Do-it-yourself extrusion line for brushes. Manual extruder for polypropylene: working principle. How is the process

Specialists professionally engaged in the performance of laying work plastic pipes, it is important to have a special tool in your arsenal that allows you to create a reliable connection between materials with a low melting point. Recently, many materials with similar characteristics have been created. These include polyethylene low pressure, PVC, polypropylene and others. A manual welding extruder can ensure their reliable connection.

Design and principle of operation

The manual extruder is made in the form mechanical device, when using which the connection of materials is carried out in stages: first, the plastic is heated to give it a viscous state, and then the resulting mass is squeezed out to the surface at the junction. After cooling HDPE, PVC and other fusible plastics, a strong welding seam appears at the work site.

Extruder device

To make it more convenient to work with this device, manufacturers produce it in the form of a pistol with a handle and an upper nozzle designed to heat the working mixture. In the design of the extruder, the following working units can be distinguished:

Operating principle

Before work, a filler rod is inserted into the extruder, which must be made of the material planned for use in welding. The workflow itself looks like this: a receiving sleeve with a hole is attached to the top panel of the device, into which a filler rod is then inserted. It should be located in it in such a way that the free end is in the area of ​​​​its capture by the auger.

When the specialist starts the electric motor, being exposed to a saturated jet of hot air, the bar heats up, and at the same time, after some time has passed, which is pre-set by the sensor of the device, the bar is fed into the grinding area. Here the screw, which makes rotational movements, begins to crush the rod, which takes the form of a granular mass. As a result of heating, it begins to melt and gradually moves to the melting area, where the granulate already has a completely homogeneous composition.

Under pressure from the auger, the granulate is sent to the welding zone, and from there it goes to the welding nozzle, where, in the process of pressing to the surface of the products to be joined, it comes out in the form of a uniform strip of a given width, determined by the configuration of the nozzle. Considering that the temperature outside the welded product is much lower than that created by the thermal heater, the material of the rod cools rapidly, resulting in a weld.

When using larger and more productive models of extruders, the function of heating the filler rod is taken over by an external thermal heater, into which air is supplied from a small compressor. Extruders may differ among themselves and in the way the filler material is heated. In some models, ring heating elements are used for this purpose, installed in the body of the thermal heater.

The following functions are assigned to the control system as part of the extruder:

Operating rules and model selection

Before welding plastic products, a number of conditions must be met due to the characteristics of the material. It is necessary to remove all existing contamination from the surface of the products to be joined and take care that during operation they do not come into contact with wet material.

For the proper performance of the work, it is necessary to take into account the difference in melting points of the materials to be joined, if they differ from each other chemical composition. So, a manual extruder can be used for welding HDPE and polypropylene, since for these materials the range of their melting temperature completely or partially overlaps. When it is necessary to combine materials from PVC and HDPE or polypropylene, difficulties often arise. When working with such materials, a hand extruder can only be used to connect products that are made of identical materials.

Since the manual extruder has a compact size, plastic elements can be welded with this device without stopping the work of the connected products. So, polypropylene pipes can be welded without first turning off the water supply through them.

Before starting work on welding plastic products a number of mandatory checks must be carried out:

To select the most suitable model devices, a number of characteristics must be taken into account:

• bar diameter range;
• Availability of interchangeable accessories;
• thickness of the connected products;
• ease of setting process parameters;
• performance per unit of time.

Many manufacturers produce extruders with branded filler materials, additionally indicating that the consumable must match the manufacturer of the tool in order to create a reliable connection.

In principle, you can always consider making an extruder for home use with your own hands. It is used as a basis conventional industrial hair dryer, to which the screw drive is connected, and then the design is modified to give both nodes a compact look. In some cases, the screw can be replaced with a plunger drive, but this option cannot be considered reliable. Such a homemade welding extruder may behave differently with seating rods due to the fact that they can be made of different materials. It is best to use a collector-type motor as a drive, since it is more stable with constant changes in torque.

