new sem

1. Free E-training sessions (webinars).
Each session is one hour in length, and attendees can ask questions before, during and even after the sessions.
The two webinars in 2009 were sponsored by IDES (www.ides.com). Since January 2010, my webinars are sponsored by the trade magazine Modern Plastics Worldwide (UBM/Canon Communications) and are archived for a year and available at www.plasticstoday.com. See my home page for the complete lists of both IDES and Modern Plastics events. Any of them can be presented live and privately, if requested.

2. Private sessions at factory locations

These are based on the seminar outline below, Introduction to Extrusion Technology, but adapted to individual needs and interests. Charges for such a session are $2500 for the first day and $1500 for each additional day, plus expenses, plus travel time at $75/hour, no matter how many people attend. Some sessions are focused on training of operators and technicians, others include trouble-shooting and consulting, and hours can be adapted to fit production needs. Typical sessions are two or three days. It is possible to do this by teleconference or videoconference, but the best training is still by direct encounter, plus my direct observation of the equipment and products.

This is an outline of the practical extrusion seminar that I have presented since 1979, and attended by over 4,000 people since then. It is an intensive introduction for people in the extrusion business.

Part I -- Introduction
We first discuss the ten key principles of extrusion, then get some basics in plastics chemistry (plastics are polymers with additives).

Part II -- Hardware
Motors, drive systems, speed reduction, screw and barrel, the head zone, instrumentation (the vital signs) and other hardware such as screens and screeners, static mixers and gear pumps. In private sessions we cover appropriate dies and downstream equipment.

Part III -- Principles
Limits to output rate, how to estimate both inpush and output, and what happens in the various zones of the extruder, the head and die. Simple practical rheology: melt index, IV and K-values, torque rheometry and shear rate, and why these things are important.

Part IV -- Operation and Troubleshooting
Setting conditions, how controllers work, start-up and shutdown, safety and maintenance. Common problems in extrusion, with suggested solutions and ways to prevent them from happening at all.