Extrusion International 6-2023

48 Extrusion International 6/2023 EXTRUSION TOOLING Extrusion Takes Some New Turns A longtime global leader in extrusion tooling for medical tubing and other products, Guill Tool has achieved a series of successes in the areas of multi-layer dies and, most recently, a reciprocal tubing die for wound draining that reconfigures the internal chambers of the tubing to accommodate drainage. D rain tubes can be inserted prophylactically to pre- vent or remove the accumulation of fluid in a wound. Alternatively, such tubing can also be thera- peutically inserted to evacuate an existing collection of fluid in a wound. Fluid is removed in order to treat or prevent infection and promote wound healing and pa- tient comfort. Drain tubes can also be used to diagnose post-operative complications such as an anastomotic leak or hemorrhage. The Guill design has unique fea- tures that eliminate the need to weld or otherwise join sections with different profiles together. “Our automated extrusion process drastically chang- es the extruded profile in production, with no need to join separate sections of internal profiles,” comments Tom Baldock, Sales Manager, Guill Tool Guill has engineered this new reciprocal tubing die with various features, unique to the product. The tra- ditional tip and die assembly is replaced with a linear reciprocating assembly that changes the tube’s profile within a given length. This process is repeated through- out a single extrusion run without interruption. Cutting capability, in association with the extrusion speed, cuts the finished product to length. While cost and value stream activities are reduced, quality is actually improved. Only one extrusion run is needed to produce a finished product, as opposed to multiple extrusion runs with tooling changes along with a manual assembly operation to connect differ- ent tubing shapes via sonic welds or other methods of joining. Guill’s new reciprocating head eliminates this entire assembly operation. It also eliminates in- process inventory. Thus, there is no need for storage of various tubing shapes and connectors needed for assembly, fulfillment of orders and replenishment of finished goods. Furthermore, the reciprocating head eliminates a connecting piece, allows JIT production and products made-to-order. Last- ly, it reduces total run time from re- ceiving the or- der to shipping product. In the multi- layer extru- sion arena, a primary focus of Guill Tool over the years, the company has also introduced the latest generation of its Series 800, the 2-to-6 layer extrusion tooling designed to pro- duce the highest quality, highest material-efficient 1/8” to 6” OD tubing for medical and surgical applications. The redesigned Series 800 produces flawlessly smooth extrusion and layer definition of Fluoropolymer and other materials for all multi-layer, multi-lumen medical tubing. The Guill design further allows thin layer com- binations of polymers and adhesives to 0.02mm or less. Guill offers its extensive line of crossheads and inline tubing dies in fixed and adjustable center, for single or co-extrusion applications. The tooling is designed to process all compounds and features the company’s patented, precision Feather Touch Concentricity adjust- ment, the Seal Right System, which combines with the Feather Touch system to eliminate polymer leaking. Guill also offers its unique spiral flow distribution sys - tem. All Guill tooling is produced with rigorous computer simulation of the flow channels using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) programs, resulting in optimum uniform flow with no weld lines. Finally, the new Series 900 of inline tubing dies from Guill Tool offers improved extrusion performance and capabilities to customize at standard, off-the-shelf prices. The new series is applicable to extrusion of hose or pipe ranging from 0.005 ″ (0.127mm) to 8.0 ″ (635mm) in diameter for all types of OEM, food service, automotive, industrial, telecom and medical applications in polymer or rubber.