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Product Description
The LED lighting market has a non-negotiable requirement: the light tube, the lamp cover, the diffuser profile must be optically clear. Light transmittance is the product. A tube with a single crystallization spot, a single draw mark, or a single vibration line is a tube that scatters light unevenly and fails the inspection bench. In LED lighting, the extrusion line does not just shape plastic — it produces optics.
Polycarbonate (PC), the material of choice for LED light tubes and lamp covers, makes the challenge harder. PC has a high melt viscosity and is highly hygroscopic. It is also processed at high temperature, where it is acutely sensitive to moisture and temperature variation. A general-purpose screw cannot deliver the shear and mixing PC needs: the melt is not fully plasticized, the temperature is not uniform, and the extruded profile carries the classic PC defects — crystallization spots, draw marks, and vibration lines. Then, after extrusion, a conventional cutting step adds a second wound: sawn ends with burrs and chips, requiring manual finishing and wasting material.
The result of "standard extrusion plus secondary cutting" is predictable: low yield, high labor, and profiles that cannot meet the optical standard of LED applications.
The Chenxing PC LED Light Cover Extrusion Line — the PC light tube production line — is engineered to close both gaps. It pairs a PC-specialized screw with online precision cutting, so the profile is optically clear as it leaves the die and finished as it leaves the cutter: single-pass cutting at ±0.5 mm accuracy, no secondary processing, no burrs, no chips. The line produces PC tubes, PC profiles, and transparent LED lamp diffuser covers — single-color and dual-color — and is fully compatible with PMMA (acrylic) materials, serving the whole range of high-transparency lighting and optical profile applications.
The line follows an eight-stage process, engineered around the two disciplines of optical PC extrusion: moisture control and melt quality.
PC / PMMA Pellets (highly hygroscopic) │ ▼ [1. Material Drying] │ Dehumidifying dryer: moisture below 0.02% │ 120–130 °C, 4–6 h — prevents hydrolytic degradation ▼ [2. Feeding] │ Vacuum loader or gravimetric dosing unit │ Consistent, controlled material flow ▼ [3. Plasticizing & Extrusion] │ PC-specialized screw, precise multi-zone temperature control │ Uniform melt through the tube / profile die head ▼ [4. Calibration] │ Precision vacuum calibration sleeve │ Outer diameter and wall thickness fixed to target ▼ [5. Cooling] │ Water cooling tanks — full solidification, │ dimensional stability and optical clarity ▼ [6. Haul-Off] │ Servo-driven caterpillar pullers, precise adjustable speed │ Consistent wall thickness and surface quality ▼ [7. Online Precision Cutting] │ Single-pass cuts during extrusion, ±0.5 mm accuracy │ Smooth, chip-free ends — no secondary processing ▼ [8. Collection & Packaging] │ Optical clarity and dimensional inspection │ Bundling and packing for shipment ▼ [Finished PC Light Tubes / LED Lamp Covers]
PC is highly hygroscopic. It absorbs atmospheric moisture, and that moisture hydrolyzes the polymer during extrusion: molecular chains break, melt viscosity drops, and surface defects appear in the finished tube. The line therefore begins with a dehumidifying dryer that reduces the moisture content below 0.02%, at 120–130 °C for 4–6 hours, before the pellets are fed. This pre-drying step is the foundation of optical clarity — skip it, and no downstream stage can compensate.
The dried material is fed into the extruder hopper by a vacuum loader or gravimetric dosing unit, giving consistent, controlled material flow. Controlled feeding keeps the melt steady, which keeps the optics steady.
The PC-specialized screw melts and homogenizes the material under precise multi-zone temperature control. The screw geometry is designed for PC's high melt viscosity: an optimized compression ratio, barrier flight geometry, and mixing elements provide controlled shear, fully plasticizing the melt without thermal degradation. The homogeneous melt is then forced through the tube or profile die head — the moment where optical quality is decided.
The extruded tube or profile enters a precision vacuum calibration sleeve that fixes the outer diameter and wall thickness to the target dimensions. Vacuum calibration holds the profile to the tight dimensional tolerance that LED lamp housings require.
The calibrated profile passes through water cooling tanks for full solidification. Cooling is managed to maintain both dimensional stability and optical clarity — the profile sets its final shape without introducing stress or haze.
