Extrusion International 5-2026

46 Extrusion International 5/2026 FAKUMA 2026 polymers. A new eld of application is the foaming of mono laments. Together with an industry partner, PROMIX is currently developing foamed mono laments for arti cial grass applications. Microcell technol- ogy, which is available for both new installations and retro ts, has now become widely adopted worldwide. More than 350 industrial Microcell systems are already in successful use, and numerous machine manufac- turers integrate the technology into their equipment as standard. Setting New Standards for PET Foams and Foam Films The PROCELL foam and nucleat- ing additives have been expanded to include a new grade for PET foams. This is an endothermic blow- ing agent that does not release wa- ter and is therefore perfectly suited for PET. It enables ne cell structures and, at higher dosages, can also be used as a standalone foam additive. After years of development and optimization, the PROMIX annular die for the ef cient production of foam lms made from PP and PS is now ready for the market. This innovative technology combines more than 20 years of experience in foam die design and sets new standards in the production of foam lms. Thanks to the patented die design, foam density and lm thickness tolerances can be further reduced. This leads to substantial material and cost savings as well as higher product quality. The innova- tive ex-lip design enables precise and reproducible adjustment of lm thickness. Even when the die is opened and closed, the set lip ge- ometry is maintained, eliminating time-consuming readjustments and signi cantly reducing setup times. Measuring, Monitoring, and Controlling Viscosity in Real Time The increasing use of recycled materials and raw materials from various sources poses ever-greater challenges for extrusion plants. Fluctuating material qualities make it dif cult to maintain consistent product quality and stable pro- cesses. With the Visco-P inline vis- cometer, PROMIX offers a solution for continuously monitoring the melt directly within the production process. The system measures the actual viscosity under real process- ing conditions directly in the melt stream, without a bypass and with- out material loss. The maintenance- free measuring module reliably ho- mogenizes the melt and prevents clogging, deposits, or material deg- radation. This makes the system particularly suitable for recycled materials, lled compounds, and shear-sensitive materials. At Fakuma, PROMIX will dem- onstrate the automatic control of the intrinsic viscosity (IV) value dur- ing PET extrusion. If the measured IV value falls below the speci ed setpoint, the system automatically controls the dosing of an IV en- hancer until the desired melt qual- ity is restored. The same principle can also be applied, for example, in PP recycling through the metered addition of suitable chain extend- ers. Additional trend analyses, sta- tistical functions, and reporting features enable comprehensive documentation of process data. User-de nable thresholds auto - matically trigger warning messages in the event of deviations and as- sist the plant operator in quickly optimizing the process. The Visco-P is compatible with all common ex- truder types and most thermoplas- tic materials and can be easily in- tegrated into existing systems. All standard communication interfac- es are available for integration into modern production environments and Industry 4.0 concepts. Promix Solutions AG www.promix-solutions.com Fakuma 2026: A6-6108 The “Visco P” inline viscometer is now available with a complete control loop and, when combined with a dosing unit, enables the control of an additive based on the viscosity measured during the production process