Small Scale Compounding
What is small scale compounding?
Impact Solutions boast a small scale compounding line (25kg/hr), ideal for initial trials on new materials.
Plastics compounding is a process of melt mixing plastics with additives like fillers, plasticizers, stabilizers, pigments etc. The process changes the physical, chemical, mechanical and rheological properties of the plastic. The additives incorporated in the polymer can provide improvement in conductivity, flame resistance, wear resistance, stiffness, toughness etc.
The polymer and additive(s) are fed through an extruder, either through single feed or using a separate side feed for additives, where they are melted and blended together. The melt is extruded in the form of a strand of suitable diameter. These strands are cooled and cut into pellets of required size.
Impact Solutions are capable of doing both small scale and large scale compounding. Small scale compounding is done using our Brabender mixer. Large scale compounding is done using our Betol twin-screw compounder with side feed attachment. For special compounding needs, we have good contacts with compounders based in the UK ensuring both quality and short lead times.
We have good experience of compounding a range of polymers and additives and have assisted many customers with their R&D projects. One such bespoke project was to develop polypropylene fibres to be used as reinforcement in concrete. The fibres needed to be of a fixed shape and have ribs on the surface to provide better bonding with concrete. We modified our die and sizing unit to meet the requirements.
