Washing machine motor soap extruder

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techguy2000
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Hello

I am trying to start a small home business making soap. I am on a really tight budget and also very new to the extrusion process.

While I may be extruding soap, I understand that the process is very similar to plastic extrusion.

I want to extrude soap bars using a machine similar to the soap extruder on this website

http://soaptec.biz/products_dp_finesextruder.html

However I am trying to make this as cheaply as possible.

I plan on buying a screw and barrel and then fabricating the rest of the machine myself.

I am thinking of using a washing machine motor to drive the screw.

Could you please advise me on the viability of this?

What size screw and barrel would I need to order from the supplier? I was told that a 30mm or 40mm screw would be best, a 100mm screw would require too much power and would be too expensive.

Would a washing machine motor be suitable?

The manufacturer of the screw and barrel asked me what power motor would be used and what are the gear ratios. What should I tell him? I have not told him that I plan to use a machine motor :smile:

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Thank you
 
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Tell him the power of the motor and what rpm you plan on running the screw at...