratio): This is a critical parameter that denotes the screw's length in relation to its diameter. A higher L/D ratio often means better mixing and longer residence time for the material, but it also can affect the mechanical and thermal energy imparted to the material.

Screw Profile and Geometry: The design of the screw's flights, channels, and other features impacts the machine's mixing capability, shear rates, and overall performance.

Screw Rotation Speed: This parameter indicates how fast the screws rotate, impacting the material's residence time and shear rates.

Barrel Temperature Profile: Twin screw extruders have multiple heating (and sometimes cooling) zones along the barrel's length. The temperature settings in these zones influence the material's melting, mixing, and shaping.

Barrel Pressure: This parameter indicates the pressure inside the extruder barrel, affecting the material's flow properties and final output quality.

Motor Drive Power: This is the power rating of the machine's motor, indicating its capacity to handle hard-to-process materials and its overall energy consumption.

Feed Throat Design and Temperature: The design and temperature control of the feed throat can impact the machine's ability to intake and process materials.

Venting and Degassing: Some twin screw extruders come equipped with venting zones to remove volatiles, moisture, or gases from the material. The number, design, and location of these vents are essential parameters.

Gearbox Rating and Design: The gearbox translates the motor's power to the screws. Its design and rating can affect the extruder's torque, speed, and overall performance.

Output or Throughput Rate: This parameter indicates the machine's capacity, i.e., how much material the extruder can process in a given time (often denoted in kg/h or lbs/h).

Residence Time: This represents the amount of time the material spends within the extruder, impacting its exposure to mechanical and thermal energies.

Torque: Indicates the force exerted by the screws on the material. Higher torque can be beneficial for processing tough or filled materials.

Configuration of the Screws: Whether the screws are co-rotating (turning in the same direction) or counter-rotating (turning in opposite directions) affects the machine's operation and material processing dynamics.

When selecting or configuring a twin screw extruder, understanding and optimizing these parameters is crucial. They determine the machine's ability to handle specific materials, deliver a consistent output, and operate efficiently. Proper adjustments and calibrations to these parameters can fine-tune the extrusion process, ensuring optimal product quality and production rates.

Area of Use

Twin screw extruders are versatile pieces of equipment with a broad spectrum of applications. Their unique design and capabilities allow them to process a wide range of materials with precision and consistency. Here are the primary areas of use for twin screw extruders:

Compounding: Twin screw extruders are commonly used for mixing polymers with additives, fillers, pigments, and other components to create a homogeneous compound. This can include the blending of different types of polymers or the introduction of flame retardants, stabilizers, and other additives.

Masterbatch Production: These machines are ideal for producing masterbatches, which are concentrated mixtures of pigments or additives encapsulated in a polymer carrier. These batches are then used to tint or modify the properties of other polymers.

Reactive Extrusion: Twin screw extruders can be used in processes where chemical reactions occur during extrusion, such as grafting, cross-linking, or polymerization.

Polymer Alloy Production: These extruders can blend different types of polymers to produce alloys with specific desired properties.

Recycling: Twin screw extruders play a crucial role in the recycling of plastics. They can reprocess and reformulate post-consumer or post-industrial plastic waste, turning it into a usable material.

Biomaterial Processing: Twin screw extruders are increasingly being used to process bioplastics and other biodegradable materials.

Nano-composites: They are used to incorporate nanomaterials into polymers, creating materials with enhanced properties.

Food Processing: Beyond the plastics and rubber industry, twin screw extruders are also employed in the food industry. They can process various food items, from breakfast cereals to snack foods, by cooking and shaping mixtures of ingredients.

Pharmaceuticals: In the pharmaceutical sector, twin screw extruders are used for continuous processing, granulation, and the production of controlled-release products.

Fibre Reinforcement: They can integrate fibres, such as glass or carbon, into polymers to produce reinforced plastics with enhanced mechanical properties.

Production of Medical Devices: Twin screw extruders can produce tubing, catheters, and other medical devices with precision and consistency.

Elastomer Processing: These extruders can process elastomers, which are used to produce various rubber-like products.

Wire and Cable Coating: In the electronics and communication sectors, twin screw extruders can apply insulating or protective coatings to wires and cables.

Given their versatility and adaptability, twin screw extruders have found applications in diverse sectors, from everyday consumer products to advanced industrial applications. Their ability to handle a wide range of materials and offer consistent and high-quality output makes them indispensable in various industries.

Leading Manufacturers of Twin screw extruders

Numerous manufacturers are renowned for producing high-quality twin screw extruders. Here's a list of some prominent manufacturers, which you may also find on Exapro:

Coperion (formerly Werner & Pfleiderer): A global leader in the design and manufacture of compounding and extrusion equipment, including twin screw extruders.

KraussMaffei Berstorff: A German-based company that offers a range of extrusion equipment, including twin screw extruders for various applications.

Leistritz: Known for their high-performance extrusion technology, Leistritz produces a range of twin screw extruders suitable for different industries.

ThermoFisher Scientific (formerly Thermo Haake): While primarily known for lab instruments, they also produce lab-scale twin screw extruders for research and development purposes.

Bühler: Especially in the food sector, Bühler is a known manufacturer of twin screw extruders designed for food processing.

Brabender: Primarily focused on lab-scale equipment, they offer twin screw extruders for research, development, and small-scale production.

Toshiba Machine: A part of the larger Toshiba Corporation, they manufacture twin screw extruders, especially for the plastic industry.

Milacron: An American company that offers a wide range of plastics processing equipment, including twin screw extruders.

JSW (Japan Steel Works): A major Japanese company with a broad portfolio, including the manufacture of twin screw extruders for plastics.

ICMA San Giorgio: An Italian manufacturer with a strong reputation in the field of extrusion technology, producing high-quality twin screw extruders.

Farrel Pomini: Known for their focus on high-performance compounding systems that include twin screw extrusion technology.

Battenfeld-Cincinnati: Offers a range of extrusion equipment, including twin screw extruders for various applications.

These manufacturers have carved a niche for themselves in the twin screw extrusion market, each with its specific strengths and areas of specialization. If you're considering purchasing a twin screw extruder, it is advisable to research each manufacturer's offerings, reputation to determine the best fit for your needs or you can contact our support team for additional details.