On March 12, KraussMaffei Berstorff presented its new concept for producing weatherproof sheets based on renewable raw materials to its customers.
During a live demonstration at its Munich, Germany TechCenter, more than 60 international visitors were able to watch the production of so-called “Resysta” sheets with a twin-screw extruder in the 32D series.
The sheet line, equipped with the KMD 90-32/WPC twin-screw extruder and a vertical three-roll polishing stack as the key components, produced 4mm thick, 1,000mm wide Resysta sheets with a guaranteed output of 300kg/h.
“Since we are now also seeing greater use of renewable raw materials in sheet extrusion due to growing worldwide demands for sustainable production, we will be able to serve a new market segment with this product in the long term,” notes Andreas Kessler, General Sales Manager at KraussMaffei Berstorff in Munich.
According to Peter Oswald, Head of Product Management at KraussMaffei Berstorff, the material mixture supplied by its cooperation partner Resysta in Germany is a specially developed fiber-reinforced hybrid material made of ground treated rice husks with an added PVC carrier material.
“We systematically geared our machine concept to the requirements for processing fiber-reinforced plastics: For example, a specific metering device ensures a constant material feed. Since the adapted special venting zone in our 32D twin-screw extruders ensures that the residual moisture can properly escape, the moisture content during the production process remains constantly below 0.6%,” Mr Oswald explains.
A high installed screw torque, coupled with internal screw heat balancing and screw geometry specially modified for the Resysta compound, guarantees a homogeneous melt, thus leading to high quality end product, said KraussMaffei Berstorff.
In addition, Mr. Oswald emphasized that the screws have wear proof protection beyond the normal level while the barrels are also be lined to a correspondingly high degree to ensure protection of the processing unit against corrosive and adhesive wear.
According to the Germany machinery supplier, the end product is UV resistant, does not rot, and does not form any cracks or splinters. It is colorfast and can be recycled. Requiring little maintenance, the material can be used for outdoor furniture, floor coverings in a wet cell or outside, ships’ decks or house facades, etc.
