Extrusion facility with underground transfer of the tool module

1 . An extrusion facility intended to produce a profiled element, the extrusion facility comprising:

at least one first head module which bears at least one first extruder intended to supply a constituent material of the profiled element;

a core site configured to receive a tool module in order to enable connection of the at least one first extruder to the tool module in order to shape the profiled element,

wherein the core site is located at a working level, which is provided with a floor on which an operator can move about to access the core site which is located above the floor; and

an underground-transfer device which makes it possible to convey the tool module to the core site and/or, respectively, to remove the tool module from the core site, the underground-transfer device comprising at least one first lift cage which is designed to move the tool module through the floor from, or respectively to, a basement level, which is located below the floor of the working level.

2 . The extrusion facility according to claim 1 , further comprising a coupling device which makes it possible to displace the first head module on the floor of the working level, so as to alternately change the first head module between a closed configuration, in which the first head module is moved close to the core site so as to be pressed into contact with the tool module and to thus place the first extruder in communication with the tool module, and an open configuration, in which the first head module is moved away from the core site and thus from the tool module while remaining accessible to an operator who is on the floor, at the working level.

3 . The extrusion facility according to claim 1 , wherein the core site is located within an elevation range of between 0 cm and 200 cm above the floor of the working level.

4 . The extrusion facility according to claim 1 , further comprising a preparation site, which is separate and remote from the core site and is provided to enable preparation, including cleaning, of the tool module outside the core site,

wherein the underground-transfer device is arranged so as to be able to convey the tool module, by moving through the floor via the first lift cage, from the preparation site to the core site, and vice versa, from the core site to the preparation site.

5 . The extrusion facility according to claim 4 , wherein the preparation site is located at the working level, above the floor, so as to be accessible to an operator moving about on the floor, and

wherein the underground-transfer device comprises a second lift cage which is located at a distance from the first lift cage, is connected to the first lift cage by a conveyor located in the basement level, and is designed to move the tool module through the floor, from the preparation site located at the working level, above the floor, to the conveyor located in the basement level, below the floor, and vice versa, to move the tool module from the conveyor located in the basement level, below the floor, to the preparation site located above the floor.

6 . The extrusion facility according to claim 5 , wherein the underground-transfer device comprises a first receptacle able to receive a first tool block and a second receptacle able to receive a second tool block,

wherein the underground-transfer device is designed to be able to put alternately the first receptacle and the second receptacle facing the first lift cage, so as to be able to carry out a replacement operation during which the underground-transfer device accommodates in the first receptacle, via the first lift cage, a used first tool block coming from the core site, and then transfers, via the first lift cage, a new second tool block from the second receptacle to the core site, as a replacement for the used first tool block, and

wherein the first and second receptacles are transported by the conveyor so as to be able to come and go, in the basement level, from the first lift cage to the second lift cage, and vice versa.

7 . The extrusion facility according to claim 5 , further comprising:

a roller which is mounted so as to be able to rotate above the core site, vertically in line with the first lift cage, such that when the tool module is located at the core site, the tool module interacts with the roller to form a gap for shaping the profiled element; and

at the working level, a second head module bearing at least one second extruder,

wherein the first and the second head module are mounted so as to be able to move on the floor along a horizontal coupling direction, oppositely to one another, on either side of the core site so as to be able to alternately adopt an open configuration, in which the first and second head modules are each moved away from the core site along the horizontal coupling direction, so as to allow the underground-transfer device to engage the tool module in the core site and/or to remove the tool module from the core site, and a closed configuration, in which the first and second head modules are moved close to one another along the horizontal coupling direction, so as to be held pressed against the tool module located at the core site, on either side of the tool module along the horizontal coupling direction, to place the first extruder and the second extruder in communication with the tool module,

wherein the first lift cage is located below the core site, vertically in line with the core site and the roller,

wherein the second lift cage is located below the preparation site vertically in line with the preparation site,

wherein the preparation site and the corresponding second lift cage are offset in relation to the core site and to the first lift cage along a second horizontal direction which is transverse to the coupling direction, and along which is oriented the conveyor positioned in the basement level, and

wherein the floor extends along a horizontal plane which is large enough to allow the operator standing on the floor to access by turns, without leaving the working level, the core site, the preparation site, and the first and second head modules both when the first and second head modules are in the closed configuration and when the first and second head modules are in the open configuration.

8 . The extrusion facility according to claim 7 , wherein the tool module comprises an assembly of parallel plates stacked against one another in the direction of thickness along the horizontal coupling direction.

9 . The extrusion facility according to claim 1 , wherein the underground-transfer device comprises a first receptacle able to receive a first tool block and a second receptacle able to receive a second tool block, and

wherein the underground-transfer device is designed to be able to put alternately the first receptacle and the second receptacle facing the first lift cage, so as to be able to carry out a replacement operation during which the underground-transfer device accommodates in the first receptacle, via the first lift cage, a used first tool block coming from the core site, and then transfers, via the first lift cage, a new second tool block from the second receptacle to the core site, as a replacement for the used first tool block.

10 . The extrusion facility according to claim 1 , further comprising a roller which is mounted so as to be able to rotate above the core site, vertically in line with the first lift cage, such that when the tool module is located at the core site, the tool module interacts with the roller to form a gap for shaping the profiled element.

11 . The extrusion facility according to claim 1 , wherein a free height of the working level above the floor is equal to or greater than 2.00 m, and

wherein a free height in the basement level is equal to or greater than 1.90 m.