Trial Run of Plastic Lumber Extrusion Line for 50mm Solid Thick Panels
Yongte Conducts Initial Trial Run of Plastic Lumber Extrusion Line for 200×50mm Solid Thick Panels, Optimizes Die Molding Section to Resolve Deformation Issues
1. Initial Commissioning Overview of Plastic Lumber Extrusion Line
Recently, Yongte successfully completed the inaugural trial production of its high-performance Plastic Lumber Extrusion Line, which is professionally configured for the customized production of 200×50mm solid thick plastic panels. Differentiated from conventional extrusion equipment, this production line adopts a 36:1 barrel screw length-to-diameter (L/D) ratio design, matched with energy-saving servo drive system and fully automatic operating modules. Adhering to the concept of resource recycling and green production, this trial run adopted recycled plastic scraps as the raw material, fully verifying the equipment’s strong adaptability to waste plastic materials, high-efficiency processing capability and intelligent production advantages, as well as the feasibility of stable mass production of thick-gauge plastic lumber.
2. Superior Plasticization Effect of Recycled Plastic Raw Materials
During the initial commissioning process, the equipment demonstrated outstanding core performance, especially in material plasticization. Benefiting from the professional 36:1 long L/D ratio screw design, the high-speed extruder provides sufficient melting stroke and uniform shear force for recycled plastic scraps. Even with complex waste plastic raw materials, the equipment can realize full melting and homogeneous plasticization, delivering molten material with uniform texture, stable fluidity and no unmelted particles. In addition, the line is equipped with a high-efficiency servo motor drive system, which features precise speed regulation and low energy consumption, effectively reducing production energy loss compared with traditional constant-frequency motors. Meanwhile, the integrated automatic feeding and automatic cutting system realizes unmanned continuous production from raw material feeding to finished product sizing and cutting, greatly improving production automation level and dimensional consistency of finished products. The superior plasticization quality and intelligent configuration lay a solid foundation for the stable production of high-performance recycled plastic panels.
3. Cause Analysis of Thick Panel Bulging Deformation
Nevertheless, targeted technical challenges emerged in the forming stage of ultra-thick solid panels, which is a common industry technical difficulty for thick-gauge plastic lumber production. Due to the substantial 50mm thickness of the finished product, a prominent temperature gradient exists between the surface and the core layer of the panel during cooling and shaping. The panel surface cools and solidifies rapidly, while the internal core material retains high temperature for an extended period and generates continuous thermal shrinkage in the subsequent cooling process. The inconsistent cooling and shrinkage speed between outer and inner layers causes unbalanced internal stress, ultimately leading to middle bulging and local deformation of the 200×50mm solid thick panel. It is worth emphasizing that the deformation problem is solely caused by the molding die structure mismatch for ultra-thick products, rather than insufficient plasticization or equipment performance defects, which further validates the excellent comprehensive performance of Yongte’s extrusion host and automatic control system.
4. Targeted Optimization Scheme for Die Molding Section
Based on in-depth analysis of the trial run data and on-site production conditions, the Yongte technical team has confirmed that the core solution focuses on the structural optimization of the die molding section. Aiming at the unbalanced melt flow and uneven cooling shaping problems of ultra-thick plates, the team will carry out targeted upgrades on the die flow channel structure, flow distribution system and cooling layout. By optimizing the melt flow resistance of the molding section, balancing the material feeding speed of the middle and edge areas of the die, and matching with graded and uniform cooling design, the internal stress concentration of thick panels will be effectively eliminated. This optimization will synchronize the cooling and shaping speed of the surface and core layer of the product, fundamentally solve the middle bulging deformation defect of 50mm ultra-thick solid panels, and improve the overall dimensional stability and flatness of finished products.
5. Trial Conclusion and Subsequent Technical Upgrade Plan
This initial trial run has fully verified the equipment’s core advantages including36:1 high-efficiency plasticization capability, servo energy-saving performance and high automation level, while accurately locating the key improvement points for thick-gauge product molding, accumulating valuable on-site data and practical experience for formal mass production. In the next stage, Yongte will accelerate the completion of die molding section structural optimization and secondary commissioning verification, further polish extrusion process parameters matching with the 36:1 long-diameter screw, and give full play to the equipment’s advantages of stable plasticization, low energy consumption and intelligent operation. The team aims to achieve stable, high-precision and high-efficiency mass production of large-thickness recycled plastic panels, empowering the high-value recycling, energy-saving and industrialized application of waste plastics.
