I've probably been to a dozen different tube/hose, and wire/cable extrusion plants and they all have in common a haphazard arrangement of thermocouples and heaters for the head/die and anything else not internal to the extruder. I'm talking about thermocouples hanging down and across the floor where they regularly get trampled, heater power cables spliced to SO-cord and hanging from wire nuts and electrical tape, also piled on the floor under the die, and all these cables get hot melted plastic dribbled on them, and it's just a horrible saddening mess. They keep spare thermocouples and heaters by the pallet-load to keep up with how often they get damaged; it's like these are consumables.
Am I alone in these observations? I've never installed an extruder; I realize there are limitations, but still never seen an extrusion installation that I would feel proud to be able to say I had installed. I'm wondering if such exists, and what it looks like. Do you have any pictures to show, or descriptions to give, of stellar extrusion operations?
I'm thinking if I were setting up an extruder, I would erect some structure overhead (maybe not directly overhead where it would be baked from heat though), with plug boxes to run the heaters and thermocouples to, so that they are not piled under the head where plastic drips, with cables just long enough to go where they need to go. Spares would be assemblies with plugs and proper length cables, no wire nuts and tape flying midair. It seems to me this would save a lot of money. But I've seen nobody do it however, so maybe I'm being naive. Maybe the damages are unavoidable no matter how clean the installation is.
Am I alone in these observations? I've never installed an extruder; I realize there are limitations, but still never seen an extrusion installation that I would feel proud to be able to say I had installed. I'm wondering if such exists, and what it looks like. Do you have any pictures to show, or descriptions to give, of stellar extrusion operations?
I'm thinking if I were setting up an extruder, I would erect some structure overhead (maybe not directly overhead where it would be baked from heat though), with plug boxes to run the heaters and thermocouples to, so that they are not piled under the head where plastic drips, with cables just long enough to go where they need to go. Spares would be assemblies with plugs and proper length cables, no wire nuts and tape flying midair. It seems to me this would save a lot of money. But I've seen nobody do it however, so maybe I'm being naive. Maybe the damages are unavoidable no matter how clean the installation is.