New Bimetallic Barrel Alloy Boosts Sustainability
Summary
According to Tony Grant, Director of Sales and Marketing at Wexco, screw speeds and throughput rates for filled and unfilled materials have nearly doubled in recent times, introducing an unprecedented degree of wear energy into plasticizing unit assemblies.and head of engineering and technical services at Wexco adds, “The unique characteristics of this new patent-pending alloy also include improved damage resistance and a lower coefficient of friction.### Lynchburg, VA, December 19, 2008 --( PR.com )-- Improved durability and wear resistance, a lower coefficient-of-friction, and compatibility with a wide variety of hard-faced flight materials are key features of Dura 686XL™, a new, patent-pending bimetallic barrel-lining alloy for high-speed applications from barrel manufacturer Wexco Corporation (Lynchburg, VA).Although processing machinery manufacturers and tooling engineers have kept pace with developments in processing plastics at ever higher screw speeds and volumes, little has been done to advance the durability of conventional boron bimetallic barrel linings.According to Tony Grant, Director of Sales and Marketing at Wexco, screw speeds and throughput rates for filled and unfilled materials have nearly doubled in recent times, introducing an unprecedented degree of wear energy into plasticizing unit assemblies.“The choice left to molders and machinery builders is to use more expensive barrel linings, those typically used for running highly glass-filled compounds and other severe-wear applications.It’s suitable for use by molders and extruders who want to replace their more conventional linings to improve durability.Dura 686XL provides excellent resistance to hardness losses caused by elevated temperatures and friction energy.And it was shown to provide a significant increase in wear life when compared to Wexco’s standard iron-boron alloys and similar inlays.“In field observations these barrels have out-performed our expectations,” Grant concludes.Wexco is the industry leader with a reputation for producing the straightest high performance bimetallic plasticating cylinders worldwide.