Lerner Molded Plastics is a contract plastic manufacturing group with over 35 years of experience. We provide a breadth of plastic manufacturing services to clients across the U.S.
Our unique capabilities enable us to offer cost-effective solutions. We utilize plastic extrusion methods to manufacture products from prototypes to high-volume production runs.
Read on to learn about our advanced plastic extrusion process and the various extrusion types and techniques we use to deliver high-quality plastic products.
Advanced Extrusion Technique Process
Extrusion is a key process in manufacturing that uses an extrusion machine to force material through a shaped die, producing a continuous product.
Various industries utilize this process to manufacture building materials, food products, plastic pipes, and pharmaceutical products. Extrusion can create products and components with a fixed cross-section profile by forcing the material through a die of the intended shape.
Extrusion delivers major advantages over other manufacturing methods. This process allows manufacturers to produce components and products with intricate and complex cross-sections. Extrusion can even produce products and components from brittle materials.
Extrusion delivers excellent surface quality for finished products, allowing for greater design freedom.
Types of Extrusion
Extrusion comes in three primary types:
- Direct Extrusion. A process where material is pushed through a die using a screw conveyor. Direct extrusion is a prevalent extrusion technique used to produce pharmaceuticals, food, and plastic products.
- Indirect Extrusion. A process that relies on a ram or plunger mechanism to push material through a die. Indirect extrusion is suitable for soft materials, including silicone and rubber.
- Plastic Extrusion. An ideal extrusion method for producing plastic components and products in high volumes. The granulated polymer material is fed into a hopper and then dropped onto a rotating screw.
Advanced Extrusion Techniques
Advanced extrusion techniques have been developed to meet the need for quality and efficiency. Some prevalent advanced extrusion techniques in manufacturing include:
- Co-extrusion. The process of extruding multiple materials at once to create a product with a multi-layered structure. Co-extrusion techniques produce products with enhanced properties, such as barrier packaging and unique textures or colors.
- Multi-layer Extrusion. A variety of co-extrusion that extrudes three or more layers of material simultaneously. Products manufactured using multi-layer extrusion have greater complexity and unique characteristics.
- Foam Extrusion. An extrusion process where an injection of gas into the molten material creates a foamed structure as the material is forced through the die. Foam extrusion is ideal for creating lightweight products and products with insulating properties.
- Underwater Pelletization. An extrusion process that involves cooling the extruded product in a water bath and cutting the product into pellets. Products manufactured through underwater pelletization include plastic pellets, a valuable component for producing various other products.
Advanced Extrusion Techniques From Lerner Molded Plastics
Our advanced extrusion techniques create added value and deliver excellent quality. We have decades of experience utilizing processes like co-extrusion, multi-layer extrusion, foam extrusion, and underwater pelletization to meet the needs of clients across industries.
Lerner Molded Plastics can accommodate custom projects and high-volume production runs. Contact us to speak with a specialist about your plastic extrusion needs.