Quality Issues
• The rate and uniformity of cooling are important for dimensional control because of shrinkage and distortion.
• Extrusion causes the alignment of molecules in solids.
• Die swell, where the extruded product increases in size as it leaves the die, may be compensated for by:
• Increasing haul-off rate compared with extrusion rate.
• Decreasing extrusion rate.
• Increasing the length of the die land.
• Decreasing the melt temperature.
• There is a tendency for powdered materials to carry air into the extruder barrel: trapped gases have a detrimental effect on both the output and the quality of the extrusion.
• Surface roughness is good to excellent.
• Process capability charts showing the achievable dimensional tolerances for various materials are provided (Figure 5.10(b)).