Assembly Line

Extruding

Material is pushed through a shaped opening, like toothpaste from a tube, and comes out as a continuous length with the same cross-section.

46 lines that use it

Adhesive 8 stations · 7 raw sources Aluminum ladder 7 stations · 10 raw sources Aluminum window frame 9 stations · 24 raw sources Brass 6 stations · 12 raw sources Brick 7 stations · 2 raw sources Bubble wrap 5 stations · 3 raw sources Carpet 6 stations · 8 raw sources Chewing gum 8 stations · 13 raw sources Clear adhesive tape 6 stations · 9 raw sources Coffee mug 8 stations · 2 raw sources Cotton swab 6 stations · 19 raw sources Dental floss 7 stations · 12 raw sources Dinner plate 8 stations · 2 raw sources Donut 6 stations · 20 raw sources Duct tape 6 stations · 12 raw sources Eraser 6 stations · 19 raw sources Garden hose 6 stations · 18 raw sources Graphics card 7 stations · 26 raw sources Hard-shell suitcase 6 stations · 22 raw sources Hockey puck 8 stations · 5 raw sources Incense 5 stations · 3 raw sources Marshmallow 6 stations · 7 raw sources N95 mask 8 stations · 7 raw sources Pacemaker 7 stations · 24 raw sources Pasta 7 stations · 2 raw sources Pencil 8 stations · 24 raw sources Plastic straw 7 stations · 12 raw sources Plastic wrap 6 stations · 11 raw sources Polycarbonate 5 stations · 7 raw sources Polyvinyl butyral 6 stations · 5 raw sources Power cable 9 stations · 10 raw sources Pretzel 7 stations · 12 raw sources PVC 6 stations · 9 raw sources PVC pipe 5 stations · 9 raw sources Rayon 6 stations · 7 raw sources Rubber band 6 stations · 2 raw sources Sausage casing 8 stations · 4 raw sources Sewing thread 7 stations · 8 raw sources Soap 8 stations · 19 raw sources Sprinkles 6 stations · 13 raw sources Styrofoam 5 stations · 4 raw sources Synthetic graphite 6 stations · 2 raw sources Tire 8 stations · 22 raw sources Toffee 9 stations · 25 raw sources USB cable 9 stations · 22 raw sources Wood pellets 5 stations · 1 raw source

What it looks like on the line

  • Sewing threadMelt-spin the filament. Polymer chips melt and push under pressure through a spinneret. The filaments cool, gather into a continuous yarn and are stabilized to make the core.
  • N95 maskMelt-blow the filter web. Melted polypropylene is pushed through a die with many tiny holes while hot air stretches the strands into extremely fine fibers. They land on a belt as a web, which is wound onto rolls. The filter layer usually carries a charge.
  • Dinner plateExtrude the pugs. A pug mill forces the cakes into dense tubes called pugs. At the forming station a cutter slices them into small round cakes.
  • Aluminum window frameExtrude the profile. Aluminum logs are cut and preheated until malleable, then forced through a precision steel die under hydraulic pressure. Long hollow sections come out the other side, usually in 6063 or 6060 alloy.
  • EraserExtrude the plug rod. The warm, still uncured mixture is pushed through a round die in a continuous rod. Flat erasers are instead injected into molds.
  • Hard-shell suitcaseExtrude the plastic sheet. Pellets of polycarbonate, ABS or polypropylene are melted in heated barrels and squeezed through a flat die, sometimes with several layers merged. Rollers then set the thickness and surface texture of the sheet.
  • Polyvinyl butyralExtrude through a sheeting die. Molten, plasticized resin is forced through a wide, narrow die opening shaped to the sheet being made. Some lines instead cast the melt onto a specially surfaced die roll right at the exit.
  • Duct tapeOr co-extrude it. Some makers meld polyethylene, cloth and adhesive in one hot process. The tape is thinner and stronger, lies flatter and shows a dimpled surface. Shurtape is one of two US makers using it.
  • Clear adhesive tapeMake the clear film. Most modern tape uses polypropylene film that has been stretched in both directions. This stretching makes it strong and crystal clear. Older tape used cellophane.
  • Sausage casingOr extrude collagen tubes. Artificial casings are made from collagen, often from cattle skin, shaped by continuous extrusion. Cellulose and plastic casings also exist, and they deliver a uniform diameter.
  • PacemakerExtrude the lead wires. Molten metal alloy is pushed through a small opening to make wire. Many wires are bundled and insulated with a polymer such as polyurethane, then one end gets a shaped tip and the other a connector.
  • IncenseShape the paste. The paste is extruded into sticks or coils, pressed into forms, or coated thickly onto a bamboo core. A cored stick burns away with its core, and a coil can burn for hours to days.