Purging Compounds for Sheet Extrusion

In continuous processes like sheet extrusion, contamination issues add up in a hurry leading to large amounts of scrap. The edges of your die may seem impossible to clean, and melt pumps and static mixers make changeovers and contamination issues even more challenging. Whether you’re making the bed liners for pickup trucks, clear sheet to be thermoformed into takeout containers, or multilayered sheet for plastic solo cups, Asaclean® has a high-quality purging compound designed for your specific needs. Here’s why Asaclean® Purging Compounds are the preferred choice for the best sheet extruders worldwide.

Why Asaclean® Purging Compounds are the Best Choice for Sheet Extruders

When we hear from sheet extruders, they usually are asking for help with a handful of different processing issues. If you’re reading this section, then you’ve probably experienced some of these struggles firsthand:

You may have problems with gels and difficulty displacing your purge or previous production resin.

You likely have trouble cleaning the edges of the die, and battle to keep your melt pumps & static mixers free of contamination.

Your changeovers are taking too long, and scrap rates are creeping higher.

You’re going from black to clear and are dealing with carbon and streaking.

You have to tear down and manually clean sections of your extrusion lines.

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You have complicated setups that often have multiple extruders and frequently process difficult resins like PVC, PET, ABS, & HDPE. These factors compound the contamination issue.

Many sheet extruders reluctantly accept these headaches as inevitable and just part of the job.

We have good news. It doesn’t have to be that way.

62%

On average, Asaclean®’s sheet extrusion customers save 62% on reduced scrap & downtime.

1. Asaclean®’s Products Will Solve Your Issue

Sheet Extrusion processors don’t need to experience contamination and lengthy changeovers. We offer Mechanical Purging Compounds, Chemical Purging Compounds, and Purging Concentrates designed to tackle your unique set of processing challenges in sheet extrusion.

Our PLUS Grade Concentrate & Chemical Purging Compounds excel in your most difficult extrusion applications.

Once we identify your needs, we will help you choose the best grade of Asaclean® for you.

For Sheet Extrusion, Asaclean® grades:

Effectively clean the edges of the die
Excel in tight clearances
Perform in clear applications without haze or streaking
Are easily displaced without gels or residue
Remove carbon contamination & black specks
Clean the screw & barrel thoroughly
Minimize the need to manually tear down and clean
Easily purge resins like HDPE, LLDPE, PVC, PET & ABS
Dramatically reduce scrap and defect rates
Achieve faster and easier color and material changes
Facilitate easier screw pushes
Clean multiple lines
Seal your machine during shutdowns to promote easier start-ups

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With the world-class R&D team of Asahi Kasei in Japan, Asaclean® offers incredible cleaning performance coupled with expert technical & product support.

“Asaclean® is working exactly the way we hoped it would. We have been able to cut down our scrap by 30 percentage on one job alone. The techs seem to like it for the color changes. Your product has given great value to our organization.”

Steve W. , Production Supervisor, Extrusion, General Industrial, WI

For most extrusion applications, we usually recommend Asaclean®’s N-Series line of Chemical Purging Compounds or PLUS Grade Purging Concentrate.

Asaclean®’s Chemical Purging Compounds are blended products that also match your processing temperatures, your resins, your MFR’s, and your processing needs. But unlike Mechanical Purging Compounds, they clean using a heat-activated chemical reaction that performs best in low-flow and low-pressure environments. Chemical Grades are usually recommended for extrusion because they foam and expand to effectively clean dies or other areas where contamination can hang-up. If you experience color streaking, these are a great option for you.

Our PLUS Grade Purging Concentrate is a cleaning masterbatch that super-charges your own production resin. It is easily displaced because it matches your production resins’ MFR, does not require changing processing temperatures, and its loading ratio can be adjusted to optimize your cleaning power. PLUS also effectively cleans out dies and has been very successful across a variety of extrusion applications.

For screw pushes, sealing, color/material changes, and black speck/carbon removal, there are different solutions. Work with your Asaclean® Purging Expert to find the best solution for you.

