Machine makeover: Refining the design

摘要

Back in the mid 1950s, whilst working for an American company, Readco, two engineers, Loomans and Brennan, developed a novel, mixing machine. The design was similar in some ways to the earlier patented designs by Erdmenger at Bayer in Germany: both had two parallel extruder shafts. The flights of both designs were intermeshing and the extruder screw threads were self-wiping as originally conceived by an Italian designer, Columbo, in 1939. However, the Readco design was patentable in two important respects, namely a significantly higher degree of intermeshing, and an opening barrel. The Erdmenger design was licensed by Bayer to Werner and Pfleiderer in Germany and celebrated its 50th anniversary at the K2007 show. Meanwhile Baker Perkins, in the USA, acquired the patent rights to the Readco design and began manufacturing the first machines in 1960.