At Rondol, we specialize in designing and building our own range of vertical and horizontal extruders. We do this in-house in our lab in France, using our own engineers and a European supply chain. This means that we are experts on all parts of the process, and all servicing and maintenance on machines is done by the team who designed and built them. We believe that this results in world-class customer service and flexibility, and enables us to provide custom solutions for a vast range of manufacturing uses.
Efficiency
Our patented Vertical HME system's compact design at 0.5m2 maximizes space efficiency, and draws only 1.89kWh. This design reduces operational and installation costs, offering an economical solution for R&D and manufacturing.
Versatility
A versatile twin-screw screw design allows for precise shear and mixing adjustments, essential for optimal product characteristics. Our standard 10.5mm vertical machine can be scaled up to 21mm and 42mm.
Quality
We use only materials resistant to extrusion processes for durability - all stainless steel, no plastics, and all of our components are sourced from Europe.
Ease of use
Components in contact with products are designed for easy removal and cleaning, minimizing cross-contamination risk.
Additionally, we can supply all downstream accessories and feeders, ensuring seamless integration and in-house maintenance.
Visit our Products page to see our full range.
Why choose us?
Products
that can be made using HME
This list is non-exclusive - please reach out to ask us about the suitability of any idea, or book a survey on our lab machine.
Use Cases
These are all areas of our research and the uses to which our machines have been put by other researchers.
Have a look at our Case Studies page for more examples.
1
Pharmaceutical: HME is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry to mix small amounts of expensive ingredients with an excipient or bulking agent. The process vastly improves bioavailability and solubility, enabling pharmaceutical companies to reduce the dose of various drugs and, therefore, many of the harsher side-effects.
2
Anti-malarials for children: Our collaboration with Queen's University Belfast and BASF is in the process of developing a child-friendly dose combination by reducing the strength and frequency of administration while maintaining the same efficacy. We aim to develop and manufacture a robust child friendly fixed dose combination (FDC) while reducing the dose strength of Lumefantrine and the frequency of administration.
3
Better reformulation of drugs: Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), one of the most widely used medications globally, offers analgesic, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory properties, and emerging evidence suggests that regular aspirin use may have a role in cancer prevention and treatment, particularly in reducing the risk of colorectal cancer and possibly other types. This project aims to develop and manufacture a formulation that enables the daily use of Aspirin in the field of oncology.
4
Other industries: This manufacturing process can be applied to many other industries where materials require mixing and shaping; our machines can mix and extrude a wide variety of polymers, battery components (such as separator film and lithium slurry), biomaterials and 3D printing filament. The world's largest zipper manufacturer uses Rondol machines to precision-fabricate coloured fasteners for military and luxury clothing (Zipper case study).
How does it work?
Hot melt extrusion (HME) is a solvent-free, continuous manufacturing process that mixes materials using heat and pressure, and forces the resulting homogeneous mixture into a uniform shape through a die. It is used in many industries where the smooth mixing of ingredients and precise application of heat are required; for example, pharmaceutical, food, cosmetics, plastics, materials science research and battery components.
Heating or cooling applied in 4-8 zones along the barrel
Die block, which squeezes material out in various shape profiles to be cut, wound, or processed.
1
Feeding the Ingredients: Raw materials, in the form of powders, pellets or liquids, are fed into the top of the extrusion machine.
2
Heating and Mixing: Inside the extruder, the materials are heated and melted while being mixed thoroughly by the turning motion of the twin screws. Our machines apply precise and user-defined quantities of heating at various points throughout the barrel.
3
Pressurizing and Shaping: The molten mixture is pushed (extruded) through a specially shaped opening (die), giving it a particular shape, like strands, sheets, or tubes.
4
Cutting or Processing: Materials can be extruded in specific shapes, or, once solid, can be cut or processed further into smaller pieces or specific products.
