Houttuin’s original design provided the blueprint for today’s so called twin-screw positive displacement rotary pumps. Based on the Archimedean principle, two intermeshing screws on parallel shafts operate inside a close fitting, 8-shaped liner. Liquids are pumped from both ends into the pump’s centre body where the discharge is located. The short shaft is driven by the long shaft through a set of external precision timing gears.
Houttuin twin-screw pumps feature a clearance between the screws and external timing gears on each shaft. These precision gears prevent screw contact by maintaining a constant space between the screws. The major advantages of this design are less wear on the screws (and, as a result, prolonged life of the pumps), less chance of liquid contamination by metal particles (swarf) during pumping and reduced risk of damage if the pump should run dry