A screw for a plasticating apparatus has one or more helical flights. A portion of the screw has a plurality of advancing grooves arranged in a noncontinuous helix cut in the screw. The advancing grooves are dimensioned to receive material therein as the material is conveyed through the barrel. The screw has a plurality of noncontinuous cross-cut grooves traversing one or more of the advancing grooves. The cross-cut grooves have a second helix angle greater than the first helix angle and less than ninety degrees; and/or one or more of the cross-cut grooves have a third helix angle of about ninety degrees.