Splitting building block type heteroparallel twin-screw continuous mixing extrusion device and extrusion method

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of screw extruder technology, specifically to a modular, counter-rotating parallel twin-screw continuous compounding extrusion apparatus and extrusion method. The extrusion apparatus includes a frame base, with a first support platform and a second support platform sequentially formed along its length. A drive unit is located on the top of the first support platform, and an extrusion unit is located on the top of the second support platform. The extrusion unit includes an upper cylinder and a lower cylinder connected together. Screw mounting seats are located at both the upper and lower cylinders, and multiple liquid guide pipes are provided within the screw mounting seats. Two extrusion screws are arranged parallel to each other at the screw mounting seats. The drive unit drives the two extrusion screws to rotate. Each extrusion screw includes a mandrel with multiple threaded elements fitted onto it. The threaded elements are circumferentially fixed to the mandrel. The extrusion unit also includes a feeding mechanism located on the top of the upper cylinder near the drive unit. An outlet is formed at the end of the extrusion screw away from the drive unit. This invention achieves universality of the extrusion screw through replaceable threaded elements.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of screw extruder technology, and more specifically, to a modular, counter-rotating parallel twin-screw continuous compounding extrusion apparatus and extrusion method. Background Technology

[0002] A twin-screw extruder is a device that uses two parallel screws for material conveying, mixing, plasticizing, and heating. It is widely used in various industries such as plastics, rubber, food, and pharmaceuticals. It utilizes the synchronous rotation of two screws within a sealed processing chamber, employing mechanical shearing and friction heating to uniformly melt the raw materials under controlled temperature and pressure conditions, thereby achieving continuous and highly efficient product production.

[0003] Currently, most parallel counter-rotating twin-screw extruders on the market feature integrated screw manufacturing, meaning the entire screw design and production process utilizes a unified mold and technology. While this integrated production method offers relatively low manufacturing costs and mature technology, the structure and processing parameters of the integrated screw are difficult to adjust or replace effectively during actual use. When a change in processing technology or product formulation is needed, the entire system often requires modification or screw replacement. This not only increases production costs for enterprises but also reduces equipment utilization. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This invention provides a modular, counter-rotating parallel twin-screw continuous compounding extrusion apparatus and extrusion method, which can overcome some or all of the defects of the prior art.

[0005] This invention provides a modular, counter-rotating, parallel twin-screw continuous mixing and extrusion device, comprising: a frame base, with a first support platform and a second support platform sequentially formed along the length of the frame base; a drive unit is provided on the top of the first support platform, and an extrusion unit is provided on the top of the second support platform; the extrusion unit includes an upper cylinder and a lower cylinder connected together; screw mounting seats are provided at both the upper and lower cylinders; multiple liquid guide pipes are provided inside the screw mounting seats; two extrusion screws are arranged parallel to each other at the screw mounting seats; the drive unit is used to drive the two extrusion screws to rotate; each extrusion screw includes a mandrel, with multiple threaded elements sleeved on the mandrel; the multiple threaded elements have different pitches, and the multiple threaded elements with different pitches are arranged in a sequence according to different usage requirements; the threaded elements are inserted into the mandrel; the extrusion unit also includes a feeding mechanism located on the top of the upper cylinder near the drive unit; and an outlet is formed at the end of the extrusion screw away from the drive unit.

[0006] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the drive unit includes a drive motor and a first reducer. The drive motor has a first main shaft, and the first reducer has a first input shaft and a first output shaft. A first coupling is provided between the drive motor and the reducer, and the first coupling is used to connect the first main shaft of the drive motor and the first input shaft of the first reducer.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a first transmission wheel is provided at the first output shaft, and a second transmission wheel is provided at the end of the spindle near the first output shaft. The first transmission wheel meshes with the second transmission wheel or is driven by a chain.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the extrusion section further includes an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe, which are connected to both ends of the guide pipe, and an electromagnetic valve is provided at the inlet pipe.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mandrel is in the shape of a multi-prism, and a through prism hole is formed at the threaded element, the prism hole being used for sliding engagement with the mandrel.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of spline teeth are formed on the outer wall of the mandrel along the axial direction, and a through spline hole is formed at the threaded element, the spline hole being used for sliding engagement with the spline teeth.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the extrusion section further includes a splitting drive assembly, which includes a second reducer. The second reducer includes a second input shaft and a second output shaft. A handwheel is provided at the second input shaft, and a drive shaft is provided at the second output shaft. A first rotating arm is provided at the upper cylinder, and a second rotating arm is provided at the lower cylinder. The first rotating arm is rotatably engaged with the drive shaft, and the drive shaft and the second rotating arm are connected by a flat key.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a speed reducer base is provided at the bottom of the second speed reducer, and the speed reducer base is fixedly engaged with the second support platform and the lower cylinder.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the feeding mechanism includes a feeding weighing scale, which includes a feeding hopper and a feeding channel communicating with the upper cylinder. A feeding port is provided at the upper cylinder. A feeding motor is provided on one side of the feeding weighing scale. The feeding motor has a second main shaft, and a feeding screw is connected to the second main shaft. The feeding screw is located between the feeding hopper and the feeding channel.

