C.W. Brabender Showcases New Testing Equipment

C.W. Brabender is showing its new SpeciMold system, jointly developed by Brabender GmbH & Co. Duisburg, Germany, together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology (UMSICHT) at Booth W1802 . The Brabender SpeciMold offers a quick test method for the extrusion process.

The machine works by continuously producing specimen from extruded polymers and fillers—fully automatically, without any bypass or additional process steps—directly from the ongoing compounding process. It suits a large variety of polymers and polymer blends and is compatible with Brabender single- and twin-screw extruders, as well as with third-party extruders. The injection molding parameters are said to be easy editable, and the injection molds can be changed quickly, making a large number of specimens possible.

Another offering from C.W. Brabender is the Brabender Winder that winds round rods or flexible tubes on bobbins and completes an extrusion process of these materials. By means of an oscillating unit, the extrudate can be wound homogenously. The possibility of adjusting the tensile force between take-off and the oscillation unit ensures optimized winding. Afterwards, the bobbin with the extrudate can be taken off and further processed or stored.

The device can be included as downstream equipment in every extrusion process and supports the production of round rods or flexible tubes from different kinds of thermoplastics, including elastomers. It can be applied in product development, production or production simulation as well as in quality control. The company says it has proven particularly useful in the production of filaments for 3D printing. The Brabender Winder comes with a modular and compact design, including an adjustable belt or drum pull-off and storage space for different types of bobbins.

The company is also presenting its recently launched Meta Torque Plasti-Corder torque rheometer, which features Allen-Bradley PLC field technology, RheoLink software and RFID self-recognition of attachments (e.g., mixers, extruders). RheoLink auto detects the attachment (mixers or extruders), the heat zones required for the application and all safety limits for the attachment. The intuitive and friendly software provides detailed analysis of mixer or extrusion data. Any compatible CWB mixer or extruder attachment will adapt to the new Meta Torque rheometer.