Welding extruder manufacturers

Most often, consumers purchase for welding hand extruders from the following manufacturers:

may be different and determined by the functionality and performance of a particular model. If we consider units from Russian manufacturers, then on average they can be purchased for 30-55 thousand rubles. Foreign manufacturers are ready to sell a welding extruder of their own production for at least 50 thousand rubles.

Plastic pipes, which have recently gained great popularity, are now widely used in a variety of facilities. Often, the owners themselves decide to change the plumbing system to a new one made of this technological material. But to connect the pipe elements, specialized equipment is required.

Quite often, specialists to perform this kind of work use a welding extruder, which supports work with products not only from PVC, but also other types of plastic. However, working with this device requires knowledge of the features not only welding machine, but also the materials that are planned to be joined. Not everyone is aware that the difference in melting temperatures of different materials can adversely affect the reliability of the joint being created. Therefore, the extruder cannot always be considered as the most suitable type tool for welding.

There are also a number of other important parameters, which should be considered when choosing an extruder for welding plastic products. Most ordinary users, as a rule, do not have such information, so it is quite understandable why a welding extruder is considered a working tool for professionals.

If there is a desire to independently weld PVC pipes, then it is advisable to do this under the guidance of an experienced specialist and in strict observance of his instructions for the work process. Otherwise, everything can end very badly for the owner, up to the occurrence of emergencies at the most unexpected moment.

This term refers to devices designed to melt and extrude directly plastic or threads from this material. Many craftsmen in the field of technology are wondering if it is possible to make a do-it-yourself plastic extruder?

Let's take a closer look at the purpose of this device. So, its purpose, as a rule, is divided according to the scope of application:

• one of the extruder options is to use in the form of a hot nozzle in. Here he heats the plastic thread and then, by squeezing the thread through the nozzle, feeds it to form a product from this plastic;
• if you make an extruder for plastic with your own hands, then it can then be used in the manufacture of plastic granules or unusable filament products.

Here we will take a closer look at the second option for using this device.

Why extruders have become so popular

The main reason for the emergence of such devices as for plastic was, of course, the high price of finished products, which generally relate to working with plastic threads. For example, in European countries and the USA, the price for just 1 kilogram of plastic thread was at least $40. So, the do-it-yourself extruder for plastic welding fully paid off all the costs and troubles in its design after the first 6 kilograms of plastic filament were made.

The second reason why it is still worth doing the design of such equipment yourself is that today the existing desktop ones are very imperfect. And often the result of their work is deformed, or even completely deformed products. That is why the question: is it possible to reuse material damaged in this way has become very relevant.

The indisputable advantages of such filament extruders

So, among the most important and indisputable advantages of self-designed devices for processing plastic filament, one can undeniably list the following:

• A noticeable reduction in the costs that are allocated to Consumables for printing in 3D format;
• Thread can now be made from any available or desired type of plastic;
• You can mix different types of plastic during the manufacturing process, and then as a result you will get a filament that is unique in its characteristics;
• And when experimenting with a combination of plastic of various colors and shades, you will get your own special color set to create unique printed materials;
• The ability to recycle the unsuccessful result of the printer will allow you not to throw away the money for its purchase, but to reuse it for the same purpose after recycling.

Cons of homemade devices for secondary work with plastic thread

It may seem a little strange to you, but these insanely useful and economical devices also have disadvantages:

• Very often, the quality of the thread turns out to be worse than the factory one, the thickness of the thread may not be consistent, and the material itself may differ slightly in chemical or physical properties;
• Plastic may release when heated. harmful substances into the air, and you will have to breathe these fumes not only during the printing process, but also when processing plastic;
• When reworking dyed plastic, you will not have information about the composition of the dye, and in addition to toxicity, you can get not a unique shade, but a rather unpleasant color.

In fact, all the disadvantages of the thread in the case when the extruder for plastics is made by hand comes down to the quality of the resulting plastic. So, if you carefully monitor your health during production, then shortcomings can be avoided.