[0014] This invention also provides an extrusion method for the above-mentioned modular counter-rotating parallel twin-screw continuous compounding extrusion apparatus, comprising the following steps: S1: Separate the upper and lower cylinders, remove the mandrel, select the threaded element according to the material to be extruded and fit it on the mandrel to complete the assembly of the extrusion screw, and connect the upper and lower cylinders after the extrusion screw is installed in the screw mounting seat. S2: Open the feeding mechanism and drive unit. The drive unit drives the extrusion screw to rotate and extrude the product. S3: After the product is extruded, separate the upper and lower cylinders, remove the extrusion screw, remove all threaded components and clean the threaded components and mandrel; S4: Clean the screw mounting bracket after disassembling it.

[0015] Beneficial effects: By using a mandrel with different threaded elements, the appropriate threaded element arrangement can be selected for different materials without having to replace the entire extrusion screw. This significantly improves the versatility of the extrusion screw. Furthermore, this substructure allows for timely adjustment of the pitch and direction of the threaded elements on the mandrel according to the material production conditions, thereby improving the material production process, increasing production efficiency, reducing screw manufacturing costs, and minimizing screw inventory.

[0016] Furthermore, the upper and lower cylinders can be separated and engaged via a handwheel, making it easier to clean and replace the extrusion screw. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the main structure of a modular, anti-parallel twin-screw continuous compounding extrusion apparatus provided in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 This is a top view of a modular, anti-parallel twin-screw continuous compounding extrusion apparatus provided in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 This is a right-side structural schematic diagram of a modular, anti-parallel twin-screw continuous compounding extrusion apparatus provided in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the movement of the upper and lower cylinders provided in at least one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the extrusion screw installation provided for at least one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 This is a top view schematic diagram of an extrusion screw provided for at least one embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0018] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. Based on the described embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0019] Unless otherwise defined, the technical or scientific terms used herein should have the ordinary meaning understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. The terms "first," "second," and similar terms used in this patent application specification and claims do not indicate any order, quantity, or importance, but are merely used to distinguish different components. Terms such as "comprising" or "including" mean that the element or object preceding the word encompasses the elements or objects listed following the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. Terms such as "inner," "outer," "upper," and "lower" are used only to indicate relative positional relationships; these relative positional relationships may change accordingly when the absolute position of the described object changes.

[0020] The accompanying drawings in this disclosure are not drawn to scale, and the number of extrusion screws 5, threaded elements 52, and feed inlets 22 are not limited to the quantities shown in the drawings. The specific dimensions and quantities of each structure can be determined according to actual needs. The accompanying drawings described in this disclosure are only structural schematic diagrams.

[0021] Seen in Figure 1-6 The present invention provides a modular, counter-rotating parallel twin-screw continuous compounding extrusion device, which includes a frame base 1, a first support platform 11 and a second support platform 12 formed sequentially along the length direction of the frame base 1, and a drive unit provided on the top of the first support platform 11.

[0022] Specifically, the drive unit includes a drive motor 111 and a first reducer 112. The drive motor 111 has a first main shaft, and the first reducer 112 has a first input shaft and a first output shaft. A first coupling 113 is provided between the drive motor 111 and the reducer. The first coupling 113 is used to connect the first main shaft of the drive motor 111 and the first input shaft of the first reducer 112. The first reducer 112 can reduce the input speed of the drive motor 111 to meet the subsequent usage requirements.

[0023] Furthermore, the top of the second support platform 12 is provided with an extrusion section, which includes an upper cylinder 2 and a lower cylinder 3 connected together. Both the upper cylinder 2 and the lower cylinder 3 are provided with screw mounting seats 4. Multiple liquid guide pipes 41 are provided inside the screw mounting seats 4. Two extrusion screws 5 are arranged in parallel at the screw mounting seats 4. The extrusion screws 5 are powered to rotate through the first input shaft.

