After graduating in chemical technology, specialising in plastics, Martin Gale's first involvement in mixing and extrusion was as the plastics technologist in a new plant being set up to produce UPVC pipes in 1959. After two years he joined the Rubber and Plastics Research Association (later to become Rapra Technology). After working on glass fibre/matrix bonding and antistatic agents, he became a member of the newly formed plastics section, eventually becoming responsible for plastics processing. This involved steadily building up the business and facilities, mainly involving single and twin screw extrusion, mixing and compounding. The work was a mix of industrial multiclient/government projects, short and long term development contracts, product failure analysis, and factory trouble shooting, and so on. Several projects resulted in pilot scale manufacturing at the Association's laboratories using innovative techniques. In 1973 he obtained a PhD from Aston University for research concerning single pass PVC powder compound extrusion with a single screw extruder. Since retiring in 2000, he has been involved in consultancy work, training courses, and advising on extrusion foaming and mixing as a visiting professor to the University of Bradford. About 100 publications bear his name as either author or co-author, whilst there are 9 patents (6 with co-inventors) including the one for the Cavity Transfer Mixer. He wrote the plastics part of the chapter on Processability Tests in Handbook of Polymer Testing (1999).
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After graduating in chemical technology, specialising in plastics, Martin Gale's first involvement in mixing and extrusion was as the plastics technologist in a new plant being set up to produce UPVC pipes in 1959. After two years he joined the Rubber and Plastics Research Association (later to become Rapra Technology). After working on glass fibre/matrix bonding and antistatic agents, he became a member of the newly formed plastics section, eventually becoming responsible for plastics processing. This involved steadily building up the business and facilities, mainly involving single and twin screw extrusion, mixing and compounding. The work was a mix of industrial multiclient/government projects, short and long term development contracts, product failure analysis, and factory trouble shooting, and so on. Several projects resulted in pilot scale manufacturing at the Association's laboratories using innovative techniques. In 1973 he obtained a PhD from Aston University for research concerning single pass PVC powder compound extrusion with a single screw extruder. Since retiring in 2000, he has been involved in consultancy work, training courses, and advising on extrusion foaming and mixing as a visiting professor to the University of Bradford. About 100 publications bear his name as either author or co-author, whilst there are 9 patents (6 with co-inventors) including the one for the Cavity Transfer Mixer. He wrote the plastics part of the chapter on Processability Tests in Handbook of Polymer Testing (1999).