A manual welding tool - an extruder - today is no longer something unusual, supernatural. Thanks to modern technologies it became possible to create such a tool with your own hands.

The extruder is designed to perform permanent connections of various plastic products, which are carried out by feeding the molten mass of material into a heated pool formed by the edges of the samples being welded.

This tool is used for the production of containers, sheet products, repairing damage to plastic structures, for example, soldering car bumpers made of plastic.

The extruder has no weak points, it has a long service life, it is easy to operate. Entrepreneurial people purchase semi-finished plastic products and use this tool to make unique designs. One of these projects can be noted "bath, organized on the water." A pontoon was used as the basis for it.

Do-it-yourself extruder for welding

This idea originated more than 60 years ago, so until today it has undergone many different changes and has become almost perfect. A huge number of mechanisms have appeared that differ in the technique of impact, but are almost uniform in terms of the resulting structures.

How is the base of the proposed part heated? Everything is quite simple: as a result of mechanical procedures, thermal energy is generated, which contributes to additional heating of the plastic. Thermal influences from the outside are not excluded. In this case, the process depends on more from the original structure of the extruder.

Manual Welding Extruder: Working Principle

The extruder is not a difficult tool to manage, there are three versions:

• cold forming;
• hot extrusion;
• thermal processing.

Hot forming is the most demanded technology today. The procedure is carried out at high speed and under maximum pressure. For its implementation, a screw extruder is used, the main structural element of which is a screw of a special shape. The molding procedure in this case is performed at the exit. The raw material, together with the additional elements used, is placed in a special chamber.

Factory devices have the possibility of arranging special devices on which the mixing and movement of raw materials depends.

Production

How to make a manual welding extruder for joining polypropylene products with your own hands? The assembly procedure for such a tool does not present any particular difficulties, as it might seem at first glance. Collect it under the power of anyone.

The manufacture of an extruder is a rather fascinating process, which directly depends on the purpose and shape of the apparatus.

How can a homemade extruder differ from a factory one:

• assembly of structural elements;
• the number of working chambers;
• the presence of additional systems.

The cylindrical shape of the tool remains unchanged. Today it is considered the most technologically advanced, therefore it remains unchanged.

Technological differences

Need to still light up a few enough important points, in particular, this applies to the procedure for passing through dry extrusion, which directly depends on the thermal energy released by the apparatus itself, which is generated during operation. It also remains possible to involve steam in the process, for which an individual chamber is available. Steam is needed to increase the wear resistance of equipment.

The technology is characterized by a high speed of work, the procedure is carried out in just 30 seconds. The apparatus for welding plastic in such a short period of time manages to perform the following operations with raw materials:

• grinding;
• dehydration;
• mixing;
• disinfection;
• stabilization;
• increase in volume.

For self-manufacturing manual extruder at home, you need to purchase a certain list of parts:

• screw of the required shape;
• electric motor;
• housing for the device;
• supply capacity;
• output capacity;
• vacuum chamber.

To make a tool for welding plastic products with your own hands at home, it is enough to understand the procedure for creating an extruder, its working principle.

Extrusion is considered a common method for obtaining semi-finished products or polymer products. Such a process is created in the food industry or in the production of animal feed. The polymer melt is pulled out with the help of an extruder head into a molding head with a special profile.

How is the process going?

Most polymers can go through extrusions: thermoplastics, elastomers and other materials. Technology welding extruder has been used for many years. During processing with special equipment, there are several different characteristics: composition of raw materials, percentage of moisture and nature. During operation, pressure and temperature may change. Where can a welding extruder be used?

• Feed processing.
• Creation of plastic and polyethylene.
• Creating pipes.
• Food production.

Extruder design:

Do-it-yourself extruder for a 3D printer

A feature of a hand-held 3D printer is the work on the basis of filamentous plastic different types, most commonly used ABS and PLA. The device of such an extruder consists of two blocks, the first is responsible for feeding the filament, the second is a nozzle with a heater that cools the device.

