Daca Instruments: MicroCompounder attachment extrudes film
Daca Instruments, USA has developed a new device to extrude a micro-sized film from the company’s existing MicroCompounder. The company says that the MicroCompounder combines the intensive mixing of a twin-screw extruder with the small sample requirements of a batch compounder. The apparatus is a micro-scale, conical, twin-screw compounder that is designed to process 4,5cc of polymeric material. The new micro film attachment can extrude films to a maximum 12mm width using as little as 4,5cc material. The attachment comprises a film die and water-cooled take up roll. The opening of the die can be varied from 0-0,7mm. The speed of a chilled roll is controlled by a low speed DC motor. Daca Instruments adds that when the film is drawn from the die, the films become slightly narrower. The amount of narrowing depends on the type of polymer, the process conditions and the distance of the die to the take up roll. In addition, each edge of a cast film is likely to be thicker than the rest of the film due to the drawing process. The company claims that these features mean that it is a highly versatile instrument that is suitable for use in polymer research for polymer blends, additives and compounding. Attachments are also available for fibre spinning.