Safe and efficient die changes on extruders

In many brickworks, significant potential for savings remains untapped, even though tried-and-tested solutions are available and the investment often pays for itself within a short period of time – in many cases well under a year. This is particularly evident when changing the die on the extruder: what appears to be an unavoidable production stoppage results in a considerable expenditure of time and money when viewed over the course of a year. Added to this are high pressing pressures and temperatures, as well as heavy components, which make die changes not only time-consuming but also a safety hazard.

This is exactly where ZMB BRAUN’s quick change die loading system (MSW) comes in: it enables changeover times of just 5 minutes while significantly reducing manual effort. Time-consuming scraping is completely eliminated, as is the manual alignment of the dies.

The MSW uses hydraulic wedge clamping elements that securely clamp the die to the pressure head. The entire changeover process can be carried out by a single operator.

This results in significant advantages in terms of handling, process reliability, and faster optimization of the extrusion process. As a result, product quality and system availability can be sustainably improved. At the same time, the investment in MSW amortizes itself within just a few months.Even with just one die change per day, for example, the significant reduction in downtime enables substantial economic savings in the six-figure range per year.

The plug-and-play solution is delivered with CE marking and a declaration of conformity, enabling rapid integration into existing plant designs.

The MSW can be used both as a retrofit solution for existing press heads and in conjunction with new, pre-configured press head systems.

In addition, the die maintenance table (MMT) simplifies adjustment, maintenance, and repair work and enables the quick and ergonomic replacement of spare and wear parts. A single operator can safely rotate the die within a few minutes and position it as required.

ZMB BRAUN designs the MMT to customer specifications and tailors its dimensions and design to the operator’s specific requirements and existing dies. The MMT is currently undergoing further development to ensure that, in the future, it can securely accommodate a wide range of mouthpieces with face plates—varying in width from approximately 300 mm to 900 mm and in height—on a universal basis. This enables efficient workflows and significantly reduces the risk of accidents, as well as and significantly reduces the time and manpower required for repeated work on the die.