Jun 29 2012
On show at this springtime’s international trade fairs – WIRE in Duesseldorf, NPE in Orlando, Chinaplas in Shanghai and Plast in Milan – was the new four-flight Laboratory Kneader MX 30 from the firm of Buss AG, Pratteln (Switzerland).
The first to feature four-flight technology: Designed for product batches upwards
of 300 g, the BUSS Laboratory Kneader MX 30, shown here with three feeding
devices and a discharge extruder, is suitable for the development of formulations
and processes for the production of heat- and shear-sensitive compounds as well as
highly filled polymer compounds
Photo: Buss AG, Pratteln (Switzerland)
It was very well received by trade visitors to the BUSS stand at each of these fairs and attracted enormous interest among compound producers in particular. Indeed, BUSS is already booking orders for machines from the first production series of the four-flight Laboratory BUSS Kneader MX 30. Visitors were able to view the new laboratory Kneader with its barrel assembly in the opened position. The low screw speed permitted a clear observation of the working principle of the four-flight Kneader, namely the dual rotational and oscillating motion of the screw and its combined axial and transverse mixing action, which together ensure an extremely high quality of mix.
Featuring a 30 mm diameter screw, the Laboratory Kneader MX 30 rounds off the MX Series at the lower end of the performance range. It is rated for outputs of 5 to 25 kg/hour and/or for batch quantities upwards of 300 g and has a maximum screw speed of 800 rpm. The temperature control system of the Kneader barrel permits processing temperatures of up to 280 °C. Like the larger machines of the MX Series, the MX 30 is particularly suitable for the compounding of heat- and shear-sensitive polymers and for the production of compounds highly filled with reinforcing and other fillers. Equipped with a discharge extruder, a pelletizer and a user-friendly control system with touch panel, this laboratory Kneader is technically as versatile – in process terms – as the larger models of the MX Series.
Designed especially for research and development and for such other applications as process and formulation development and optimization, the MX 30 is the first laboratory Kneader to feature four-flight technology.
Thanks to the high conveying stability and the linear output to speed ratio, the processing parameters obtained with the MX 30 can be reliably scaled-up and applied to larger MX Kneaders. The hinged Kneader barrel assembly is particularly advantageous as the state of the product – that is to say, the progress made in the compounding process in the various barrel zones – can be checked visually.
Besides being the ideal laboratory extruder for formulation and product development, the MX 30 is a versatile small-scale compounding line for the production of sample quantities for customers’ trials or for the small-batch production of a wide diversity of compounds. An optional range of accessories, e.g. metering systems for material feed or different pelletizers, enable the MX 30 to meet virtually any requirement.