Gear Pump Wear

Modified on Sunday, 01 February 2015 06:13 PM by mpieler — Categorized as: Extrusion Hints

Gear Pump Wear
Vol.20 #2, July 1993

Many people have asked how often they should disassemble, clean, and check the dimensional tolerances in a gear pump. Before this project is undertaken, several questions should be asked which will help make the decision easier.

Is colored or degraded melt coming from the pump? Has the pump lbs./rpm dropped over time? The processor must be very sure that the melt density, melt index, extrusion temperature, and pressure are similar to when the initial data was taken.

Everything being equal, a drop in output per revolution of the pump indicates internal parts wear. If output does not change then the internal clearances are within specification.

See also:
Return to Extrusion Hints