Expert repair and rebuild services keep your machines running like new
Originally built to break up filter-press cake into pugs for downstream pugmill feeding, this heavy-duty extruder was comprehensively re-engineered by SMI for an entirely new role. We designed and installed a bespoke control architecture while redesigning the shaft and seal assembly, transforming the machine into a high-capacity pugmill capable of homogenizing 1,300 lb batches of dry and wet pottery clay at the push of a button.
The Starkey Machinery team effectively replaced an entire suite of legacy equipment with one robust unit, slashing the customer’s production time and operating costs to a fraction of their previous levels—a rebuild that delivers both performance and economy without compromise.
SMI partnered with a leading art-clay manufacturer to fully rebuild this previously owned industrial ceramic mixer, granting it a second life. The machine now effortlessly mixes and deairs 1,200 lb batches at a throughput of 6,000 lb per hour. What once demanded intensive labour from three operators has been transformed into a near-autonomous process requiring minimal intervention, completing cycles in one-third the time while occupying significantly less floor space.
SMI received this orphaned lab extruder as a half finished pile of parts. We brought it back to life with a new fabricated vacuum chamber, carbon steel augers, extrusion dies, and a full control system.
Over time, major components of equipment wear out. SMI rebuilt this pugmill vacuum chamber to better than new condition, even exceeding the original specs with 1-1/8″ carbon steel reinforcement, precision-trued surfaces, and zero leaks at full vacuum to deliver decades of reliable, worry free service.
