Chapter 13

Extrusion Problems and How to Solve

Them

All Life is problem solving.

—Karl Popper

13.1 A Bit of Help for Self-help

Going back to Chap. 5, you will find a questionnaire which we have devised and
which will help to give you a fairly accurate idea as to the type of extrusion plant
you will need. This has been based on the assumption that you know the type of
raw material to be processed, the products to be made, in which quantities and the
working times including the major boundary conditions. There is another checklist
in Chap. 17 which should also aid you in verifying prior to your final decision
which of the short-listed extruders will best meet your particular requirements. Here
in this chapter, it is assumed that you are already involved with extrusion but are
now and again confronted with certain problems. The following checklist should
assist you in solving extrusion-typical problems by way of a systematic approach.
This list had to be restricted to the most significant cases which occur in practice. In
this connection, I would like to draw your attention to the section “Problems” in the
well-known book of James S. Reed, “Ceramic Processing”; in my 1995 edition,
page 473 et seq. Any specific problems which are related to your existing extrusion
plant should be addressed directly to the manufacturer of the extrusion equipment.
But any kind of problem solution necessitates the existence of reliable infor-
mation in respect of all relevant operating parameters such as extrusion pressure
rates, current consumption, degree of vacuum, column speed and torques.
Regrettably, this is in many cases not available!
Often enough we experience that a de-airing extrusion unit has functioned
absolutely perfectly for months after being delivered, and all of a sudden, more and
more problems accumulate for no apparent reason. We wonder why? Only in a few
cases, one receives satisfactory answers and, in the rarest instances, is informed of
changes that have been made since successful start-up of the plant, for example
modifications to the body, the condition of the wearing parts, variations in the

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 99

F. Händle, The Art of Ceramic Extrusion,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05255-3_13
100 13 Extrusion Problems and How to Solve Them

material moisture content. You may find that the suggested measures such as
checking of the wear rate of the auger and barrel liners repeat over and over again.
In reality, very diverse problems originate from just a few causes: rough auger
surface, variations in the moisture content of the prepared material, leaks in the
extrusion system, etc.
The following checklist assumes that the boundary conditions ahead and after
extrusion are right, which means that the dosing and preparation system upstream
of the extruder provides the required performance and also that the handling and, in
particular, the drying process downstream of the extruder are attuned accordingly
(Table 13.1).

Table 13.1 How to solve the problems in extrusion—a checklist

Problem Causes Remedy
Insufficient output Screw worn Refurbish or replace screw
Cylinder liners worn Replace or refurbish cylinder
liners
Surface of screws is too rough Polish the surface of the screw
and/or renew the hard-faced layer
Unadapted screw revolution—too Check whether it is possible to
fast or too slow adjust revolution of the auger
according to the required output.
Try to extrude “hungry”.
Check if the column speed reacts
linearly with the revolution of the
screw
Perforated plate and mesh in the Check perforated plate, replace as
pressure head create a too high needed/if possible, and check for
pressure drop blockage of perforated plate or
mesh
Inadequate geometry of the Check if the geometry is suitable
cylinder liners to stop rotation of the body
Inadequate geometry of the screw Check if the geometry is suitable
regarding output and pressure
generation
Material moisture level—too high Control the moisture content
or too low
Material sticks on the auger in the Polish auger, change geometry of
feeding zone the auger and control interaction
between auger and feeding roller
(continued)
13.1 A Bit of Help for Self-help 101

Table 13.1 (continued)

