A study of parameters affecting extrusion process of wood plastic composites

Abstract

Wood Plastic Composites or WPCs is the wood substitute material which is made of scraps of wood, sawdust, fiber and plastic mixed together, processed by the extrusion. It becomes Wood Plastic Composites which is the new substitute of wood which gets started to be used broadly in Thailand. Anyway, most manufacturers in Thailand still do not have adequate knowledge and knowhow of the production bringing about the lack of quality and efficiency in the process. The study and analysis towards the relation of parameters between ???Extrusion process???, ???Temperature???, ???Screw speed??? and ???Melt pressure??? of the production process that effects the quality by using width (X axis)and thickness (Y axis) in 7 positions. Then the result will be compared to mean score and summarized in order to find the optimal value for the production process and to forecast the change of the quality of Wood Plastic Composites. The research is occurred by the collaboration among the manufacturers who produce WPCs in order to study for the optimal parameters for WPCs production. The objective of this research is to study and design the tool for analyzing the relation between the parameters by using the standard specification of Wood Plastics Composites. The standard dimensions notified by the group of manufacturers are 150mm x 20mm, 200mm x 20mm and 200mm x 38mm. Furthermore, the standard formula is used in the experiment in order to develop the method of production in the industrial sector. As a result of the study, once Temperature, Metering section, Screw speed and Melt pressure increase, the absolute value of variance also rises. The researcher uses the proper scenario to explore which is to use Screw speed at 3 rpm which is the maximum capacity and Temperature during Metering section at 175 ??C because it does not significantly effect on the capacity. However, it initiates the low pressure which directly impact on the energy or resource in the production process.