Case Study: Creating an Abrasion Resistant Surface for Pug Mill Extruder Barrels

Putty in their hands – Ceramic Brushable Blue Epoxy Coating improves the efficiency of a pug mill putty extruder

Aluminium barrels in several pug mill putty extruders suffering from both abrasive wear and a rough initial finish are given an ultra-smooth, abrasion resistant surface coating to improve their efficiency.

Case Study Data


Repair Type
Abrasion Protection
Defect
Worn aluminium barrels in pug mill putty extruders

Products Used


Ceramic Brushable Blue Epoxy Coating
Ceramic-filled epoxy coating painted onto surfaces and parts to create a smooth, abrasion resistant layer

Case Study PDF


Case Study Details


Silica-filled putty was extruded from the pug mills via aluminium barrels. Over time, the silica in the putty had caused abrasive wear to the surface of the barrels as it passed through.

This wear combined with the initial rough cast finish of the aluminium had caused the flow rate of putty from the pug mills to slow dramatically, impacting on efficiency.

To help the extruders run more efficiently, a means of improving the flow rate through the barrels by filling in existing damage and creating an ultra-smooth finish was sought.

After researching cost and ease of repair, machining the barrels was ruled out as it would have been difficult, expensive and too time consuming.

Instead, it was decided to paint the aluminium barrels in every putty extruder with a low friction coating for increased extrusion rate. The coating used in the repair also needed to be abrasion resistant to protect the aluminium from further wear.

Ceramic Brushable Blue was the obvious solution. It is ceramic-filled and reinforced with silicone carbide for ultimate hardness. It is used on both new and old machines and parts in highly abrasive environments.

Coating new surfaces with Ceramic Brushable Blue provides a toughened, reinforced layer of protection from wear, extending the lifespan of parts.

When used on older machine parts and surfaces such as the putty extruder barrels, Ceramic Brushable Blue repairs damaged areas as well as offering protection against abrasion.

Ceramic Brushable Blue was easy to apply. The parts were mixed and then the coating painted on using a conventional paintbrush. The 90 minute work time allowed larger quantities of epoxy to be mixed and applied in one go without the threat of premature curing.

It took one day to coat every pug mill putty extruder barrel with the required amount of Ceramic Brushable Blue. A full cure was achieved 24 hours after the final coat, meaning that there was minimal disruption to production.

The non-stick, smooth finish of Ceramic Brushable also enabled quicker and easy cleaning of the barrels. Less time needed for the maintenance of the extruders resulted in even greater efficiency for the pug mills.

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