Barrels
Like screws, plasticizing barrels are also essential in machinery for processing polymers and, more generally, viscoelastic materials. When heated, they help mix the material, bringing it to the ideal temperature and consistency for processing.
Barrels are designed to withstand high temperatures and pressures, with special coatings to prevent wear.
Viplas performs all barrel processing in-house on specifically designed machinery, including deep drilling and lapping. We manufacture barrels in various steel alloys (including stainless steel), with loading ports, degassing, straight and spiral internal grooves. We also perform external grooving for cooling, thermocouple drilling, and head machining.
Standard barrels
These barrels are designed for general applications and are suitable for a wide range of plastic materials and operating conditions. They are typically made from common nitriding steel alloys.
Viplas also offers a special thermal treatment for these barrels involving double nitriding, which results in deeper treatment penetration. This clearly translates to a longer lifespan for the barrels compared to those with simple nitriding, with significantly lower costs and delivery times compared to bimetallic solutions.
Bimetallic barrels
These barrels have a layered structure: on the outside, a steel body; on the inside, a harder material is deposited on the walls of the central bore through a combined process of temperature and centrifugation. The adhesion of the bimetallic layer to the base material is achieved through this combined temperature and centrifugation process.
In the ‘liners’ (the bimetallic blanks from which Viplas manufactures the finished plasticizing barrels), the internal alloy has a thickness of approximately 2 mm, with metallurgical characteristics tailored to the specific needs of the plasticizing group’s application.
The composition of the internal coating alloy varies according to usage requirements, and Viplas can suggest the most suitable option for your application.
This design increases the barrel’s lifespan by significantly reducing internal wear.
Barrels with integrated cooling system
These barrels are equipped with internal cooling channels or external grooves where a copper tube is wound. Continuous monitoring and regulation of the temperature of the plasticizing barrels are crucial for achieving efficient processes, preventing overheating (or worse, burning) of the material inside.
