Diagnostic troubleshooting system for an extrusion system

An extrusion apparatus having a diagnostic system, the extrusion apparatus comprising:

• a material processing section comprising an extruder screw disposed for rotation in a barrel, a temperature control system comprising at least one heater and at least one cooler system in thermal communication with the barrel;
• a speed control apparatus comprising a drive unit in communication with a speed variation device, the speed variation device being coupled to the extruder screw for rotation of the extruder screw;
• characterized in that:
• the diagnostic system in communication with the material processing section and the speed control apparatus, the diagnostic system configured to verify operation of the extrusion apparatus within design limits, identify and diagnose anomalous operation of the extrusion apparatus and suggest remedies for the anomalous operation, the diagnostic system comprising:
• (a) a first sensor system in communication with the material processing section, the first sensor system configured to measure operating performance of the material processing section during operation thereof and during processing of material to be extruded and a second sensor system in communication with the speed control apparatus, the second sensor system being configured to measure operating performance of the speed control apparatus during operation thereof and during processing of the material to be extruded and
• (b) a computer processor controller in communication with the first sensor system and the second sensor system and a computer, the computer processor controller comprising a computer readable medium that employs at least one algorithm and that is executable by the computer to generate signals characterizing the operating performance of the material processing section and the operating performance of the speed control apparatus;
• (c) a data storage device in communication with the controller, the data storage device being configured to store a history of operating performance information, the at least one algorithm comprising a comparison module configured to generate comparisons of the operating performance information of the material processing section and the operating performance of the speed control apparatus of a current operating configuration to the history of operating performance information;
• wherein the at least one algorithm comprises a predictive model configured to use the current operating configurations to identify maintenance recommendations of the barrel, the screw and the speed control apparatus and to calculate the remaining life of the screw and the barrel based upon the comparisons of the operating performance of the material processing section and the operating performance of the speed control apparatus of the current operating configuration to the history of operating performance information and wherein the predictive model is configured to calculate the remaining life of the screw and the barrel based upon material construction of the screw and barrel, operating conditions, materials processed, extruder output and operating time.