SPE hosting first-time screw design conference | Plastics News

The extrusion division of the Society of Plastics Engineers and the chapter representing the Eastern New England section are offering a new screw design conference called Topcon.

The two-day gathering on June 19-20 will feature 17 speakers offering technical sessions on screw design principles for single- and twin-screw extruders for all types of operations.

Attendees will learn about screw designs for precision extrusion, melt temperature management, minimization of gels, and useful techniques and practices to process bioplastics, recycled materials and foamed parts.

In the plastics industry, screws function to melt, convey, mix and condition plastic formulations for a variety of end products, including tubes, films, fibers, pellets, adhesives and more.

"The screw, or screws, is the heart of any extruder," Charlie Martin, president of Leistritz Extrusion, said in an email. "I don't know why the topic of screw design has never been its own conference before. This one emanated from a brainstorming at an SPE board of directors meeting."

Molding machines also use similar screws to melt and fill the mold. That process will be covered, too.

"Steve Schick of Teel Plastics will give a talk that compares extruder to injection molding screws, which may be the first time this topic has ever been covered," Martin said of the chief technical officer of Plastics News' Processor of the Year winner for 2022.

The conference also includes a reception on the first day and a tour of the UMass Lowell Extrusion Process Laboratory on the second day.

"The goal is to show how incremental improvement to manufacturing efficiencies can make the difference between success and failure, particularly while reshoring is occurring," Martin said. "USA products need to outperform imports."

Topcon isn't just for screw designers.

"This conference is for anyone involved with single- and twin-screw processes to improve existing operations, evaluate potential projects or to just familiarize their staff with the technologies," Martin said.

Martin will give a keynote address called "Twin-screw extruders as continuous mixers: A technical and historical perspective."

The other two keynote addresses will be about the advancing technologies of single-screw extruders and the art and science of basic screw design, which will be given by John Christiano of Davis-Standard and Mike Thompson of McMaster University, respectively.

Edward Gay, process engineering manager at KraussMaffei Corp., also is on the agenda to talk about designing screw configurations for co-rotating twin-screw extruders.

Gay recently was lauded for successful material development trials of a proprietary formulation that contains nylon and natural hemp fibers. The hemp was grown by an agri-tech company, and the formulation will be used to produce an injection molded sustainable automotive part for a Volvo truck.

Another speaker, Kevin Slusarz of U.S. Extruders, will give a presentation on the materials of construction for screws and barrels for different polymer environments.

In addition, Steve Jackson, sales director of Xtreme Coatings, will cover screw coatings that increase performance and extend screw lifetime.

The SPE extrusion division will issue a screw design certificate to all attendees. The conference will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Tewksbury, Mass.

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