Smaller, More Efficient Twin-Screw Extruder:  Thermo Scientific Process 11 

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, launched its new Thermo Scientific Process 11 parallel co-rotating twin-screw extruder for polymer and food industry applications. Launched in April, the Process 11 is designed to meet the key challenges faced by research and development formulation scientists.

The 11 mm extruder is designed to minimize material costs, be easier to use and optimize laboratory space. To achieve this, the benchtop Process 11 uses a minimal amount of sample material (20 g) and features a user-friendly touchscreen with integrated feeder control.

“To our customers, laboratory space is at a premium and cost control is critical, so we’ve designed Process 11 to address both issues,” said Karl Gerhard Hoppmann, vice president and general manager, Thermo Fisher, material characterization business. “Our compact, standalone design is perfect for small-scale experiments yet robust enough to deliver results that are relevant to production conditions. The results are easily obtained due to the full scalability of the Thermo Scientific standalone compounding systems.”

The Thermo Scientific Process 11 twin-screw extruder includes several setup possibilities: multiple split feeding and venting ports, a die design for quick changes of the strand diameter, and eight barrel segments (length: 5 L/D) for accurate temperature profiles. Thermo Fisher offers a complete compounding line including feeding solutions and downstream equipment such as waterbaths or variable length pelletizers. As a workflow solution, the Thermo Scientific HAAKE MiniJet mini injection molding machine can be used to shape the compounded materials into test specimens for further testing of mechanical or optical properties.

The new Process 11 features a throughput of 20 g/h to 2.5 kg/h and a segmented screw design with removable top half barrel. The machine’s compact monocoque design makes its footprint four to five times smaller than competing twin-screw extruders, and enables easy transport and fume hood applications. The screw elements and barrel design scale geometrically across the whole suite of Thermo Scientific extruders and allow easy process scale-up. The instrument is available immediately.

Key benefits:

• Compact monocoque design makes its footprint four to five times smaller than competing twin-screw extruders, enabling easy transport.
• The only real bench-top compounder available on the market (no hidden electric cabinet) maximizes the usage of the available lab space.
• Minimized material usage. Throughput rates of 20 g/h to 2.5 kg/h with realistic processing conditions.
• Easy-to-operate by intuitive touch screen control and integrated feeder control.
• Easy cleaning due to clam shell barrel design with removable top half barrel.
• Direct scalable processing conditions, due to portfolio wide similar screw geometry.
• Transfers knowledge obtained in the lab to pilot and production scale processes.
• Segmented screw design with common screw element types.

Thermo Fisher, one of the pioneers in rheology, successfully supports a wide range of industries with its comprehensive Thermo Scientific material characterization solutions. Material characterization solutions analyze and measure viscosity, elasticity, processability and temperature-related mechanical changes of plastics, food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and coatings, chemical or petrochemical products, plus a wide variety of liquids or solids. For more information, please visit www.thermoscientific.com/mc