Extruder Services

Founded in 2007, Extruder Services is a provider of 'hands on' engineering consultancy for plastics processors, particularly recyclers. We pride ourselves on using innovative processes and 'state of the art' technology to reduce downtime and increase efficiency for our customers. Our working relationships with a range of specialists allow us to provide the most complete and cost-efficient service possible.

Since 2008, we have helped BPI Recycled Products develop an agricultural film recycling line, and been involved in a variety of smaller projects with companies nationwide. 2008 also saw us acquire a premises in Leicester where we now perform bespoke machine refurbishments and emergency repairs, while also developing several projects.

Extruder Services was founded by John R W Morgan, a production engineer with more than 20 years of maintenance experience. His history working for a range of companies in various industries has given him the benefit of gaining experience in several areas, as well as the realisation that bi-metallic extruder barrels could actually be refurbished in place; an idea that has manifested as Extruder Services' 'in situ' barrel honing and refurbishment service.

Health Checks For Extruders and Injection Moulders

We now offer 'health checks' for extruders and injection moulders, which covers cleaning and measuring of screws and barrels and a laser bore alignment check.

The screw and barrel are the most crucial parts of the machines, so making sure that the correct tolerances are maintained is essential for efficiency and output. Our engineers will clean and measure the screw and barrel, check the bore alignment and make possible adjustments, and can generally do so in one day.

In addition, we can offer a complete strip-down and rebuild service, source replacement parts and specialist repair contractors, and produce manufacturing drawings.

In Situ Barrel Honing /Refurbishments

Our unique mobile honing machine allows us to provide an on-site honing service that can hone extruder barrels 'in-situ'. This machine can be used on bi-metallic single extruder barrels (with diameters from 38mm to 200+mm and lengths up to 6.5m) to hone them to a predetermined size or to clean up. We can also re-finish nitrided barrels and remove light scratches and wear.

Downtime can be substantially reduced by utilising this service in conjunction with your screw manufacturer/refurbisher or one of our partners, possibly to under 24 hours. This means that your machine will be back in action quickly and your maintenance staff can perform other duties in the meantime.

Barrel and Drive Laser Alignment

We can perform barrel and drive laser alignment on your extruder to assure that it is operating efficiently. This process involves attaching a laser to the rear of the drive shaft, which we then rotate before truing the laser to its centre line. We then pass a self-centring laser receiver down the bore, taking readings at regular intervals. We can then correct any misalignment through the barrel jacking points, adjustment of the gearbox mounting to the chassis, adjustment of flanges or a combination of these methods.

Misalignment of barrels can cause back-flighting, poor mixing, surging, uneven melt temperatures and premature wear. Assuring that barrel to drive alignment is accurate will help your extruder to perform efficiently and last longer.

Screw and Barrel Cleaning, Inspection and Measurement

For the cleaning of all types of screws and bores, we have a range of appropriate cleaning equipment. In addition, we can use our portable honing equipment to polish barrels (nitrided or bi-metallic).

We can also inspect and measure components, before generating a detailed wear report or producing manufacturing drawings. You can visit our website to see some examples of manufacturing drawings we have produced for a customer.

Barrel Cleaning Kits

Our new barrel cleaning kits are composed of a 1200w double handed drill, specially designed wire brushes made to suit your bore size, and bespoke bayonet drive shafts made to be compatible with your barrel length and the available space in front of your machine.

Feel free to contact us if you would like a site visit and demonstration and to discuss your specific needs.

General Mechanical Services, Repairs and Rebuilds

We have more than 20 years of experience designing, building, rebuilding, reparing and maintaining machinery, which has been gained through processing/re-processing, screw and barrel manufacture and refurbishment, FMCG and general engineering environments. This allows us to offer a variety of solutions tailored to you, including gearbox repairs/rebuilds, die stripping and cleaning, films dies and sheet dies.

For large companies, we can act as a supplement to your existing team during major projects and shut downs, and smaller companies can benefit from our mechanical and electrical fault finding as well as repairs and modifications on machinery.

Machining

We are continually adding to our in-house facilities to provide a variety of one-offs and development work. This includes products such as flanges, adaptors, steel fabrications, breaker-plates, tube-honing, spark erosion and more.

Feel free to call us to discuss your specific machining requirements.

Machine Building & Refurbishment

From our premises on Woodgate in Leicester, we can carry out bespoke machine refurbishments and build special purpose machinery to order.

One example of a refurbishment undertaken is a 1981 Condux Granulator which was found by one of our customers, rusting in a field. This refurbishment involved stripping the machine to its component parts, blasting it back to bare metal, removing the outlet auger and modifying the hood, guards and hopper to the client's specifications. We also checked, cleaned and repaired all of the threads, and added new bearings, seals and a safety interlock. All parts were painted according to the client's specifications with anti-corrosion primer before re-assembly.

Other Industries

Some of our services may well be useful for engineers in other industries. Our portable honing machine, for example, can be useful in any application that requires a precision honed horizontal bore from 67mm upwards and minimal equipment or production disruption, such as in power generation or shipbuilding.

Our laser alignment is also useful for a range of industries, and we can currently check straightness and alignment of bores ranging from 50 to 200mm.

Environmental

At Extruder Services, we are proactive in reducing our environmental impact and abide by the method of reducing, re-using and recycling. Even the simplest changes can make a difference, be it turning off lights and machinery when not in use, efficient use of materials in the workshop and office, or planning travel and combining journeys efficiently.

We throw near to nothing away, instead preferring to save redundant parts for future use. Some examples are the single phase flake conveying fan being used as a fume extractor, and the housed bearings and geared motor of a granulator outlet auger being utilised to make a welding jig motorised spindle. Of course, anything that we can't re-use is recycled if possible, and the last two years have seen us produce an average of less than one bin liner of waste per month.