Technical equipment

For lab-scale plastics processing we use the following equipment and machines:

• twin-screw extruder (up to 450°C, D = 16mm, L/D = 25…40)
• single-screw extruder (up to 450°C, material quantity starting from approx. 300g)
• press (up to 300°C, 200mm x 200mm, up to 257kN)
• ultra-centrifugal grinder, cutting mill, shredder
• laboratory mixer (up to 158°C, capacity 5l)
• portal milling machine (300mm x 420mm x 140mm)

Additionally, the following equipment is available for plastics evaluation and testing:

• hardness test (Shore D, Barcol)
• universal testing machine (pulling/ bending/ compression tests, up to 10kN)
• melt index tester (up to 450°C, DIN EN ISO 1133)
• powder granulometry

The hardware possibilities for additive plastics processing through material extrusion (Fused Deposition Modeling) include:

• processing of filaments, pellets, pastes and liquids
• processing of standard plastics, e.g. PLA, ABS, PP
• processing of technical plastics, e.g. PA, PC/ABS, TPU
• processing of high-performance plastics, e.g. PEI, PEKK, PPSU
• processing of abrasive materials, fibre-reinforced and highly filled plastics
• manufacturing of continuous-fibre reinforced parts (carbon fibre, glass fibre, Kevlar)

Additive manufacturing and the development of suitable, application-specific materials are among the key technologies of the GMBU e.V. department in Halle. Both our cooperation partners and supra-regional research and industrial companies show great interest in the expertise we have built. As a result GMBU e.V. started a new technical center in Halle-Trotha which is equipped for material development, processing and testing in particular and which will be continuously expanded.

Technikum Trotha

The opening of the technical center aims at covering the whole process chain from raw materials preparation, recipe development, extrusion, processing of extruded composite materials to material characterization and functionalization and finally, together with different users, customizing and optimizing materials to fit relevant processing technologies.
The location is divided into the areas: manufacturing, evaluation, office and workshop.

The following facilities are on site:

• extrusion line for the production of filaments, pellets and foils
• equipment for material testing: scratch resistance, material strain, impact resistance, dimensional stability under heat, thermogravimetric properties, microscopic evaluation
• test sample preparation and sample conditioning through injection moulding unit or from printed or pressed tiles
• machines for application-specific processing of the developped materials: 3D printers (filament and pellet), vulcanisation press, vacuum and sublimation press