Screw Design and Types in Plastic Extrusion

The screw is an essential component of a plastic extrusion machine. Through its turning motion
inside a tight fitting barrel, the screw conveys the plastic, melts it and forces it through a die. These
three steps are carried out in a continuous process capable of producing extrusions in a variety of
lengths. The screw’s design is similar in principle to Archimedes’ screw of 250 BC, which was used to
raise water to higher levels via axial rotation.

Modern engineering has expanded upon the screw of antiquity by redeveloping its geometry and
applying it to plastic extrusion. Today’s extrusion screw can have varying pitch, helix angle, length to
diameter ratio and length of processing stages. These variables influence the different pressure,
shear and feed rates that are effective for a given plastic. Some extruders also use double screws to
provide better additive mixing.

Basic Screw Design

The basic extrusion screw has three distinct parts, each engineered to do a specific task. The feed
section is in the rear of the screw, where plastic pellets are gravity fed from above and conveyed
forward. The length to diameter ratio of the feed section is typically four or five to one, which is
sufficient to build up the pressure needed to transport the plastic. However, the friction between
the barrel wall and the plastic must be greater than that between the screw and the plastic in order
for lateral movement to occur.

A barrel heater helps the plastic develop tack and stick to a wall. Sometimes, the screw is also chilled
to free it of clinging pellets. Feed section length ratios can be increased to eight or ten to one for
plastics with a low coefficient of friction. This extra length gives the plastic more time to heat up to a
higher temperature, creating more friction at the barrel. From here, the plastic is channeled into the
transition section of the screw.

In the transition section, the plastic is transformed into its liquid state through two concurrent
methods. Barrel heaters provide some initial melting, while the shear caused by the motion of the
plastic against the barrel completes the process. In this stage, the root of the screw increases while
the flutes, or “flights,” subsequently decrease in size. This leaves less space for the plastic mass that
has been compacted in the feed section. As pressure, shear and friction increases, the plastic begins
to melt and flow. The transition section typically occupies five to ten diameters of the cycle.

In the metering or pumping section, the molten plastic is guided into a die. The root diameter of the
screw and the size of the flights remain constant in this stage, and its length varies from four to eight
diameters, depending on the application.
Barrier Screws

In the transition, or melting, section of a conventional extrusion screw, molten plastic has a
tendency to surround the solid pellets, keeping them away from the barrel where melting takes
place. This blockage can result in damaged equipment or unusable extrusions. The barrier screw was
designed to address this problem, and it has become ubiquitous in the extrusion industry.

Barrier screws have additional flights serving as barriers in the melting section. These barrier flights
are smaller in diameter than the inside of the barrel, creating a gap through which molten plastic
may pass but solid pellets may not. This passage separates the solid and the liquid plastics, into their
own channels. At the beginning of the melting phase, the solid channel is larger than the molten
one, but as more plastic melts, the solid channel gradually empties. By the end of the section, all the
material has been reduced to a liquid state.

Mixing Screws

Additives, such as binders or flock, are sometimes mixed with the plastic pellets before or during the
extrusion process. Since standard and barrier screws are not engineered for mixing, a specialized
screw must be used to combine the materials. Some systems employ twin side-by-side screws to mix
the molten mass, while others rely on a single screw with reconfigured geometry at the metering
stage.

In a twin side-by-side system, the two screws either counter- or co-rotate. In addition, various
paddles, forward and reverse flights, or kneading blocks may be applied for specific mixing effects.
These screw systems possess the same feeding, shearing and metering capabilities as single screw
machines, but with a more homogeneous rate of mixing. Liquids, solids or combinations of the two
can be combined with twin-screw mixers.

Single mixing screws use special heads at the end of the screw to mix the combined materials, or
“batter,” while inside the barrel. There are several varieties of mixing head. The floating sleeve type
uses a dimpled and flanged sleeve that floats between the screw and barrel. The viscosity and flow
of the molten plastic keeps the sleeve turning slower than the screw because it rotates
independently. The sleeve’s geometry and slow movement force the liquid to reverse its course
downstream, effectively mixing the mass. Other mixing screws use fluted or pineapple shaped heads
that can provide additional shear and cross flow.

Screw Design and Development

The barrier screw is the most commonly used screw in plastic extrusion. Consequently, there is
ongoing technological development to improve its efficiency, quality, and output. Likewise, both
single- and double-format mixing screws are being redesigned to create a more uniform degree of
melt. Several companies specialize in screw design and manufacturing, and their work will continue
to influence the field of plastic extrusion.