[0024] In some embodiments, a first drive wheel is provided at the first output shaft, and a second drive wheel is provided at the end of the mandrel 51 near the first output shaft. The first drive wheel meshes with the second drive wheel, thereby enabling the first output shaft to drive the two extrusion screws 5 to rotate in opposite directions. The resulting calendering effect provides good low-temperature shearing, folding and orientation of the raw material, thus causing the raw material to generate a peak temperature phenomenon throughout the entire mixing and grafting process.

[0025] In some embodiments, the first drive wheel and the second drive wheel are driven by a connecting rod, thereby enabling the first output shaft to drive the two extrusion screws 5 to rotate in the same direction. The twin-screw extruder rotating in the same direction can achieve a higher output because the two screws work together to push the material more effectively and can provide a better material mixing effect, especially in the processing of high-viscosity materials.

[0026] In the above embodiments, the co-rotation design enables the machine to process a variety of materials, including some plastics with high melt strength.

[0027] The extrusion screw 5 includes a mandrel 51, on which a plurality of threaded elements 52 are fitted. Each of the plurality of threaded elements 52 has a different pitch. The plurality of threaded elements 52 with different pitches are arranged in order according to different usage requirements. The threaded elements 52 are inserted into the mandrel 51.

[0028] Specifically, in some embodiments, the mandrel 51 is in the shape of a polygonal prism, and a through prism hole is formed at the threaded element 52, the prism hole being used for sliding engagement with the mandrel 51.

[0029] In some embodiments, a plurality of spline teeth are formed on the outer wall of the mandrel 51 along the axial direction, and a through spline hole is formed at the threaded element 52, the spline hole being used for sliding engagement with the spline teeth.

[0030] Furthermore, the extrusion section also includes a feeding mechanism located on the top of the upper cylinder 2 near the drive section, and the end of the extrusion screw 5 away from the drive section forms an outlet 31.

[0031] Specifically, the feeding mechanism includes a feeding weighing scale 61, which includes a feeding hopper 611 and a feeding channel 612 connected to the upper cylinder 2. A corresponding feeding port 22 is provided at the upper cylinder 2. A feeding motor 62 is provided on one side of the feeding weighing scale 61. The feeding motor 62 has a second main shaft, and a feeding screw is connected to the second main shaft. The feeding screw is located between the feeding hopper 611 and the feeding channel 612. The feeding motor 62 can drive the feeding screw to rotate, thereby inputting raw materials into the upper cylinder 2.

[0032] In addition, the extrusion section also includes a splitting drive assembly 7, which includes a second reducer 71. The second reducer 71 includes a second input shaft and a second output shaft. A handwheel 72 is provided at the second input shaft, and a drive shaft 73 is provided at the second output shaft. A first rotating arm 21 is provided at the upper cylinder 2, and a second rotating arm 32 is provided at the lower cylinder 3. The first rotating arm 21 is rotatably engaged with the drive shaft 73. The drive shaft 73 and the second rotating arm 32 are connected by a flat key. By rotating the handwheel 72, the drive shaft 73 can be driven to rotate, thereby realizing the change of the angle of the second rotating arm 32 relative to the first rotating arm 21, that is, the upper cylinder 2 is flipped relative to the lower cylinder 3.

[0033] The second reducer 71 has a reducer base 711 at its bottom, and the reducer base 711 is fixedly engaged with the second support platform 12 and the lower cylinder 3.

[0034] In some embodiments, the extrusion section further includes an inlet pipe 121 and an outlet pipe 122, which are connected to both ends of the liquid guide pipe 41. An electromagnetic valve 123 is provided at the inlet pipe 121 to control the flow rate of the heat exchange liquid.

[0035] In some embodiments, the top of the upper cylinder 2 is also provided with a natural exhaust port 23 and a forced exhaust port 24, and a vacuum pump or fan is provided at the forced exhaust port 24.

[0036] The present invention also provides a method of using the above-mentioned modular anti-parallel twin-screw continuous compounding extrusion apparatus, comprising the following steps: S1: Separate the upper cylinder 2 and the lower cylinder 3, take out the mandrel 51, select the threaded element 52 according to the material to be extruded and put it on the mandrel 51 to complete the assembly of the extrusion screw 5, and after the extrusion screw 5 is installed on the screw mounting seat 4, connect the upper cylinder 2 and the lower cylinder 3 together. S2: Open the feeding mechanism and drive unit. The drive unit drives the extrusion screw 5 to rotate and extrude the product. S3: After the product is extruded, separate the upper cylinder 2 and the lower cylinder 3, take out the extrusion screw 5, remove all the threaded elements 52 and clean the threaded elements 52 and the mandrel 51; S4: Clean the screw mounting bracket 4 after disassembling it.

