Investments in additional MEAF 75-H34 extruders can reduce energy consumption in cellular production by up to 65% and double capacity.
Honeycomb sandwich producer EconCore (Leuven, Belgium) and polypropylene honeycomb core manufacturer ThermHex Waben GmbH (Halle, Germany) have doubled their honeycomb core production capacity and reduced energy consumption by 65% compared to alternative solutions.
The two companies recently installed MEAF (Jersek, The Netherlands) H-series extruders in their state-of-the-art production facility, with ThermHex being the second after the first installation in 2015.A new extruder equipped with special features can be connected with the first, the company notes, to combine the two production streams for the most efficient use of energy.This reportedly increases the theoretical production capacity of ThermHex honeycomb cores from 500 kilograms (approximately 1,100 pounds) per hour to 1,000 kilograms (approximately 2,200 pounds), equivalent to a two-shift production of 3,000 tons per year.
The MEAF extruder is said to offer significant sheet extrusion line energy efficiency over its competition.In a direct comparison, MEAF’s 75-H34 extruder used by ThermHex Waben recorded 0.18-0.22 kW/kg, compared to 0.50 kW/kg for the competitor.In addition to requiring 10-65% less energy to produce kilograms of product, MEAF H series extruders are suitable for extruding multiple materials with the same screw and barrel, and due to the extruder’s low friction design and minimal flow and Pressure fluctuations reduce polymer degradation, even at higher outputs.
EconCore, the parent company of ThermHex Waben, launched its first MEAF 50 custom 75-H34 extruder for its pilot line in 2017, which has the same screw ratio as the ThermHex MEAF laboratory extruder But smaller barrels and custom features.Given the company’s further industrial scale-up activities for rPET honeycomb cores, EconCore required another large industrial-scale extruder with a compact design.It also requires efficient processing of RPET flakes and a range of engineered polymers for the production of RPET and high performance thermoplastic (HPT) honeycomb cores.The 75-H34 provides this while retaining the same screw ratios, barrels and custom features as previous extruders.
One problem EconCore faced when looking for the right extruder was its temperature range for high performance polymers like polyethyleneimine (PEI).For polypropylene, more traditional extruders typically offer a temperature range of 80-300°C.However, this is too low and MEAF’s extruders are able to provide a higher temperature range of 200-400°C, which is required to extrude RPET and a range of engineering polymers.
“Our relationship with MEAF extends not only to ourselves at EconCore and ThermHex Waben, but also to our licensees,” said Wouter Winant, Technical Manager at EconCore. “Our technology for the automated continuous production of thermoplastic honeycombs is licensed. In Our trust in MEAF extruders over the past few years is reflected in our willingness to recommend their products to all licensees.”
Dr. Jochen Pflug, CEO of EconCore and ThermHex Waben, said: “The demand for more sustainable, lightweight, high-rigidity materials is growing, and it is important for ThermHex Waben to increase our production capacity in order to cope with the influx of demand,” adding road.”MEAF’s 75-H34 extruder has allowed us to significantly expand our production capacity.”
EconCore was recently nominated for the Belgian Environmental Business Award for its rPET cellular technology.In August 2021, Econcore’s rPET honeycomb core technology also received certification for the Solar Impulse Label in recognition of the material’s sustainability.ThermHex Waben recently published the 100 most innovative companies in Germany.
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Post time: Jun-17-2022