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How to Manufacture Composite Plastic Lumber 1.) In order to successfully make plastic lumber you must ensure that a good source of recyclable plastic is available at a reasonable price.
3.) The cleaned plastic is then ground into flake of about 3/8 of and inch (about 8 mm). A standard plastic grinder is used for this operation. 4.) Simultaneously wood fiber (preferably hardwood sawdust) must be dried and sifted prior to mixing with the plastic. 5.) Proportional blenders are used to feed 50% plastic and 50% sawdust into the extruder. The proportional blenders will insure a uniform mix of ingredients as premixed materials may separate and may produce a concentration of one material or the other. The compounding extruder feds into a pelletizer which cuts the composite mixture into uniform pellets. 6.) The pellets are then loaded into the profile extruder which produces the composite board. A proportional feeding system can be used to add ingredients such as foaming agents, UV stabilizers, color pigments and lubricants to the mixture. these additives are discussed below. 7) Forming into plastic lumber can take two different methods. profile extrusion, which is running into a continuous board and cutting to desired lengths. This method requires a different die for each size of board.
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2.) When the plastic arrives at the site, it may be anything from random mixed plastic to relatively pristine milk jugs. The plastic must be cleaned or sorted depending upon its condition and the specifications of the product. It is advisable that any metal be removed. A cross belt magnet is a good method of insuring that metal does not get into the machinery which may cause damage.
