Side feeders have been a useful alternative to conventional top feeding in the powder coating industry. They were developed 20 years ago, and served a purpose for some applications – especially where lightweight materials or/and a high percentage of fines was involved.

But with the development of our patented MAX³ feeding system, they have had their day.

There are some serious drawbacks to side feeding. Extra floor space is needed; cost of ownership is higher, with increased capital and operating expenditure; the operator’s job is more awkward with access difficulties; and cleaning takes much longer.

Side feeders force product into the screws, causing high levels of wear. They create heat which can affect quality by pre-curing; pre-melt of resin on the screws causes loss of conveying capacity. Changing parameters for a new product takes time, increasing turnaround between runs.

Another negative of the side feeding arrangement is that the speed of the side feeder has to be proportionate to that of the main drive screws in order to prevent excessive wear on the barrel liners, screw elements and side feeder components. Temperature and humidity can also affect how various materials react and cause undue load on the feeder drive motor.

Some very specialist operations may still justify side feeding, but these situations are rare. Baker Perkins’ MAX³ top feeding system has proven versatility to handle a broad range of materials including lightweight low-density recipes with high levels of fines.

The MAX³ features a re-designed feed port and screws to improve flow of material into the extruder barrel and air out of it, eliminating the material build up in the extruder feed port that restricts output and causes torque surges. Tests at customers’ sites show the MAX³ consistently leads to a throughput increase of up to 40%. Some results have been spectacular – outputs rising by 275% at a USA plant, 100% in Italy.

We have been conducting laboratory trials with low density formulations containing 20% fines. If you would like to see the results, and discuss how your application might benefit by retrofitting a MAX³ infeed system, please contact

Side feeders have been a useful alternative to conventional top feeding in the powder coating industry. They were developed 20 years ago, and served a purpose for some applications – especially where lightweight materials or/and a high percentage of fines was involved.

But with the development of our patented MAX³ feeding system, they have had their day.

There are some serious drawbacks to side feeding. Extra floor space is needed; cost of ownership is higher, with increased capital and operating expenditure; the operator’s job is more awkward with access difficulties; and cleaning takes much longer.

Side feeders force product into the screws, causing high levels of wear. They create heat which can affect quality by pre-curing; pre-melt of resin on the screws causes loss of conveying capacity. Changing parameters for a new product takes time, increasing turnaround between runs.

Another negative of the side feeding arrangement is that the speed of the side feeder has to be proportionate to that of the main drive screws in order to prevent excessive wear on the barrel liners, screw elements and side feeder components. Temperature and humidity can also affect how various materials react and cause undue load on the feeder drive motor.

Some very specialist operations may still justify side feeding, but these situations are rare. Baker Perkins’ MAX³ top feeding system has proven versatility to handle a broad range of materials including lightweight low-density recipes with high levels of fines.

The MAX³ features a re-designed feed port and screws to improve flow of material into the extruder barrel and air out of it, eliminating the material build up in the extruder feed port that restricts output and causes torque surges. Tests at customers’ sites show the MAX³ consistently leads to a throughput increase of up to 40%. Some results have been spectacular – outputs rising by 275% at a USA plant, 100% in Italy.

We have been conducting laboratory trials with low density formulations containing 20% fines. If you would like to see the results, and discuss how your application might benefit by retrofitting a MAX³ infeed system, please contact