EXTRUSION INSTRUMENTATION AND CHARACTERIZATION

摘要

A tubing extrusion process was heavily instrumented and the resulting process signals acquired. A design of experiments (DOE) was conducted for nine different factors. Three different models were developed based on 1) DOE factor settings, 2) thirteen process signals, and 3) a combination of six process and "virtual" states. The latter model had the highest fidelity, far surpassing the predictive capability of the DOE factor-based model. The results indicate that extruders' current practice of monitoring melt temperature and pressure should be augmented so as to tightly control the air pressure internal to the tubing, free length between the die and the water bath, puller speed, and melt viscosity.