On January 17, 2018 Friul Filiere will be 40 years old, and to mark this landmark birthday it is lauching Futura40, a new extrusion line. As explained by the manufacturer, the new solution encapsulates the company’s four decades of experience, whose technological value is reflected in its modern aesthetics, attractive design and “minimal” style. Its every last detail stems, primarily, from the company’s attention to the needs of the processors and the experiences of the operators who experience the production phase first hand. Futura40 is designed to be the perfect complement to extruders and other equipment developed by Friul Filiere, allowing the company to turn out complete, high-performance plants, and respond with maximum flexibility to processors who want increasingly customised turnkey systems for producing pipes and special profiles.

Sizing die holder bench

Along with the die, the holder bench accommodating the sizing die system represents the technological heart of every high-performance extrusion plant. In view of this, the greatest attention has been dedicated to the development of technical solutions capable of improving the production process and the man-machine interface, such as, in particular:

- the arrangement of the couplings for the cooling system has been improved in terms of accessibility and the connection of the piping required for the process has become more practical;

- the holder frame is higher,  about one metre, and it has also been enlarged in order to house all the mechanical and electrical components necessary for its operation;

- the extrusion axis has been arranged in such a way as to symmetrically divide the holder bench along its longitudinal axis, while the table has been designed for accommodating any type of sizing die by means of snap-on couplings;

- the new arrangement of the electrical and electronic components of the entire system has been updated in conformity with CE standards, making it possible to obtain the Risk Certificate;

- the water distributors with visible return are positioned in front of the operator to continually monitor the regular water flow through the sizing dies;

- a recessed skirting panel on the base covering the entire front part of the downstream equipment makes it possible for the operator to approach the bench more easily;

- the bench is fully galvanized and undergoes a special treatment to ensure durability;

- optimised energy saving thanks to new-generation pumps regulated by an inverter - which allows the motor to absorb the minimum energy necessary during each production stage, regulated according to the vacuum needs - and mounted on an independent support in order to prevent the risk of any vibration affecting the particularly sensitive profiles, as well as to facilitate the inspection of the pumps themselves.

- the protection and safety systems have been upgraded and their reliability improved, while the electric panels have been re-positioned on the frame in accordance with the latest CE standards.

Haul-off

In order that the passage of the profile produced during the process occurs perfectly at the centre of the machine, the haul-off maintains the same extrusion axis as the sizing die holder bench. The guard door is no longer the sliding type and, thanks to the perforated metal sheet, it is more sturdy and practical and contributes to modern design of the haul-off. In order to fully exploit the machine potential and to permit the access of profiles of widths exceeding those of the plugs, the entire transmission system has been upgraded with the optimal positioning of the motor itself.

Cutter

Cutting represents a delicate process during the production of complex profiles and piping, which need to comply with increasingly stringent quality standards, and even more so in the case of very fast extrusion speeds. Friul Filiere provides turnkey projects for complete pipe and profile production systems at speeds of even over 250 m/min. In order to be able to meet the exacting requirements involved, a brushless motor is used, which is more accurate and reactive in terms of movement control, with the carriage sliding horizontally. The final result is optimal also thanks to the use of Friul Filiere software for easy programming of the cutting operation, with settings for speed, time and a host of various other parameters.

Profile collection bench

The profile collection bench is ergonomically aligned with the extrusion line and the table slides horizontally to improve access for the collection of profiles.

Software

The line features a PLC and proprietary software which permit the centralized control of the entire process. The software also provides the possibility of incorporating a remote assistance service thanks to the Ethernet installed on the machines. As a result, in the event of any production anomalies, customers everywhere in the world can request remote assistance in real time from Friul Filiere engineers.