Servo-driven caterpillar pullers draw the tube through the line at a precise, adjustable speed. Consistent haul-off speed means consistent wall thickness and surface quality, meter after meter.
The integrated cutting unit performs single-pass cuts during extrusion, automatically cutting the tube to the specified length at ±0.5 mm accuracy. The cut ends are smooth and chip-free — no secondary cutting, no burr removal, no additional finishing station.
The finished PC light tubes are inspected for optical clarity and dimensional compliance, then bundled or packed for shipment. The line delivers its output ready for the customer, not ready for rework.
The Chenxing PC LED light cover extrusion line is supplied with the following verified configuration basis:
| Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
| Applicable materials | Polycarbonate (PC), PMMA (acrylic), transparent and colored compounds |
| Screw design | PC/PMMA-specialized screw, imported special alloy steel, optimized compression ratio, barrier flight and mixing elements |
| Cutting system | Online precision cutting, single-pass, ±0.5 mm accuracy, smooth chip-free ends, no secondary processing |
| Optical output | High light transmittance, consistent transparency for LED lighting applications |
| Color capability | Single-color and dual-color LED lamp cover production (co-extrusion die configuration) |
| Electrical components | Siemens, Schneider, ABB — globally available after-sales support |
| Gearbox | High-torque, NSK/SKF precision bearings, stable low-vibration operation |
| Main drive | Original Siemens/WEG inverter-controlled motor, energy-efficient, stable screw speed |
| Material-contact surfaces | SUS304 stainless steel — hygiene, corrosion resistance, long service life |
| Cooling and calibration | Variable-frequency pump control reduces hydraulic energy consumption |
| Drying requirement | Moisture below 0.02%, 120–130 °C, 4–6 h |
| Typical applications | T5 / T8 LED tube diameters, custom-diameter profiles, flat diffuser sections for panel lighting |
The dimensions of the output — outer diameter, wall thickness, and tube length — are determined by the die head, calibration sleeve, and cutting system settings. The line can be configured for the standard T5 and T8 LED tube diameters as well as custom-diameter profiles and flat panel diffuser sections; die design services for non-standard dimensions are available on request. Line capacity and configuration are customized to the project on request.
Feature: A purpose-built screw geometry for PC and PMMA — optimized compression ratio, barrier flight geometry, and mixing elements — manufactured from imported special alloy steel.
Advantage: Thorough plasticization with controlled shear eliminates crystallization spots, draw marks, and vibration lines; the special alloy steel resists material adhesion, black spots, and degradation during continuous high-temperature operation.
Benefit: Optically clean profiles with high transmittance and consistent transparency — the LED lighting quality your customers will actually accept.
Feature: An integrated cutting unit performs single-pass cuts during extrusion at ±0.5 mm accuracy, with no secondary cutting.
Advantage: Smooth, chip-free ends are produced directly on the line, eliminating the separate cutting and finishing station.
Benefit: Higher overall production efficiency, less labor, and less material waste — the line delivers finished-length profiles, not semi-finished ones.
Feature: The optimized extrusion process delivers tubes and profiles with excellent light transmittance and consistent transparency.
Advantage: The optical quality is built in by the screw, die, calibration, and cooling stages working together.
Benefit: Uniform light distribution in LED tubes and diffusers, fewer rejects at inspection, and a product that meets the optical standard of lighting customers.
Feature: A co-extrusion die configuration supports single-color and dual-color LED lamp cover production.
Advantage: Two materials or two colors are combined in one profile in a single pass through the line.
Benefit: One machine serves both the standard single-color market and the higher-value dual-color LED lamp cover segment — a wider product range from one investment.
Feature: Siemens, Schneider, and ABB electrical components are used throughout the line.
Advantage: Internationally recognized brands with globally available spare parts and after-sales support.
Benefit: Dependable line operation, fast maintenance anywhere in the world, and lower lifetime risk for the processor.
Feature: A high-torque gearbox equipped with NSK/SKF precision bearings.
Advantage: Stable, low-vibration power transmission under continuous production loads.
Benefit: Consistent screw speed and melt flow, reduced vibration-related surface defects, and long gearbox service life in round-the-clock operation.
