Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture – Methods – Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-22
2001-03-20
Dye, Rena L. (Department: 1772)
Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
Methods
Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
C156S244130, C264S173120, C264S176100, C264S209100, C425S131100, C425S133100, C425S133500, C428S035700, C428S036900, C428S036910
Reexamination Certificate
active
06203651
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a method for making an extrusion product, in which method an extrusion material is extruded by an extruder from its extrusion portion through a tool and fluoropolymer is used between the extrusion material and the tool for reducing friction between the extrusion material and the tool.
The present invention further relates to an apparatus for making an extrusion product, which apparatus comprises an extrusion portion for extruding an extrusion material and a tool through which the extrusion material is extruded and fluoropolymer is arranged to be used between the extrusion material and the tool as a slip agent.
The present invention also relates to a product made with the method.
It is essential in the production of crosslinked polyethylene, for example, that the material will flow well against the walls of the tool situated after the screw of the extruder in such a manner that the friction heat generated therein would remain so low that crosslinking cannot start too early. The kinds of polyethylene suitable for producing crosslinked pipes, for example, flow very badly on account of their high molecular weight. On account of low extrusion heat and great viscosity mentioned above, the extrusion process is rather abrupt so that the temperature of the screw and of the cylinder will easily rise too high because of the generated friction heat.
In plastic industry extrusion tools are mainly manufactured of easily machineable hard tool steel or possibly of stainless steel. In order to improve wear resistance required for cleaning processes, for instance, tools are generally chrome plated. EP 0 507 613 discloses that a tool is coated with polytetrafluoroethylene. Polytetrafluoroethylene reduces friction very efficiently and the plastic material will slip steadily along the surface of the tool on account of it. When machining plastics with a high molecular weight, polytetrafluoroethylene will wear off very fast from the surface of the tool during the extrusion process. Therefore it is necessary to halt the extrusion process for adding a new polytetrafluoroethylene layer to the tool. This re-coating has to be carried out even daily. Thus halting the process and starting it again, and wear and addition process of polytetrafluoroethylene will easily raise the costs considerably high. Excessive wear of polytetrafluoroethylene can easily be seen in the final product, too, as the quality of the surface suffers easily. Typically the inner surface of the pipe can become coarse or plastic fluff can be found there. Poor characteristics are not necessarily visible in the outer surface of the pipe, but in microscopic measuring unevenness will become evident.
WO 94/21441 puts forth a solution to the above-mentioned problem where instead of using polytetrafluoroethylene, a layer of a sacrificial thermosetting material is extruded between the extrusion product and the tool. As in most cases the layer will have to be removed from the surface of the product after extrusion, the invention is complicated and difficult to realize.
WO 92/11125 discloses that a slip agent is added to a plastic material. However, if the slip agent is added to a product which has a high molecular weight, for example, and which requires strong machining, it will result in that on account of its slipperiness, the plastic material will easily become disengaged from the screw in melting zone and the plastic material will come out of the extruder unmolten.
The object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for making an extrusion product where the disadvantages mentioned above can be avoided. A further object is to provide an extrusion product with good characteristics.
The method according to the invention is characterized in that at least the surface of the tool against fluoropolymer is of a material whose thermal conductivity is greater than the thermal conductivity of ordinary tool steel, whereby the friction heat generated can be conducted efficiently away from the interface between the tool and the extrusion material towards the tool.
Further, the apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that at least the surface of the tool against fluoropolymer, at least partly at the smallest cross-section, is of a material whose thermal conductivity is greater than the thermal conductivity of ordinary tool steel.
In addition, the product made with the method according to the invention is characterized in that the surface of the product is essentially smooth without any transverse microscopic stripes repeated at a specific wave length.
The essential idea of the invention is that there is fluoropolymer, such as polytetrafluoroethylene, between the tool and the plastic material to be extruded for reducing friction between the plastic material and the tool and that at least the surface of the tool against fluoropolymer is of a material whose thermal conductivity is greater than the thermal conductivity of ordinary tool steel, whereby the friction heat generated can be conducted fast away from the interface towards the tool. A further idea of one preferred embodiment is that there is a wear resistant coating on the surface of the tool, such as DLC, which comprises pores filled with a fluoro compound, such as polytetrafluoroethylene. The idea of a second preferred embodiment is that there is a slip agent layer essentially comprising a fluoro compound between the coating of the tool and the plastic material. Most preferably the intermediate layer comprises at least partly a fluoro compound, such as fluoro-elastomer, which is supplied into the plastic, and which migrates to abutment surfaces. The idea of a third embodiment is that the fluoro compound forming the slip agent is extruded between the plastic layer and the tool primarily after plastic melting zone just before the nozzle of the tool.
The advantage of the invention is that when at least the surface of the tool is of a material that conducts heat well, the friction heat generated can be conducted efficiently away from the interface of the plastic material to be extruded and the tool, whereby temperature control of the tool will be very good and the temperature will not rise even at the interface too high for polytetrafluoroethylene, for example. It has been unexpectedly found out that by conducting heat away from the interface, the wear resistance of polytetrafluoroethylene, for example, has been considerably improved. In an ordinary tool, although the temperature of the tool is adjusted e.g. to 250° C., polytetrafluoroethylene will wear rather easily from it even though the melting temperature of polytetrafluoroethylene is more than 300° C. Because of friction, the temperature at the interface exceeds the highest temperature allowed for polytetrafluoroethylene, wherefore polytetrafluoroethylene will wear off easily. By means of the method according to the invention, temperature is prevented from rising too high at the interface and thus wear resistance of the tool will improve. DLC is very wear resistant and when its pores are filled with a fluoro compound, the friction between the tool and the plastic material to be extruded will be very small. By forming a slip agent layer between the abutment surfaces of the tool and the plastic material, the material can slip very well along the surface of the tool, but the slip agent layer does not disturb the machining of the actual plastic material, whereby the plastic material may be crosslinked polyethylene that is difficult to machine. By supplying the slip agent between the plastic material to be extruded and the tool primarily after plastic melting zone, the friction heat can also be utilized very efficiently in the melting and machining zone of the actual plastic material.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3388425 (1968-06-01), Detter
patent: 4025253 (1977-05-01), Havens
patent: 4059401 (1977-11-01), Hanslik
patent: 4113546 (1978-09-01), Anders
patent: 4266927 (1981-05-01), Gilbert et al.
patent: 4640313 (1987-02-01), Stanley
patent: 4900572 (1990-02-01), Repholz et al.
patent:
Jarvenkyla Jyri
Lahtinen Terho
Sjoberg Michael
Dye Rena L.
Ladas & Parry
Uponor Innovation AB
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