In the first part of the workshop, was held on 24 November 2017 in the scope of T5.4a, three presentations were given related to the commercial activity of Zamak Mercator Sp. z o.o. In the first presentation, MSc. Agnieszka Niedziela presented the history, areas of operation and general offer of Zamak Mercator Sp. z o.o. In recent years, thanks to modern, specialist equipment, its own design office and research and development department, Zamak Mercator has become one of the leading manufacturers of machines for plastics and rubber processing in Poland. In the field of laboratory equipment for extrusion of polymers and composites, the company is the undisputed leader in Poland and a significant supplier of such devices in Europe. For the industry, Zamak Mercator offers both processing lines for extrusion of plastics as well as other machines related to the broadly defined plastics industry. The devices are innovative, energy-saving, pro-ecological and universal. The control systems developed by Zamak Mercator are friendly, facilitate service and provide the possibility of precise process control of plastic processing. During second presentation, Mr Jakub Fic presented the offer of produced by Zmak Mercator laboratory lines and processing machines dedicated for wide range of plastic materials and composites, by using twin-screw modular extruders (both with parrallel and conical screws) co-rotating and counter-rotating. The laboratory machines have diameters of screw between 2 x 12 mm and 2 x 24 mm. Extruders are characterized by cylinders opening in the horizontal plane enabling the observation of homogenization, high operating parameters (temperature up to 450 oC, high torques and pressure inside the cylinder) and a wide range of processed polymers. Dedicated software enables conducting a wide range of tests, archiving results, remote work and visualization of parameters in the form of graphs and charts. The modularity makes it possible to connect various devices to the drive element, such as twin-screw, conical, single-screw extruders and, for example, crushers. In the third presentation, Mr Jakub Fic presented the scope of production of industrial equipment for plastics and rubber processing. These are both individual devices, such as extruders, eg single-screw extruders with screw diameters from 25 mm to 150 mm, as well as entire lines. Examples of such realizations are specialized lines for the production of filament for 3D printers, fiber optic coating lines, cable coating lines, etc. A specific production are miniature plastic extruders used in the manufacture of products used in medicine (tubes and coated wires for surgery at the heart). After the break, Mr Jakub Fic gave a lecture on the commercial approach and market oriented activities undertaken by companies conducting commercial activities, with particular focus on activities carried out by Zamak Mercator. Mr Jakub Fic spoke about the types of marketing, in particular about: online marketing, mobile marketing, outbound marketing, inbound marketing, event marketing, ATL, BTL, Brand Marketing, analytical marketing, B2B marketing and public relations. Zamak Mercator also offers lines for the production of rubber products such as hoses (including reinforced) and gaskets used especially in the demanding high quality automotive industry. Devices in this segment are characterized by high durability, stable work parameters, simplicity of use and reliability. In the second part of the workshop the operation of a modular twin-screw extruder with a screw diameter of 2 x 24 mm was presented. The extruder consists of a drive module in which an electric motor with a gear is mounted. The engine has a power of 26.4 kW. The drive module includes the entire control with a touch panel, a vacuum pump for degassing, a closed cooling system (eg a charging zone) and torque measurement sensors. A twin-screw extruder with a switchable gearbox can be used with the drive module, enabling the screws to work in a co-rotating or counter-rotating mode. The extruder has a cylinder divided horizontally with the possibility of deflecting both the upper and lower part (it facilitates the removal of screws, their cleaning as well as observation of the homogenization process in individual zones). A twin-screw conical extruder module working with drive module was also presented. Also this device facilitates possibility (by gearbox) to work in co-rotating or counter-rotating mode. The unique feature of this extruding module is employment of bypass that enables to work with small samples of material. During workshops also cross-head was presented, which enables coating of cords and wires, cross-head for coating of tapes, straight head for extruding filament for 3D printing and different types of screws for plastic and rubber processing. During workshops also some of articles manufactured on Zamak Mercator extruders were presented. A unique medical device was presented (extruded on single-screw extruder, screw diameter 12mm) which is used in invasive cardiology (wire coated by plastic material with 70% content of tungsten powder). Also shown were filament for 3D printers (ABS, PLA), gaskets made of porous rubber, fertilizer sticks based on PLA and glycerine and tape with PA12 reinforced with glass fiber.
