Reifenhäuser: Wood Extrusion Wood Polymer Composites (WPC) on the Advance

In the course of the last months, six extrusion lines were installed in Kosche´s production facility in the Federal state of Hesse and successfully taken into operation within a very short time. Based on the line technology developed by Reifenhäuser (www.reifenhauser.com) and Kosche they can produce different products from wood polymer composites.

At the Hesse location, the current composite wood board product range will be extended by the production of high-quality WPC profiles.

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"BITRUDER" twin-screw extruders are the basic elements of WPC production lines since they are equipped with special counter-rotating, intermeshing screws that offer optimum conditions for processing wood fibres and thermoplastic materials such as PE or PP. Screw geometry and wear resistance of BITRUDER twin screws and barrels are specially adapted to the different wood and polymer types and formulations of WPC products.

The special dies required for wood extrusion are designed and built by KOSCHE itself. Within the scope of the cooperation, the dies are tailor-made to suit the properties of the raw materials provided by the customer. With its Kovatool brand, KOSCHE has developed high-performance dies with integrated disk calibrator. Thus, the customer can be offered a system including Bitruder and die that is adapted to his own material and allows him to start production immediately.

With 70 to 80 %, wood fibres are an essential component of WPCs. They are defined with regard to their homogeneity and are cut to approx. 0.5 mm or smaller at a pre-cutting stage.

In addition to wood fibres and polymers used in wood/polymer products, also tie resins and special additives such as stabilizers, colours, flame retardants, etc. are processed.

With their line technology, the partner companies Kosche and Reifenhäuser offer a complete solution that covers the whole processing chain, including know-how transfer, for WPC products (brand name KOVALEX).

In addition, a pilot line operating under production conditions has been installed in the Hesse facility (Valentin company) to produce WPC products. A laboratory for conducting pre-trials is also available at this location.

This offers interested customers the opportunity to test their own formulations developed for the most different wood or bio fibres and also to realize production of their products.

Picture: Six extrusion lines for production von Wood Polymer Composites (Kovalex)

Reifenhäuser GmbH & Co. KG Maschinenfabrik, Troisdorf

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