Plastics Manufacturing Center

Breuder Advanced Technology & Health Sciences Center, Rm. E128 · (570) 321-5533

Extrusion Seminar & Hands-On Workshop - June 8-10, 2010

Location: Advanced Technology & Health Sciences Center, Room E140 (Penn College campus)
Hours: Tuesday & Wednesday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (check-in is Tuesday at 8 a.m.)
Workshop fee: $1,050 ($75 discount if registered by May 10)

This unique event combines the expertise of well-known extrusion consultant Dr. Chris Rauwendaal and instructor Dr. Kirk Cantor with the training capabilities and modern facilities of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Plastics and Polymer Technology Department.

In this workshop, Dr. Rauwendaal presents course topics in a multimedia format supplemented by printed materials, and Dr. Cantor leads participants in hands-on training (approximately 50 percent of the course), including use of extrusion industry equipment — single screw extruder, twin screw extruder, blown film line, injection molder, melt rheology, indexer, and tensile tester.

Course topics will be closely integrated with hands-on laboratory time. For example, understanding of plastic flow properties, screw design, and die design will be reinforced by manipulating data gathered in the lab and utilizing extrusion simulation software.

Instructors:

Dr. Chris Rauwendaal, president of Rauwendaal Extrusion Engineering, Inc., Auburn, CA
Dr. Kirk Cantor, professor of plastics and polymer technology at Pennsylvania College of Technology

Course topics:

Extruder Hardware – main components and important design issues
Polymer Properties – Important properties and how they affect extrusion
What Happens Inside the Extruder – different functional zones
Extruder Screw Design – learn how to tell a good design from a bad one
Extruder Die Design – tubing/pipe, Flat Film and sheet, and profile Dies
Twin Screw Extruders – co- vs. counter-rotating, intermeshing vs. non-intermeshing
Troubleshooting – systematic approach, typical extrusion problems, case studies

Course topics:

Single Screw Extrusion – throughput vs. screw speed vs. pressure
Single Screw Extrusion – blown film
Twin Screw Extrusion – blown film
Materials Testing – melt index, tensile test, capillary rheometer
Injection Molding – mold setup and operation
Computer-Based Extrusion – engineering and training software

See our Extrusion Seminar brochure for program details, mail-in registration, directions and travel information, instructor biographies, and evening activity.