Search
Compounding and extrusion tools for materials processing
Twin-screw extrusion is a standard technique for polymer mixing and compounding, but has also expanded into other applications, such as novel materials development. Extruders offer a high level of process flexibility, control of process parameters, and can produce a wide range of products. Being a continuous mixing process, where a base matrix and multiple additives are transformed into a new compound, twin-screw extrusion has the potential to benefit multiple areas beyond traditional polymer processing.
Thermo Scientific extruders and compounders are designed to offer flexibility, efficiency, and reliable scale-up for a wide range of process requirements.
Twin-screw extruders
Lab-scale extruders only require a small amount of material to conduct experiments, allowing you to perform numerous trials efficiently and cost effectively, while also saving precious laboratory space.
With a Thermo Scientific lab-scale twin-screw extruder, easy upscaling from 11, to 16, to 24 mm screw diameters is ensured by design.
Torque rheometers
Comprehensive characterization is often essential during the development of new, innovative materials. Thermo Scientific HAAKE PolyLab Torque Rheometers are measuring mixer and extruder systems designed to meet today’s (and tomorrow’s) quality control and R&D needs. This modular system starts with a torque rheometer drive that can be connected to an interchangeable mixer, single-screw extruder, or conical/parallel twin-screw extruders. Analyze material properties, simulate production processes, and perform capillary rheology to determine flow characteristics under real process conditions.
Pharmaceutical extruders
When developing new drugs, shorter time-to-market, reduced waste of expensive APIs, and minimized development costs provide a distinct competitive advantage for pharmaceutical manufacturers. Thermo Scientific pharmaceutical extruders and related analytical instrumentation shorten the path from feasibility studies to manufacturing and help overcome drug formulation challenges.
Online rheometers
The Thermo Scientific Process Control Rheometer Series (PCR) is ideal for continuous, real-time measurement of viscosity and melt flow index, ensuring high quality during the production or recycling of polymers and other related materials.
Micro compounder and injection molding instruments
Thermo Scientific micro-compounders are conical twin-screw extruders, well-suited for polymer, pharmaceutical, bioscience, and nanotechnology R&D. All models use as little as five grams (or seven milliliters) of material for compounding. This is especially beneficial if you compound expensive or small-scale materials. The optional force-feeder attachment even allows you to continuously extrude very small material volumes.
| HAAKE MiniCTW Micro-Conical Twin-Screw Compounder |
HAAKE MiniLab 3 Micro-Compounder | HAAKE MiniJet Pro Piston Injection Molding System |
 |
 |
 |
Offers high-precision control of compounding and extrusion for a wide range of materials used in new product development.
|
Ideal for R&D, this instrument lets you measure structural changes during compounding and assess rheological properties of test materials.
|
Produce test specimens with 2–12 mL of material. Designed for mechanical and optical testing, rheology, as well as pharmaceutical testing.
|
Compounding and extrusion instrument selection guide
| Barrel diameter (mm) | Barrel length L/D |
Da/Di | Achievable output (kg/h)* |
Temp. (°C) | Screw design | Max. screw speed (rpm) | Temp. zones ** | Drive power (kW) | |
| HAAKE MiniCTW | Conical | 0.01–0.1 | 300 | Conical co- and counter rotating | 360 | 2*** | 0.4 | ||
| Pharma mini HME | Conical | 0.01–0.1 | 280 | Conical co- and counter rotating | 360 | 2*** | 0.4 | ||
| MiniLab 3 | Conical | 0.01–0.1 | 350 (420) | Conical co- and counter rotating | 360 | 2*** | 0.4 | ||
| Laboratory scale | |||||||||
| Pharma 11 | 11 | 40 | 1.72 | 0.02–2.5 | 280 | Parallel co-rotating | 1000 | 8 | 1.5 |
| Process 11 | 11 | 40 | 1.72 | 0.02–2.5 | 350 (450) | Parallel co-rotating | 1000 | 8 | 1.5 |
| Process 16 | 16 | 40 | 1.73 | 0.4–20 | 350 (450) | Parallel co-rotating | 1000 | 8 | 3.7 |
| Rheomex PTW 16 OS | 16 | 25 (40) | 1.73 | 0.2–10 | 400 (450) | Parallel co-rotating | 1100 | 7 (10) | 7 (16)**** |
| Rheomex PTW 24 OS | 24 | 28 (40) | 1.77 | 0.5–50 | 400 (450) | Parallel co-rotating | 1100 (560) | 7 (10) | 16 (7)**** |
| Rheomex CTW 100 OS | Conical | 0.2–5 | 450 | Conical counter rotating | 250 | 3 | 7 (16)**** | ||
| Pilot processing and production | |||||||||
| TSE 24 MC | 24 | 28 (40) | 1.77 | 0.5–50 | 400 (450) | Parallel co-rotating | 500 (1000) | 7 (10) | 5.5(11) |
| Pharma 16 | 16 | 40 | 1.73 | 0.2–5 | 300 | Parallel co-rotating | 1000 | 8 | 2.5 |
| Pharma 24 | 24 | 40 | 1.77 | 0.5–20 | 300 | Parallel co-rotating | 1000 | 8 | 11 |
L/D = Ratio of flighted screw length to outer diameter
PC = External computer control
TS = Integrated touchscreen control
* = Material dependent
** = Barrel length dependent
*** = Common set point
****= Driven by PolyLab drive unit
( ) = Optional
Frequently Asked Questions
Choose a lab-scale extruder based on sample amount, throughput, feeding and venting needs, process flexibility, and scale-up goals. For very small material quantities, consider Thermo Scientific HAAKE micro-compounder instruments for early-stage R&D; the HAAKE MiniLab 3 Micro Compounder uses as little as 5 g or 7 cm3 of material. For continuous lab-scale processing, consider the Thermo Scientific Process 11 Parallel Twin-Screw Extruder, which supports typical output from 20 g/hr to 2.5 kg/hr, depending on material, and offers segmented screw design, adjustable temperature zones, feeding and venting options, and downstream accessories. For larger material requirements, pilot-scale Thermo Scientific twin-screw extruders can support higher-throughput process development or pilot scale manufacturing.
Polymer extrusion behavior can be evaluated by monitoring process parameters such as melt temperature, pressure, screw speed, torque, throughput, and residence time. Inline Raman spectroscopy integrated with a twin-screw extruder can help monitor chemical composition and molecular structure in real time and identify process changes such as polymer transitions, material changeovers, crystalline-to-amorphous changes, or potential quality indicators. Relative melt viscosity measurements and FTIR chemical mapping can further support evaluation of structural changes, blend homogeneity, and formulation consistency after processing.
Scale-up should be based on comparable processing conditions between the laboratory extruder and the larger pilot or production-scale system. Key parameters include barrel geometry, screw configuration, screw speed, temperature profile, residence time, melt temperature, feed rate, throughput, and specific energy input. Because theoretical throughput calculations may not fully predict lab-to-pilot behavior, researchers should confirm scale-up experimentally by measuring residence time distribution and adjusting feed rate or process settings as needed. This approach can help support comparable mixing, melting, venting, and homogenization performance during scale-up.
Extrusion and rheology data help when you need to understand polymer behavior under processing conditions that melt flow index or melt flow rate does not represent. MFI and MFR measure flow under one temperature and load condition, while extrusion and injection molding can expose polymers to wider shear-rate, temperature, pressure, and residence-time ranges. Extrusion and rheology measurements can help reveal processing differences that MFI alone may not show.
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.