Problem Causes Remedy
Power consumption Surface of screws is too rough Polish the screw
and temperature of Inadequate geometry of the screw Check if the geometry is suitable
the motor—too high regarding output and pressure
generation
Motor and frequency converter Control function of motor and
are defect or not aligned frequency converter including
alignment
Material—too stiff Check the moisture content
Foreign objects in the screw Open extruder and clean
Oil with incorrect viscosity or Check oil type and contamination,
contaminated oil and replace as needed
Ambient temperature—too high Install oil cooler
Bearings defect Check the bearings and replace
Oil loss Defective seals at shaft bearings Replace shaft seals and races as
needed
Vacuum—too low Seal between cylinder and Check seals, and replace if
extruder case damaged necessary
Seals between pre-extruder/pug Check seals, and replace if
sealer and extruder damaged necessary
Holes in perforated sealing plate Use sealing plate with smaller
before vacuum chamber—too holes
large
Too little or wrong oil in the Refer to the operating manual of
vacuum pump the vacuum pump
Vacuum pump with insufficient Check vacuum pump
pumping speed and/or ultimate
pressure
Unknown vacuum loss Organize leakage control and
vacuum test (see Chap. 11)
Backflow in the Output of pug sealer—too high Adjust output of pug sealer to
vacuum chamber match the extruder
Fluctuating moisture of body Check the moisture content of the
body and adjust
Length/diameter ratio (L/D) of the Check the L/D ratio and adjust if
screw—too short necessary
Foreign objects in the die or Check die and remove foreign
perforated plate objects if necessary
Free cross section and/or pressure Control geometry of screw
drop of the die—too high
Dried material in the Leakage of the vacuum chamber Control vacuum chamber with
vacuum chamber leakage inspection device
Temperature in vacuum chamber Check temperature, and reduce
—too high (water evaporation) temperature or vacuum as
necessary
Vacuum too high or too low Use vacuum regulating valve
(continued)
102 13 Extrusion Problems and How to Solve Them

Table 13.1 (continued)

Problem Causes Remedy
Temperature of the Cylinder liners worn, and Replace cylinder liners, and
body—too high incoming temperature of the body control incoming temperature of
—too high the body
Screw surface—too rough or Polish screw or replace screw
screw worn
Revolution of screw—too high Adjust revolution
Ambient temperature or incoming Install adequate cooling of the
body temperature—too high screw and cylinder, and adjust
incoming temperature of the body
Pulsing column Screw worn Replace or polish screw
L/D ratio—too short Check the L/D ratio and adjust if
necessary
Fluctuating moisture of the body Check the moisture content of the
body and adjust
Revolution of screw—too high or Adjust revolution of screw
too low
Insufficient output of pug sealer Increase speed output of pug
sealer
Laminations in the Rotation of the screw is seen in Check geometry of the top auger,
extrudate (see the column and enlarge distance between top
Chap. 9) auger and die (equalizing zone)
Middle of the column advances Check geometry of the pressure
faster than sides head, enlarge distance between
top auger and die (equalizing
zone), and control angles in the
pressure head and die
Cuts on surface or rough extrudate Control geometry of pressure head
after drying and die, control grain size
distribution, and control drying
conditions
Distortion of the Die not aligned with the pressure Make sure that pressure head and
extrudate head die are aligned and centred
One-sided roughness of the Polish pressure head and die all
pressure head and/or die over
Deviation in the Shrinkage of the material was not Control the shrinkage of the body
required geometry of considered in the design of the or of the different bodies
the extrudate die, or shrinkage has changed
Extrudate expands after die Detect if and how much the body
because of the high elasticity of is elastic
the body
Revolution of the auger—too Adapt revolution of auger
slow or too fast
Undulating surface of the Provide equilibration zone after
extrudate die, calendering after extrusion
13.2 Conclusions 103

13.2 Conclusions

• Try to analyse and understand your problem before acting.

• Make sure the processes of extrusion including the function of the vacuum unit
are understood.
• Carefully study all the relevant manuals.
• Try to separate the influencing factors; i.e., do not fumble with several factors
simultaneously.
• Do not fix it if it is not broken.
• Mistrust your glorious experience.
• Study the relevant literature regarding “problem-solving” and “decision-making”.

Bibliography

1. R. Ackoff, The Art of Problem Solving (Wiley, New York, 1978)

2. J.S. Reed, Principles of Ceramic Processing (John Wiley, New York, 1995)
3. S. Shingo, Quick Changeover for Operators: The SMED System (Productivity Press,
New York, 1996)