Development and scale-up of sustainable plastic solutions
At RISE, we have processing equipment for compounding, injection moulding and extrusion. We test new material formulations, vary process parameters and produce samples for evaluation. Our equipment and capacity cover the laboratory to pilot scale, enabling us to support companies with both product development and troubleshooting.
Material and product development
Material and product development in plastics requires laboratory- or pilot-scale processing equipment to test new ideas without disrupting production or consuming large quantities of material. With extensive experience across a wide range of plastics and thermoplastic composites, and through close collaboration with our customers, we help turn ideas into practical solutions and tangible results.
Working at smaller scale offers significant advantages when developing or optimising materials and processes. Material formulations and processing parameters can be varied quickly and efficiently, making it possible to test more alternatives and shorten development cycles.
Methods
At our facility in Borås, our micro-compounder enables efficient small-batch mixing for trials requiring only limited quantities of material.
We also have a flexible Brabender Plasti-Corder® Labstation laboratory extruder, which enables small batches at rates from approximately 100 to 5,000 g/h. The equipment allows direct injection moulding of test specimens for further evaluation.
For pilot-scale compounding, our facility in Mölndal is equipped with a Coperion ZSK 26 twin-screw extruder, with 25 mm screws and an L/D ratio of 40. The extruder is equipped with a side feeder and vacuum pump, with a capacity of 0.5–25 kg/h. Materials can be air- or water-cooled before pelletising. Different types of feeders enable us to add and evaluate additives and develop composites.
Our injection moulding machine in Mölndal is an Engel ES 200/110 HV-L. We have moulds for producing standardised test specimens for mechanical testing, as well as plates for tests such as impact resistance and transparency.
We also have a spiral flow mould for measuring flow length, providing an indication of how a material behaves during injection moulding at a given pressure and temperature. Melt flow index is often determined separately in accordance with ISO 1133. Injection moulding of test specimens follows ISO 294, with specific processing pressures and temperatures selected according to the relevant standards for each plastic material.
We can extrude films and sheets up to 300 mm wide, with thicknesses ranging from 0.1 to 1 mm. The equipment has three extruders, enabling the production of films with up to three layers.
Test specimens can also be produced by hot pressing sheets up to 300 × 300 mm.
Delivery
We define the scope and deliverables together with each customer. Depending on the project, this may range from an optimised material formulation based on specified properties to an interactive development process where you can participate on site and determine which processing parameters should be tested next.
From the outset, you know what will be delivered and what you can expect from the development work.
