Challenge
A leading manufacturer of commercial and residential irrigation tubing came to Guill with a Crosshead application that required precise placement and bonding of preformed emitters within the extruded tubing without melting them. The challenge was for Guill was to create a single head that can process either the low cost ABA layer construction or single layer construction as well as allow for emitter insertion even though the polymer and the emitters have significantly different temperature processing windows.
Solution
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The engineering department at Guill designed a Crosshead that:
- Allows low cost material in ABA construction as well as single layer to both run in a single head
- Processes these materials with significantly different temperature processing windows with cool tube design
- Provides up-time with fast & easy changeover from co-extrusion to single layer
- Facilitates accurate placement and robust bonding of emitters
- Allows use of older production equipment with cool tube design
Outcome
The Crosshead is currently running with the customer's production extrusion equipment and providing cost benefit product that uses even more of the low cost recycled material than expected and meets all quality requirements. This project also included a cart with benefits as seen by the customer including easy to perform alignments, easy to execute tool changes, easy to complete changeover from co-extrusion to single layer, all in a sure footed package. The removable cart swing gates allowed for easy storage to keep them free from processing fluids. The adjustable height allowed for use at any of the existing extruders. And the thermal isolation piece improved heat loss from the head to the cart.
This customer has become a key account for Guill Tool and this project has led to additional opportunities with this valued customer.
About Guill
Guill Tool & Engineering is a recognized leader in the Design and Manufacture of Plastic Extrusion Tooling worldwide. Since 1962, Guill Tool & Engineering has supplied Extrusion Tooling for many Industries beginning with Wire & Cable and expanding to Medical, Automotive, Hose & Pipe, Compounding, Packaging and Wood Composite. Guill specialized in multiple layer extrusions having developed patented tool component features for controlling layer tolerances and concentricity leading to material cost savings. All Guill products are manufactured in the USA in an ISO: 9001 registered facility.
