E50 extruder - CEAD

The E50 extruder by CEAD is a solution for industrial large scale additive manufacturing with pellets. The extruder has a maximum extrusion temperature of 400 ºC, 3 cooling zones, four heat zones, a nozzle range of 4-24 mm, a Siemens servo motor with 8.2 kW power, and a maximum output of 84 kg per hour - seven times the output of the CEAD E25 extruder. The CEAD E50 extruder has the dimensions of 390 x 380 x 2250 mm and it weighs around 170 kg.

Image 1: The CEAD E50 pellet extruder. Source: CEAD.

The main advantage that the CEAD E50 pellet extruder offers is that it can be mounted on a robotic arm, a CNC machine or the CEAD AM Flexbot thanks to its light weight. The E50 extruder, compatible with most types of robotic arms available on the market. The high compatibility with robotic arms makes the E50 extruder a great investment for large scale pellet extrusion, without the need for costly equipment adjustments.

Image 2: Comparison of the The CEAD extruders. Source: CEAD.

Similarly to the other CEAD extruders, the E50 extruder is operated through CEAD’s unique software through a Siemens touch screen. With the help of the CEAD Software parameters such as material transport, heat zone PID control, water cooling and overall safety features can be controlled. Furthermore, the E50 extruder is compatible with the CEAD DFC upgrade only available in combination with Flexbot series. DFC stands for Dynamic Flow Control and it allows for a more accurate flow control between the extruder and the nozzle, as well as the possibility to pause and restart the extrusion process.

Video 1: The CEAD family of robotic extruders for industrial 3D printing. Source: CEAD.

The E50 pellet extruder by CEAD can be used with a wide range of thermoplastic materials in the form of pellets, including fiber reinforced (up to 50%) polymers such as PETG, PET, ABS, PLA, PP, PPS or even PEEK thanks to the nitrated barrel of the extruder. Using pellets instead of filament for large scale FDM additive manufacturing significantly reduces operational costs and tends to yield a higher output than an FDM 3D printer.