Company At A Glance
Business Type
Plastic Extrusion Manufacturer
SR&ED Category
Experimental Development
Team Size
18
Scope
Extrusion, Material Behaviour, Process Stability
Province
Ontario
The Challenge
The company was trying to manufacture a modified plastic product using an extrusion process that had worked reliably with standard material blends. Once the formulation was adjusted to include different resin inputs and recycled content, the material no longer behaved predictably during processing. The team experienced inconsistent flow, surface defects, dimensional variation, and occasional line stoppages. Standard machine settings and supplier recommendations did not produce a stable result, requiring the company to investigate how the material blend responded to changes in heat, pressure, screw speed, cooling, and die configuration.
What We Documented
01
Uncertainty
Uncertainty
The main uncertainty was whether the modified plastic formulation could be processed through the existing extrusion line while maintaining consistent product dimensions, surface finish, and strength. The outcome was not predictable because the material reacted differently under production conditions than it did in smaller test runs or based on supplier data.
02
Iterations
Iterations
The company tested multiple combinations of barrel temperature profiles, screw speed, feed rates, cooling settings, and die adjustments. Each change affected the material differently, sometimes improving flow but causing warping, or improving surface finish while reducing dimensional consistency.
03
Knowledge Gained
Knowledge Gained
The work helped the team identify which processing conditions created a stable extrusion window for the modified material blend. They gained practical knowledge about how the resin mix, recycled content, heat profile, and cooling rate interacted during production.
Results
Why This Qualified
- Required experimentation beyond standard extrusion settings
- Supplier guidance did not predict the material’s production behaviour
- Modified resin blend caused inconsistent flow, surface defects, and dimensional variation
- Multiple production trials were needed to isolate workable heat, speed, cooling, and die settings
- New knowledge was gained about how the material blend behaved under real extrusion conditions
