Berstorff Delivers Complete Rubber Profile Line to China
March 31, 2006
Berstorff GmbH of Hanover, Germany, has delivered a complete line for the manufacture of rubber profiles for the automotive industry to a leading company in China. The special challenge of this project was to develop a line concept for the manufacture of profiles consisting of up to five different components.
The profiles, which are used for example for Volkswagen Shanghai, consist of the following five components: compact rubber for the profile body, sponge rubber for the hose, coloured compact rubber made of EPDM for the transition to the internal roof lining, a steel core for enhanced stability, and finally two Kevlar threads as textile tension elements.
The scope of delivery, for which Berstorff was responsible as sole supplier, included three extruders with crosshead as well as the extensive downstream equipment, such as shock module, microwave system, caterpillar take-off, preliminary and post-profiling units and cutting machine with depositing system for the cut components.
Flexible production
The extrusion line was laid out in the standard V-arrangement. The two GE 90 rubber extruders, with processing section lengths of 18 and 20 D, ensure that the extruded raw material converges at an angle of 45°. An additional GE 60 rubber extruder with a processing length of 16 D is integrated into the line at an angle of 90°. The main GE 90 extruder is firmly fixed while the two other extruders can be freely moved. This arrangement presents the benefit that the line can be flexibly adapted to different production requirements. Depending on the product, a production speed of up to 30 m/min is achieved.
