Ettlinger Kunststoffmaschinen, manufacturer of high performance melt filters and injection moulding machines for high shot weights, shows a brand new generation of melt filters at Fakuma 2017. Ettlinger filter systems have already set important efficiency benchmarks on several occasions in the past. The new generation, which is premiered at the Friedrichshafen exhibition, raises the bar even higher in every respect. The first few months of practical experience with pilot customers have confirmed an up to 28% increase in throughput for the same filtration quality and the same ultra-low melt losses. Users profit from more productivity when recycling contaminated waste plastics from industrial or consumer sources. Furthermore, Ettlinger filter systems can in future be very easily integrated into Industry 4.0 environments.

Volker Neuber, managing director Ettlinger: “Waste streams vary enormously in quality, and the ability to supply high quality recycled polymer at competitive prices is more of a challenge than ever. Our latest filter generation provides the answer: our existing series are already extremely efficient but we’ve now achieved a new landmark”.

The new Ettlinger filters work with a rotating, perforated drum - the principle already familiar from the ERF and ECO series: there is a continuous flow of melt through this drum from the outside to the inside. A scraper continuously removes the contaminants that are held back on the surface and feeds them to an exit screw or discharge shaft. This enables the filter to be used fully automatically and without any disruptions over a period of weeks and months without having to replace the screen. The advantages of this design are the constant melt pressure, ultra-low melt losses - recognized throughout the industry - and good mixing and homogenizing of the melts. Whereas the ERF series is optimized for separating foreign particles from heavily contaminated polyolefins and polystyrenes, the ECO series is ideal for filtering polyolefins, PET and PA as well as recycled material containing up to 1.5% contaminants during the extrusion of films, sheets and other semifinished products.