How to make a homemade 3D printer extruder? First you need to pick up a stepper motor or use motors from old scanners instead. To mount the engine, you will need a housing, a special roller and a hot end. The body can be made from different materials. The special roller is adjustable by means of a spring, because the thickness of the bar is rarely ideal. The material is connected to the feeder, but the clutch must not be too tight, otherwise the pieces of plastic will start to break off.

A part called a hot end can be bought, but the price is quite high, it will be more profitable to download the drawings and make it yourself. The radiator is made of aluminum to remove heat from the barrel of the hot end. This helps to remove premature heating of the material.

The best solution is an LED heatsink, cooling is applied with a fan. The hot end barrel is made from a metal tube that is designed to connect the radiator and heater. The thin piece of tubing is a thermal barrier that manages to destroy the heat at the top of the extruder.

The heater in a do-it-yourself 3D extruder is made from an aluminum plate. First, a hole is drilled in it for hot end barrel mounts, then a hole is created for the bolt, resistor and thermistor. The plate is heated with a resistor, and the thermistor regulates the temperature. The nozzle is made from a blind nut with an oval end.

When choosing a nut, it is better to take brass or copper, they are very easy to process. A bolt is fixed in a vice, then a nut is screwed onto it, and the last step is to create a hole in the center. This is how a homemade extruder for a 3D printer is created.

If you do not quite understand how to make such a device for a 3D printer, then you should familiarize yourself with the video and drawings to simplify your work.

DIY clay extruder

Such equipment is intended for modeling. With the help of such manual extruders, you can work with clay and plasticine. Main structure for this extruder, a clear color plastic bottle is considered. Before work, it must be washed and dried. Pull the plate out of the lid with a needle or pin.

Next, you need to create a hole from which the material will be extruded. The diameter must match the lines. Trim the edges of the hole and take a metal disk to which you attach the handle. Done, now you have a clay extruder. Everything is very easy and you don't even need a drawing.

Conclusion

The extruder is considered very useful, because thanks to such a tool you can create many materials that used in vital areas. The 3D printer device makes the highest quality parts, and it is very profitable to make it yourself, you can earn decent money on it. When creating such a tool for a 3D printer, do not forget to familiarize yourself with the diagram.

Plastic products have become an integral part of our lives, so today the topic of plastic recycling at home has become of particular importance. Recycling of plastics, even in own house, does its part to protect the environment from huge piles of almost non-degradable plastic waste.

The basis of all plastics is polymers (compounds having a high molecular weight and consisting of monomers). The possibility of recycling plastics depends on the type of raw material from which the plastic product is made. Today, there are many types of plastic, which, however, can be combined into two large groups:

1. Thermoplastic. Approximately 80% of plastic products are made from this material. Includes types: HDPE, LDPE, PET, PP, PS, PVC, etc.
2. Thermoset plastic. Represented by polyurethane, epoxy, phenolic resins, etc.

It is impossible to recycle type 2 plastics at home, because. thermosetting plastic is not remeltable (in some cases, in enterprises it is crushed and used as a filler). Thermoplastics, on the other hand, melt when heated without losing their initial properties and, when cooled, regain their original shape. That is why "at home" it is possible to process only thermoplastic plastics using special, but "simple" equipment and obtain new useful products and materials from such plastic waste.

The most common recycled raw materials are PET bottles and other plastic containers.

Helpful information! To understand what type of plastic the product is made of, you need to pay attention to the markings on its surface (often at the bottom). It has the shape of a triangle, inside which there is a number corresponding to the type of polymer. Also under the triangle put letter designation types of plastic.

What you need for recycling at home

Industrial machines that process plastic are expensive and require large areas. Of course, such units are not suitable for implementing the idea of ​​\u200b\u200brecycling plastic waste at home. To get new products from waste plastic in a handicraft way, you will need to independently design several special machines.

