American Maplan: Broad Extrusion Capabilities at NPE
American Maplan Corp. will show a range of pipe, profile and sheet extrusion equipment at the NPE in Chicago, June 19-23. The company is planning five exhibits of its machinery and components, and one of products fabricated with its equipment. The displays will include:
• AMC-92 counter-rotating twin-screw extruder for PVC profiles that combines high throughput and performance with low-cost.
• techBEX modular single-screw extruder for small profiles.
• Two AMC/BEX single-screw extruders for sheet, a new product category for American Maplan.
• PO 250 VSI polyolefin pipe die, a versatile component utilizing the company’s latest die technology.
• iNOEX Calibration Sleeve 250, a component of the Advantage system which simplifies dimensional changes in pipe extrusion
• Static screw display showing American Maplan’s design and engineering capabilities in twin-screw extrusion.
• Samples of finished products, including the largest-diameter HDPE pipe ever made in the U.S.
These exhibits highlight an important component of American Maplan’s capabilities: its working relationship with extrusion specialist Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik, Ger-many which with American Maplan is part of the SMS Plastics Technology Group. American Maplan and Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik combine their engineering and applications expertise in a number of joint-development projects. The resulting synergy leads to innovations in process technology and equipment design that broaden each company’s product line and add value in their respective markets.
High-output extrusion for cost-conscious buyers
One joint program between American Maplan and Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik re-sulted in the AMC-92 twin-screw extruder for PVC profiles. The 92-mm-diameter machine has a throughput range of 750-850 lb. (340-385 kg) per hour. The counter-rotating screws are 28 L/D, longer than screws usually found on 92-mm extruders. The added length assures consistent processing. The machine is robust, easy to operate and economical. In place of oil-cooling systems it features water-filled screws for temperature control and air-cooled barrel technology, both of which help reduce operating costs and lower maintenance.
The extruder has five barrel zones, nine die-heating zones and heating capacity of 52 kW. Screw speed is 21 rpm, drive power is 48.4 kW and total installed power is 119 kW. The unit will be equipped with the newest automation control in American Maplan’s BMC line: the BMCtouch.
Configurable extruder for small profiles
The complete profile techBEX line with single-screw extruder is for small profiles. The line is modular, so processors can configure it for current or anticipated production needs. On display will be the model BCE1-45-25D, a 45-mm-diameter version with a smooth-feed bushing, designed for throughput of 50-75 lb. (22-34 kg) per hour. The air-cooled, unvented extruder is powered by an 18.5-kW AC motor and drive.
Downstream equipment includes a model CT2500/V1 calibration table with 2.5-m (8.2-ft.) clamping table, manual cross adjustment of +/- 50 mm and length adjust-ment of +/- 200 mm. The haul-off is the model B100E with a 90-mm-wide belt, 1200-mm contact length, 100-mm maximum opening and 50-m (164-ft.)-per-minute speed. The model FK63 flying-knife cut-off delivers 600 cuts per minute on profiles up to 50 by 50 mm, at a maximum speed of 30 m (98 ft.) per minute.
Creating sheet extrusion opportunities
American Maplan’s newest product business segment is sheet extrusion lines. Adapting technology from Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik, American Maplan has de-veloped single- and twin-screw systems that process a range of materials - polyole-fins, PVC, polycarbonate, polystyrene and natural-fiber composites. Sheet thick-nesses range from 0.008-1.0 in. (0.2-25.0 mm), widths to 71 in. (180 cm) and throughput to 3000 lb. (1361 kg) per hour.
Technical details are being finalized, but American Maplan reports that two single-screw versions will be at the show: AMC/BEX-1-45 and AMC/BEX-1-75. The single-screw line comes in seven sizes from 45-220 mm in diameter. The twin-screw line is seven sizes from 40-168 mm. Both lines can be equipped with a full range of down-stream equipment, including tooling, gear pumps, winders, shears, cut-off saws and trim saws. The extruders at NPE will also be equipped with the BMC+ control system.
Pipe die designed for high yields and flexibility
The PO 250 VSI die, for polyolefin pipe, is engineered to maintain tight wall thick-ness tolerances, high throughput rates and quality in broad processing conditions. The component utilizes American Maplan’s proven spiral lattice basket design, and incorporates the best properties of lattice basket and spiral mandrel dies. The result is a versatile die that extrudes pipe in a 50- to 250-mm-diameter range at rates to 1540 lb. (700 kg) per hour. The die will be part of a static display consisting of an assembled die head and a spiral lattice basket.
Excellence in screw design
Extruder efficiency is as much a function of screw design as any other factor. Ameri-can Maplan is a leader in designing single- and twin-screw systems for optimum production. The company, which designs screws for competitors’ machines as well as its own, can provide more than 400 different screw geometries for all types of sin-gle- and twin-screw extruders. American Maplan is exhibiting several sets of counter-rotating twin-screws, in parallel and conical designs with molybdenum or tungsten carbide coatings, in a static display that highlights its expertise in screw design for pipe, profile, siding, natural-fiber composite and sheet applications.
Finished products showcase process capabilities
To show what can be done with its extrusion technology, American Maplan is exhibit-ing products that have been fabricated with its extruders and dies. Foremost among these items is a 63-in.-diameter (1600-mm) HDPE pipe that is the largest ever made in the U.S. American Maplan has delivered three lines capable of fabricating pipe this large, and has plans for a line up to 78 inches in diameter (2000 mm). Battenfeld technology was used for the downstream equipment, but the extruders were American Maplan’s design and manufactured by the company at its plant in Kansas. Also on display will be PVC pipe.
Examples of PVC siding and fencing are also slated for the exhibit. The fencing can be fabricated with a special tooling system that assures uniform wall thicknesses and even distribution of capstock for greater process economy.
Another area of interest is natural-fiber-composite profiles and sheet, which continue to post sizeable growth in outdoor applications for the benefits they provide in cost, reduced maintenance and aesthetics. American Maplan offers single-screw and counter-rotating conical and parallel twin-screw extruders for this market, along with die technology and a full range of take-off equipment.