In screw barrels, the rotating screw grinds the electrode as it passes through the barrel. Both the mechanical energy of the rotating screw and the heat introduced along the extruder barrel plasticize the incoming material. The barrel can be heated with hot air or coil heaters. In thermoplastic extrusion, the material is first softened by heat in order to be shaped, a process carried out by an extruder. This thermal softening has different names such as "thermal softening", "plastification" or "plastification".
Most extruders are single screw machines. A screw is something that forces the material towards the die and then through it. The shape is imparted by a die or by post extrusion, and the product is then set by cooling while maintaining its shape. The equipment used to perform this process is called the post extrusion equipment and the whole system is called the extrusion line.
When the extrudate leaves the die, it can be set to the desired shape, or its shape can be changed and then set to the shape. The equipment that performs this process is called a "post-extrusion equipment" or "pulling equipment", which is usually much larger than an extruder in terms of size. This is because plastic takes a considerable amount of time to cool, and this cooling process determines how fast the production line runs.