Customised solutions for plastic extrusion

Plastic extrusion is a high-volume manufacturing process in which raw plastic is melted and formed into a continuous profile. At Primo, we have been extruding plastic profiles since 1959. Both extruders and the process itself have undergone significant progress over the years.

Industrial extrusion at its core

The plastic extrusion process can be broadly described as melting plastic pellets or powders and forcing them through a special die to form continuous shapes such as pipes, seals, tubes, gaskets or other custom profiles designed to fit a specific end product.

Plastic is only one of the raw materials used in industrial extrusion. Other materials commonly used in industrial extrusion include metal, ceramics and food. For example, the technique is widely used in the food industry, where products such as minced meat, pasta and even cheese puffs are produced by extrusion.

Industrial extrusion is a manufacturing process used to create components by forcing material through a shaped die. The material is pushed or pulled through the die, forming long, continuous shapes that are then cut to the desired length. This process is mainly used to produce large quantities of uniform products.

A specialised production setup

Today, advanced technology and digital monitoring ensure high-quality and cost-saving processes for the benefit of a wide range of industries and numerous applications at our highly efficient and automated production plants in Europe and in China. 

In plastic extrusion, the heated plastic mass is put under pressure by a screw and is pressed through a die (the tool). The profile is then cooled down and hardens into its final solid state. This way, a profile can be produced in any length, which is an advantage, for example, when producing parts for cables that are rolled directly onto cable reels.

Extruded plastic profiles for all kinds of purposes

The extrusion of plastic profiles allows for a wide range of custom extruded profiles with unique designs and properties. In plastic profile extrusion, the design and development of the tooling is a critical phase that defines the properties of the extruded plastic profile. It could be a lightweight window profile with excellent insulating properties due to its air chambers, a low tolerance tube for medical devices or a shaped filler for offshore power cables. The applications are endless. Primo specialises in developing custom extruded profiles in close cooperation with our customers.   

It is a frequently asked question  - and a fairly good one - whether plastics and polymer are the same.

The short answer is no. Plastic is a polymer, but polymer is not necessarily plastic.

Plastic belongs to the polymer family

A polymer is a macromolecule composed of many similar building blocks. Plastic belongs to the family of polymeric materials. The individual types of plastic are therefore also often called polymers.

The term is derived from the Greek "polymeros", which can be translated into poly = many and meros = parts. A polymer is therefore a very large molecule - a so-called macromolecule - composed of many similar building blocks. These building blocks are called monomers.

What are plastics?

Plastics are organic materials, just like wood, paper or wool. The raw material is first and foremost crude oil. In addition, cellulose, coal, natural gas and salt are included. Crude oil is a mixture of thousands of different substances, and in order to utilize them, the oil must be refined in large plants.

5 percent of the world's oil consumption goes to plastic; the majority is used for transport.

European plastic manufacturers are organised in Plastics Europe; here you can learn a lot more about plastics.

YOU CAN FIND OUR PROFILES IN Various INDUSTRIES AND IN TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED SOLUTIONS

Some plastic products require more properties than a single extrusion can deliver. In these cases, co-extrusion can be an option. Co-extrusion is the process of extruding two types of plastic simultaneously through the same tool as two layers, that are fused by the influence of heat.

Co-extruding is a complex process that puts great demands on the machinery and dosage of materials from both sources. The benefit however is that single plastic profiles can have a number of properties. For instance: a rigid side for montage and a softer plastic type for airtight sealing. 

Future-fit extrusion manufacturing

In recent years, we have focused our efforts in custom plastic extrusion on developing new materials and processes for sustainability and a lower carbon footprint of the profile; in fact, high-quality plastic extrusion is very much about developing responsible plastic extrusion solutions, working towards more sustainable products. The development and plastic extrusion process is driven by a dedicated international team of plastic engineers, production managers and quality control specialists within the group.