[0037] It is readily understood that those skilled in the art can combine, split, or reorganize the embodiments provided in this application to obtain other embodiments, all of which do not exceed the protection scope of this application.

[0038] The present invention and its embodiments have been described above illustratively. This description is not restrictive, and the embodiments shown are only part of the embodiments of the present invention. The actual structure is not limited thereto. Therefore, if those skilled in the art are inspired by this description and design similar structures and embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention, they should all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A split-block, modular, counter-rotating twin-screw continuous mixing extruder device comprising a frame base, characterized in that, The frame base forms a first support platform and a second support platform along its length. The top of the first support platform is provided with a drive unit, and the top of the second support platform is provided with an extrusion unit. The extrusion unit includes an upper cylinder and a lower cylinder that are connected together. Both the upper and lower cylinders are provided with screw mounting seats. Multiple liquid guide tubes are provided inside the screw mounting seats. Two extrusion screws are arranged in parallel at the screw mounting seats. The drive unit is used to drive the two extrusion screws to rotate. The extrusion screw includes a mandrel. Multiple threaded elements are sleeved on the mandrel. The multiple threaded elements have different pitches. The multiple threaded elements with different pitches are arranged in order according to different usage requirements. The threaded elements are inserted and fitted with the mandrel. The extrusion unit also includes a feeding mechanism located on the top of the upper cylinder near the drive unit. The end of the extrusion screw away from the drive unit forms a discharge port.

2. The modular, counter-rotating parallel twin-screw continuous compounding extrusion apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drive unit includes a drive motor and a first reducer. The drive motor has a first main shaft, and the first reducer has a first input shaft and a first output shaft. A first coupling is provided between the drive motor and the reducer. The first coupling is used to connect the first main shaft of the drive motor and the first input shaft of the first reducer.

3. The modular, counter-rotating parallel twin-screw continuous compounding extrusion apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, A first drive wheel is provided at the first output shaft, and a second drive wheel is provided at the end of the spindle near the first output shaft. The first drive wheel meshes with the second drive wheel or is driven by a chain.

4. The modular, counter-rotating parallel twin-screw continuous compounding extrusion apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The extrusion section also includes an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe, which are connected to the two ends of the guide pipe. A solenoid valve is installed at the inlet pipe.

5. The modular, counter-rotating parallel twin-screw continuous compounding extrusion apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mandrel is in the shape of a multi-faceted prism, and a through prism hole is formed at the threaded element. The prism hole is used for sliding fit with the mandrel.

6. The modular, counter-rotating parallel twin-screw continuous compounding extrusion apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, Multiple spline teeth are formed along the axial direction on the outer wall of the spindle, and a through spline hole is formed at the threaded element. The spline hole is used to slide with the spline teeth.

7. The modular, counter-rotating parallel twin-screw continuous compounding extrusion apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The extrusion section also includes a splitting drive assembly, which includes a second reducer. The second reducer includes a second input shaft and a second output shaft. A handwheel is provided at the second input shaft, and a drive shaft is provided at the second output shaft. A first rotating arm is provided at the upper cylinder, and a second rotating arm is provided at the lower cylinder. The first rotating arm is rotatably engaged with the drive shaft, and the drive shaft and the second rotating arm are connected by a flat key.

8. The modular, counter-rotating parallel twin-screw continuous compounding extrusion apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that, The second reducer has a reducer base at the bottom, and the reducer base is fixedly fitted with the second support platform and the lower cylinder.

9. The modular, counter-rotating parallel twin-screw continuous compounding extrusion apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The feeding mechanism includes a feeding weighing scale, which includes a feeding hopper and a feeding channel connected to the upper cylinder. The upper cylinder is provided with a corresponding feeding port. A feeding motor is provided on one side of the feeding weighing scale. The feeding motor has a second main shaft, and a feeding screw is connected to the second main shaft. The feeding screw is located between the feeding hopper and the feeding channel.

10. The extrusion method of the modular counter-rotating parallel twin-screw continuous compounding extrusion apparatus according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1: Separate the upper and lower cylinders, remove the mandrel, select the threaded element according to the material to be extruded and fit it on the mandrel to complete the assembly of the extrusion screw, and connect the upper and lower cylinders after the extrusion screw is installed in the screw mounting seat. S2: Open the feeding mechanism and drive unit. The drive unit drives the extrusion screw to rotate and extrude the product. S3: After the product is extruded, separate the upper and lower cylinders, remove the extrusion screw, remove all threaded components and clean the threaded components and mandrel; S4: Clean the screw mounting bracket after disassembling it.

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