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2. Our Team Understands the Needs of Sheet Extruders

Asaclean® Technical Service Representative offer a unique level of service not found in other areas of the industry. Many of our Purging Experts used Asaclean® as customers themselves before joining our team.

Your point-of-contact isn’t a salesperson. They are a processor.

With over 200 years of combined processing experience, we understand your issue and can offer solutions. We’ve seen it all and are here to help you.

When you work with Asaclean®, you have access to free ongoing consultations with a subject matter expert.

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“We use Asaclean® and I’ve never seen anything quite like it—it removes everything we want to remove and doesn’t stay behind to contaminate our next run.”

Robert R. , Director of Material Development, Extruder, General Industrial, California

3. We Will Train Your Team to Be Asaclean® Purging Experts

Asaclean® Purging Compounds are incredibly easy to use, but you will only see your best results when you follow our recommended purging procedures.

When it comes to purging compounds, less is more.

We do not want you to use more Asaclean® than is necessary to achieve your best performance. If you use more than we recommend, your cost savings will drop.

We want you to get the absolute best performance using the least amount of Asaclean®. That is why we place such a premium on training your team.

All extruders are dealing with slightly different challenges, so it’s important that you follow the correct instructions.

That’s where we come in.

When you select Asaclean®, we will diagnose your issues, build out a free Purge Program, and train your shifts on how to use Asaclean® to get the best results.

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We will help you trial our product, provide in-person or virtual training, answer any questions, and be available however necessary to help your team succeed.

Sometimes keeping good labor can be difficult.

Don’t worry. As you find new hires, we’ll train them as well.

“Asaclean® support goes over and above. Training is a part of that. it's great to have our rep in front of people giving training, because if five pounds works, ten pounds is not better. Training is key when you're using these products, and I feel that if I called my Asaclean® rep for help at midnight he would probably answer.”

John S. , Manufacturing Manager, Northwest

4 Quick Purging Tips for Sheet Extrusion

1. Don’t Run to Failure

When we visit sheet extrusion plants, we usually see one of two scenarios. Engineers either skip purge during changeovers and instead use regrind, a DIY-purge, or their next production resin. This ends up leading to contamination since regrind and virgin can’t clean out your extruder or die and just layer over time. Or they run until failure because they aren’t changing material/color or have a tight deadline. In both cases, processors look at the price of the production resin and tell us that they’re okay taking a little longer on changeovers because the cost of resin is cheap. Over time you will have contamination issues that will bring production to a screeching halt. Production resins are not designed to clean machines and are not a substitute for commercial purging compounds. Purging in-between production runs will extend the time between teardowns. You should try to avoid teardowns at all costs. Although purging might take some time in the short term, it will dramatically improve your product quality and output in the long term.

2. Only Increase Heats for Contamination

Many processors worry about using purging compounds because they think they’ll have to increase heats to activate the purging power. We know that increasing your heats takes time, and this can be a deterrent. You might be pleasantly surprised to hear that in most cases, you do not need to increase heats for normal changeovers. We typically only recommend you increase heats when you’re dealing with contamination issues. If this was an objection that kept you from embracing purging, we want to put your mind at ease. Our products were created and perfected to be easy-to-use high-quality products. If they were difficult to use or made your life harder, it would defeat the purpose of our products.

3. For Tricky Applications, Consider Asaclean® PrePurge

When working with HDPE, LDPE, & LLDPE, it’s common to experience streaking and gels. In low pressure spots like the edges of the die, material tends to hang up. In situations where you struggle to displace your purge, we recommend using our Asaclean® PrePurge to expedite the process. PrePurge is offered in both high and low flow formulations. Contact an Asaclean® Purging Expert for a free consultation on this application.

4. If You Have to Push Screws, Use EX Grade to Reduce Downtime

Removing your screw from your machine without a purge requires great effort, and the cleaning itself takes hours of manual, tedious scrubbing. You must remove the layers of resins or contaminants that have accumulated around the screw. This excessive downtime is certainly affecting your company’s bottom line.

If you’re running until failure or running until you experience severe contamination, EX Grade is a solution that can make your life much easier in a hurry.