Non-contact inspection for extruder bores

The idiamCONTROL permits precise planning of the maintenance intervals or replacement intervals of the individual extruder housing parts.

With compound extrusion lines continuous wear signs occur in the bores caused by abrasive raw materials, temperature and pressure. Exact maintenance intervals are therefore necessary in order to prevent expensive failures. The idiamCONTROL by Micro-Epsilon detects the wear in the bores by non-contact internal inspection. The sensor unit - with integrated capacitive sensors arranged opposite to each other – measures the diameter of the bore. By turning the cross rollers by 40° clockwise or counter-clockwise the bore can be measured in 6 tracks altogether. For exact positioning, the sensor is centred on both ends by spring-loaded rollers. Several metal pins prevent the measuring cylinder from turning.

The new controller unit equipped with a touch screen displays the measuring results graphically. The measuring signal is shown as a diameter over the complete bore length and any tolerance deviations are immediately displayed. The diameter values of several test cycles can be saved. By comparing the individual diameter values, the extruder wear is calculated. For the data output the device is provided with a USB interface. A calibration control checks the functionality of the measuring system.