Feedscrew Upgrade Pumps Up Output for Hose Maker

A recent feedscrew replacement has boosted rates by more than 33% for Swan Products, LLC. Swan Products, the leading North American manufacturer of water hoses for consumer and industrial markets, installed four new feedscrews from Davis-Standard (D-S), Pawcatuck, Conn., on existing D-S extruders at one of its plants in Canada. From order to installation, the project took about two and half months, saving the company time and money by providing a cost-efficient means to increase productivity.

Notes Jose Rossi, Swan Product’s dir. of manufacturing, North America, “Davis-Standard’s lab facility…enabled us to prove design concepts alongside feedscrew engineers with hands-on experience. They are very thorough in their management and delivery.”

The new high-throughput designs included one 2.5-in. (50 mm) and three 4.5-in. (114 mm) feedscrews. The trip to D-S’s lab in Pawcatuck was important since Swan needed capabilities to process both PVC and TPV resins. During the trial, several designs were tested to determine the best options for outputs and stability specific to Swan’s process requirements.

Says Jason Baird, the senior process engineer at Davis-Standard who conducted Swan’s trial, “We have analytical capabilities at the lab that enable us to see what’s going on inside the extruder as we test different feedscrews. When you improve output rates, you also need to confirm stability to achieve uniform product. Swan supplies garden hoses to major big box stores, so quality and consistency is essential to their business. We were able to verify both outputs and stability while also evaluating every aspect of performance from melt temperature to torque. This gave Swan the validation they needed to achieve immediate results.”