Feature: An original Siemens/WEG main drive motor with inverter (variable-frequency) control.
Advantage: The screw speed is precisely controlled while power consumption is reduced.
Benefit: Lower energy cost per meter of profile and stable, repeatable extrusion conditions — the two things that keep optical quality consistent.
Feature: All material-contact surfaces use SUS304 stainless steel.
Advantage: Hygienic surfaces that resist corrosion and contamination, with a long service life.
Benefit: Cleaner processing for optical and high-grade applications, easy maintenance, and durable equipment that holds its performance over years.
Feature: A variable-frequency pump control system manages the hydraulic power used in the cooling and calibration section.
Advantage: Hydraulic energy consumption is reduced to what the process actually needs at each moment.
Benefit: Lower operating cost over the life of the line, with the cooling and calibration quality fully maintained.
PC is the primary material of the line. It offers outstanding transparency, high impact strength, and excellent heat resistance, which is why LED lighting products — light tubes, lamp covers, diffusers — are made from it. Its processing challenges are equally distinctive: high melt viscosity, high moisture sensitivity, and high processing temperature. The line's PC-specialized screw and dehumidifying pre-drying are engineered precisely for these challenges.
The line is also fully compatible with PMMA. Acrylic offers excellent optical clarity and is widely used where its hardness, scratch resistance, and weatherability are valued. The same line can switch between PC and PMMA work, expanding the processor's material flexibility without a second machine.
LED light tubes — T5 and T8 standard diameters, transparent or diffused, for general and industrial lighting.
LED lamp covers and lampshades — single-color and dual-color, produced with the co-extrusion die configuration.
Panel lighting diffusers — flat diffuser sections for LED panel lights.
Optical profiles — custom-diameter transparent profiles for lighting, display, and signage.
Advertising light boxes and displays — high-transmittance profiles for illuminated graphics.
| Line | Product Form | Core Focus |
|---|---|---|
| PC LED light cover extrusion line (this page) | PC/PMMA optical tubes and LED lamp covers | Optical clarity, PC-specialized screw, online precision cutting ±0.5 mm, dual-color co-extrusion |
| PETG pipe production line | Transparent copolyester pipe | Food/medical-grade clear pipe, dehumidifying drying, vacuum sizing |
| PVC shelf label strip extrusion line | Small-section PVC profiles | Label strip co-extrusion, compact profile tooling |
| PVC UV marble sheet making line | Decorative PVC sheets | Sheet extrusion with three-roll polishing, marble-effect UV finish |
The PC line is the optical specialist of the family: where the PETG line guards food-grade clarity and the PVC lines serve cost-effective profiles and sheets, the PC line is built for LED-grade light transmittance — with the screw, cutting, and co-extrusion capability that lighting products demand.
The line works with Chenxing's material preparation and handling equipment. Because PC is highly hygroscopic, the drying stage is critical: the dehumidifying dryer supplies low-dew-point dehumidification air at the scale the line requires, while the 2conveying integrated crystal dehumidification dryer adds conveying in a compact installation. For small-batch or development work, the crystal dryer and the STG-U hopper drier plastic resin dryer cover the lighter end of material preparation. Pellet handling around the line uses the VLF powder suction machine, the VLF-L continuous powder suction machine, and the FSP crushing material suction machine for automatic loading, with the screw feeder automatic feeding machine for controlled metering. Where the plant compounds its own materials, a high-speed mixer industrial mixer prepares dry blends, and a parallel co-rotating twin screw extruder handles compounding and masterbatch production. Reject and scrap recovery uses the plastic crusher and the agglomerator film densifier, with a CJ magnetic frame / hopper magnet protecting the feed point. For a complete plant, the 990A Advanced Material Processing EPC Project engineers the whole material path as one turnkey system.
The line is designed primarily for polycarbonate (PC) and PMMA (acrylic) materials. The specialized screw geometry is optimized for the high-temperature processing requirements of PC, ensuring thorough plasticization without degradation or crystallization defects. The line is compatible with both transparent and colored PC/PMMA compounds and supports dual-color co-extrusion configurations for LED lampshade applications.
