Innovative Micro Compounder for Small-Scale Formulation Development
Next-Gen Micro Compounders – Multi-Size Hybrid Extruder System
Our Next-Gen Hybrid Micro Compounder is built in the same housing as our proven tabletop extruder, but—as a dual-barrel extruder—it lets you choose between two screw diameters in one frame. Three variants are available, each pairing 5 mm, 9 mm, or 12 mm screws, effectively giving you a three-in-one micro extruder that switches sizes in minutes. A recirculation channel can be added whenever sustained residence time or devolatilization trials are required.
During formulation development—especially in pharmaceutical and chemical R&D—only tiny, costly quantities of actives are on hand, yet dozens of trials are needed. This micro-extrusion bottleneck calls for equipment that performs full compounder duties (mixing, kneading, reacting) while conserving material. Our hybrid extruder tackles that challenge head-on, letting scientists run rapid iterations without waste.
With an empty volume of only 1.2 cm³ on the 5 mm barrel (L/D 15:1), it is the smallest device of its kind—far leaner than typical micro compounders such as the Xplore MC 15 (~15 cm³). Processing batches from just 1 g, it delivers the highest output-to-input ratio on the market and even outperforms specialized micro-molding machines when the goal is continuous mixing rather than discrete parts.
Flexibility is built in. Heating cartridges, liquid cooling blocks, die plates, and inline pressure-/temperature probes all interchange across barrel sizes. Converting from 5 mm to 9 mm or 12 mm screws takes only tool-free minutes, turning this versatile micro compounder into a platform for pharmaceuticals, polymers, specialty chemicals—even sticky bio-based blends.
Precise PID control over torque, temperature, and screw speed ensures tight residence-time distributions and reproducible results, allowing you to scale successful recipes seamlessly from micro extruder trials to pilot and full-scale production. In essence, the unit performs everything a traditional tangential mixer/compounder does—but on a micro scale that answers the perennial question, “what does a compounder do?”
Compact enough for the busiest lab bench, the system’s intuitive HMI offers recipe storage, auto-tuning, and data logging so even novice operators achieve first-pass success.
By pairing minimal material consumption with unmatched configurability, Xceptional Instruments’ hybrid micro compounder accelerates experimentation, shortens development cycles, and conserves valuable ingredients—making it the decisive link between discovery and manufacturing.