Abstract: Conform machinery for continuous friction-effected extrusion having a wheel comprising two cheek members, a central hub which forms the base of the working passageway and two separate ring members which form the side walls of the working passageway and provide slip surfaces between the cheek members and the rings. The abutting slip surfaces of the cheek members and rings are shaped to allow thermal expansion of the rings relative to the cheek members with the slip surfaces in driving engagement but to limit radial movement in a radial direction at any particular place on the circumference to a distance less than the relative expansion in the diameter of the ring between ambient temperatures and the expected working conditions of the machine.

Abstract: In a continuous friction-actuated extrusion process, such as the Conform process, particulate material is fed into the extrusion passageway at a rate low enough to the rate at which material is extruded from the die orifice to be determined by and substantially equal to the rate of feeding. Feeding can be achieved by a simple hopper feeding through an adjustable constriction, preferably formed by a simple gate valve, or a gravimetric or volumetric controlled rate feed device can be used.