Used Twin Screw Extruders for Sale

A twin screw extruder uses two intermeshing screws rotating side-by-side inside a heated barrel to convey, melt, mix, and pump plastic material. Compared to single-screw extruders, twin-screws offer dramatically better mixing, more controllable shear, faster heat transfer, and the ability to handle difficult feedstocks like fillers, fibers, masterbatch concentrates, reactive systems, and PVC. They are the workhorse of the compounding, masterbatch, and reactive extrusion industries.

Twin screw extruders come in two basic configurations. Co-rotating twin screw extruders — where both screws rotate in the same direction — are the dominant choice for compounding, glass-fiber reinforcement, color masterbatch, polymer alloying, and devolatilization. They use modular, segmented screws that can be reconfigured for different processes and offer high throughputs at moderate residence times. Coperion ZSK, Leistritz ZSE, Berstorff ZE, and Werner & Pfleiderer are the iconic co-rotating brands.

Counter-rotating intermeshing twin screw extruders — where the screws turn in opposite directions — are the standard for PVC pipe and profile, where high pressure-building, low shear, and gentle heat input are critical. These are typically “closely intermeshing” designs from Cincinnati, Battenfeld-Cincinnati, Krauss Maffei, and Theysohn. When buyers search for a “double screw extruder” or “twin-screw extruder machine,” they typically evaluate screw diameter (mm), L/D ratio, motor horsepower, throughput rating, screw configuration, and downstream equipment included with the line.