Internal configurations of different designs used on wound drain and surgical tubing no longer require separate sections to be extruded, then joined. The Guill reciprocating head design produces various profiles within the tubing in a constant production run.
Guill Series 900
Guill Tool has achieved a series of successes in the areas of multilayer dies, most recently with a reciprocal tubing die for wound draining that reconfigures the internal chambers of the tubing to accommodate drainage, the company reported.
Drain tubes can be inserted prophylactically to prevent or remove the accumulation of fluid in a wound. Alternatively, such tubing can also be therapeutically 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 patient comfort. Drain tubes can also be used to diagnose post-operative complications, such as an anastomotic leak or hemorrhage. The Guill design has features that eliminate the need to weld or otherwise join together sections with different profiles.
"Our automated extrusion process drastically changes the extruded profile in production, with no need to join separate sections of internal profiles," said Tom Baldock, Sales Manager, Guill Tool.
Guill has engineered this new reciprocal tubing die with various features unique to the product. The traditional 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 throughout 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 different 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. Lastly, it reduces total run time from receiving the order to shipping the product.
In the multilayer extrusion arena, a primary focus of Guill Tool over the years, the company has also introduced the latest generation of its Series 800, the two-to-six layer extrusion tooling designed to produce the highest quality, highest material-efficient 1/8" to 6" OD tubing for medical and surgical applications. The redesigned Series 800 produces smooth extrusion and layer definition of Fluoropolymer and other materials for all multilayer, multilumen medical tubing. The Guill design further allows thin layer combinations of polymers and adhesives to .02 mm 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 adjustment, the Seal Right System, which combines with the Feather Touch system to eliminate polymer leaking. Guill also offers its spiral flow distribution system.
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, the company noted.
Finally, the new Series 900 of inline tubing dies from Guill Tool & Engineering 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" (0.127 mm) to 8.0" (635 mm) in diameter for all types of OEM, food service, automotive, industrial, telecom, and medical applications in polymer or rubber.
According to the company, the Series 900 technology offers these key benefits:
- Achieves concentricity or "product roundness," which reduces material usage compared with other types of extrusion tooling
- Spiderless inline-designed heads results in no spider lines and allows room for more air-thus eliminating cold legs, which can inhibit product output
- Runs one to five layers simultaneously
- Engineered for a variety of applications-including special fluoropolymer applications.
A key Guill Tool technical highlight of the Series 900 is a patent-pending FeatherTouch adjustment in the die holder and a cartridge-style ball assembly that does not require the loosening of retaining screws to make adjustments. Additional benefits of the Series 900 include Guill's Seal Right Systems, a positive seal, which eliminates leakage between deflectors, along with easy self-alignment that reduces operator error during assembly and is adaptable to a variety of specific extruder layout configurations.
"This series offers a standard platform design of the head with specific characteristics that are unique to individual applications included at no additional charge in the cost of the tooling. This is a tremendous benefit to a company that requires precision tooling with custom benefits at a standard off-the-shelf price. That certainly helps our customers' bottom line," said Baldock.
Guill Tool also manufactures tips, dies, and breaker plates using state-of-the-art computerized CNC machining and EDM equipment. As well, engineering services using the latest CAD systems are available for custom-designing extrusion tooling products, such as crossheads, tips, clamps, flanges, forming rolls, spiderless inline dies, dies, swing gates, breaker plates, special equipment, and sizing dies.
For more information contact:
Tom Baldock, Extrusion Sales Manager
Guill Tool & Engineering
10 Pike Street
West Warwick, RI 02893
401-465-5526
websales@guill.com
www.guill.com