Following Precious Plastic Project

To process plastic with your own hands, you will need the following devices (or one of them, depending on the goal):

1. Schroeder. Shreds plastic waste to obtain crumbs of a given size, which is then further processed. The device includes several main components: a grinding part, a loading funnel, a frame and a power source. The most time-consuming stage in the manufacture of the device is the production of a grinding element consisting of a shaft with blades "strung" on it. The loading hopper is made of sheet metal (waste can also be used here, for example, old car parts). The desired size of the resulting plastic fraction is set using a grid installed under the grinding part.
2. Compression device (press). The plastic crumb loaded into the machine is subjected to high pressure and high temperature, the result of the process is to obtain new compressed plastic products of the most different forms. The main elements of the device: furnace, frame, press and electronics.
3. Injector ("injector"). The principle of operation of this device is that under the influence high temperature the plastic crumb is melted into a fluid mass, which is then injected into a mold. After the plastic mass cools, new solid objects of small dimensions are obtained.
4. extruder. The heated plastic mass is pressed through the channel of the device, as a result of the process, the plastic exits the device in the form of threads. With the help of an extruder, plastic granules can be obtained.

Blueprints for assembling all of these devices can be downloaded for free from preciousplastic.com. There you can also watch video instructions in which they clearly and easily talk about the technologies for creating devices, necessary materials and sequence of actions.

The Precious Plastic project is international. Its creator, Dave Hakkens, improved the drawings of polymer recycling devices found on the Internet and, using his knowledge, designed efficient devices that make it easy to obtain new products from plastic waste. The project helps ordinary people to create machines that process plastic, and with their help to benefit not only for themselves, but also for the environment.

Simple mechanism for cutting plastic bottles

The essence of this cutter is that it cuts off from the edge plastic bottle(along its circumference) threads having a certain thickness. The result is achieved thanks to a fixed blade sliding on a plastic product. The process does not require electrical energy, the device consists only of a holder and a cutter itself. From plastic threads obtained with your own hands, you can create various interior items, baskets and other objects for which a person has enough imagination.

A few words about safety

Recycling plastic at home does not require supernatural safety knowledge. When melting plastic, it is worth arming yourself with fireproof gloves (you can use welding gaiters) to avoid burns. Also when working with plastic products it is important to know that they must not be incinerated, because. Some types of plastics, when burned, release toxic compounds into the environment. Of course, it is better if the crushing of plastic waste, their melting, etc. will take place in a specially designated place, for example, in a garage.

Do not forget about safety during the manufacture of devices for the processing of plastic raw materials. It is also necessary to use personal protective equipment here: special glasses, a mask (welding), canvas or leather gloves, etc.

How to melt plastic waste at home

You can melt plastic waste at home using one of the devices described earlier (press, injector, extruder). However, their creation requires certain skills and time. You can resort to melting plastic using more primitive methods. For example, to obtain a plastic screw lamb, a metal syringe and a solid mold can be constructed.

Process description

Polypropylene (marking "PP") can be used as a raw material. The crushed material is put into the manufactured syringe and compacted with a metal piston. The plastic-filled syringe is placed in conventional oven for about 30 minutes at a temperature of 220-240°C. Then the molten plastic mass is squeezed out of the syringe into the prepared mold, while for some time it is necessary to hold the material under pressure. After cooling, the finished product can be removed from the mold.

Video of plastic recycling at home

Craftsmen produce a variety of products from waste plastic. For information on how plastic injection can be carried out at home with a screw lamb, see this video:

Melt a few plastic caps from bottles you can use a building hair dryer. The process of molding useful small plastic products is presented in the following video:

Benefit

The main benefit of independent plastic recycling is that new products are obtained from unnecessary and cheap materials that are widely used in everyday life and other areas of our life. By building special equipment, you can organize a small business based on the manufacture and sale of materials for further processing (for example, flex) or ready-to-eat items ( plastic tableware, wicker furniture, etc.).

Industrial recycling of plastic is associated with solving many problems. Recycling plastic waste at home is much easier. It is only important to set a goal and decide on the direction of processing. And it is possible to design plastic processing devices of any complexity with the help of the "omniscient" Internet.