Topic: Melt filters now available
The output side of an industrial extruder looks like this:
The breaker plate looks like this:
The screen pack is on one side of that, and the die is on the other side.
I've gone through 5 revisions of a combined screen pack/breaker plate/extrusion die, and have come up with the following:
It uses a 250 micron wire mesh filter, and has 75sqmm of effective filtration area. It is CNC machined out of brass - this in and of itself is an upgrade from the standard nozzles which are made on a drill press. I have tested this final revision for over 100 hours of extrusion, with no measurable decline in output rate. Because the local velocity of the polymer at the screen pack is so low, output rate is not diminished until the filter is nearly full of contaminants.
This melt filter is completely reverse compatible with all versions of the Filastruder - simply heat up the Filastruder to operating temperatures, unplug it, remove the thermocouple, loosen the nozzle 1 turn each minute while the Filastruder cools, install the new nozzle, reinstall the thermocouple, and heat the Filastruder back up. You may need to tighten the nozzle another half turn after heating. Of course, wear gloves and safety glasses during this!
The melt filter is available in the store in both 1.75 and 3.0mm variants. Each melt filter includes two reusable screens, and two retaining clips. You will need circlip pliers to install the retaining clip.
lol 