Polycarbonate has a high melt viscosity and is highly sensitive to moisture and temperature variations during extrusion. A standard general-purpose screw cannot provide sufficient shear and mixing to fully plasticize PC uniformly, leading to common defects including crystallization spots, draw marks, and vibration lines that compromise optical clarity. The PC-specialized screw uses an optimized compression ratio, barrier flight geometry, and mixing elements that provide controlled shear for uniform melt quality without thermal degradation.
The integrated online precision cutting system achieves a cutting accuracy of ±0.5 mm per cut. The cutter operates during extrusion in a single pass, eliminating the need for secondary cutting operations. This produces smooth, chip-free tube ends that meet dimensional compliance requirements directly from the production line, reducing labor, post-processing time, and material waste from secondary operations.
The line can be configured to produce PC tubes and LED diffuser covers in the standard diameters commonly used for T5 and T8 LED tube applications, as well as custom-diameter profiles and flat diffuser sections for panel lighting. The specific output dimensions — outer diameter, wall thickness, and tube length — are determined by the die head, calibration sleeve, and cutting system settings. Chenxing engineers provide die design services for non-standard dimensions on request.
PC is highly hygroscopic and must be dried to below 0.02% moisture content before extrusion to prevent hydrolytic degradation, which causes molecular chain scission, reduced melt viscosity, and surface defects in the finished tube. The production line workflow begins with pre-drying PC pellets in a dehumidifying dryer at 120–130 °C for 4–6 hours before feeding. Consistent pre-drying is critical to achieving the high optical clarity and mechanical properties required for LED diffuser applications.
The line uses internationally recognized brands for key components: Siemens, Schneider, or ABB electrical components for reliable global after-sales support; NSK or SKF precision bearings in the high-torque gearbox for stable, low-vibration operation; Siemens or WEG inverter-controlled main drive motors for energy-efficient, precise screw speed control; and SUS304 stainless steel for all material-contact surfaces to ensure hygiene, corrosion resistance, and long service life.
Yes. The line supports a co-extrusion die configuration that produces both single-color and dual-color LED lamp covers in one pass. Dual-color capability lets the processor serve the higher-value segment of the LED lighting market — two-tone lampshades and covers — from the same line that runs standard single-color tubes, increasing product range and return on investment.
Step 1 — Define Your Profile Specification: Tell us the profiles you plan to produce — T5 or T8 LED tubes, custom-diameter tubes, flat panel diffusers, or single- and dual-color lamp covers — and the material you will run (PC, PMMA, or both). If you have a non-standard dimension, share the drawing; die design services are available on request.
Step 2 — Get the Line Configuration: Chenxing designs the line around your specification: the dehumidifying drying system sized for your throughput (the 750A dehumidifying dryer for larger lines), the extruder with the PC-specialized screw, the die head and calibration sleeve for your profile, the cooling section, the servo haul-off, and the online precision cutting system. You receive a line layout and a configuration list — with line capacity customized to your project on request.
Step 3 — Request a Quote from Nicole: Contact Nicole at +8615951187228 or ceo@cxsljx.com with your profile specification. We respond within 24 hours with a formal quotation, delivery schedule, and configuration options. Chenxing provides installation guidance, commissioning support, and operator training on drying control, screw and temperature profiles, and cutting system setup.
Step 4 — Produce Optically Clear PC Light Tubes, Finished at the Cutter: After installation, the line delivers what LED lighting demands: profiles with high light transmittance, consistent transparency, and tight dimensional tolerance — cut to length at ±0.5 mm accuracy in a single pass, with no secondary processing. Material is dried, plasticized, calibrated, cooled, hauled off, and cut as one coordinated line. Crystal-clear LED profiles, from the first meter.
For the complete supporting range, Chenxing also supplies: PETG pipe production lines, PVC shelf label strip extrusion lines, PVC UV marble sheet making lines, plastic pelletizers, PVC hot-cutting pelletizing lines, agglomerators, and complete EPC material processing projects. As a single-source partner, Chenxing Machinery supports every step from dry pellets to finished LED profiles.
Contact Chenxing Machinery Today:
Contact Person: Nicole
Phone / WhatsApp: +8615951187228
Email: ceo@cxsljx.com
Company: Zhangjiagang Chenxing Machinery Co., Ltd.
Website: www.chenxingmachinery.com
