PlastiComp, Inc. has installed and commissioned a patent-pending manufacturing line for extruding Long Fiber Thermoplastic (LFT) pipes, beams, and other structural profiles. The crosshead profile-dies used are designed to co-extrude fiber tows or unidirectional tapes as continuous axial reinforcement in the extruding profile.

Polymer is delivered from a 3.5 inch extruder, providing potential profile outputs up to 800 pounds per hour, depending upon profile thickness and reinforcing fiber content. In two initial development applications, 2-inch wide rectangular beams and 6-inch diameter tubes were co-extruded with unidirectional glass-fiber tapes as the axial reinforcement.

The matrix materials of these beams and tubes were long glass-fiber polyethylene (PE) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) compounds, whose composition was specific to the in-use load profile and other material considerations. Possible matrices include any melt processable polymer.

The addition of extrusion manufacturing complements PlastiComp’s goal of expanding manufacturing options and form-factors of fiber-reinforced thermoplastics for its customers. PlastiComp also acquired a 50,000 ft2 facility to showcase and expand on such novel manufacturing technologies.

In addition to its independent process & product development, PlastiComp will also partner with customers to develop application-specific, extruded-forms and respective material compositions and fiber architecture. The customer programs are fully supported with in-house computer aided engineering (CAE) capabilities that integrate part & tool design, material-selection, and manufacturing.