Extrusion International 6-2025

25 Extrusion International 6/2025 addition, the test lab permits single and co-extrusion capabilities with its tried-and-true die designs. Ac- cess to exotic extrusion processes such as rotary die extrusion of la - ment and tubular end-products are also available. Supporting extrusion trials, the test lab also offers extrusion train- ing, die cleaning services, sample inspection, and end-product test- ing. Guill’s uidized bath has a 50°C-605°C temperature range and a working volume of 15.7” x 47.” Customers can test materials, dies and actual extrusion run time – all on Guill premises. Guill Tool & Engineering, Co., Inc. Tom Baldock, Sales Manager, Extrusion www.guill.com Design Engineer Jacob Marcure working in the rheology lab Fluidized bath in the test extrusion facility New Duration Cutting Blade for Strand Granulators During strand pelletizing of ber-reinforced plas - tics (FRP compounds), abrasive polymer strands put extreme stress on the bed knife with its cutting blade. MAAG has responded to this challenge with its new Du- ration cutting blade, which was developed speci cally for this application. Until today, cutting blades for MAAG strand pelletizers have been available with three different blade designs: tungsten carbide (HM), ceramic (CE), or with a diamond- coated surface (PCD). However, when processing high- strength, ber- lled and highly abrasive polymer strands for FRP compounds, all three material variants have not only characteristic strengths but also weaknesses. For example, the cutting edge of HM and CE blades have a life of 100 operating hours due to the high abra- siveness of ber-reinforced plastics. Ceramic blades are susceptible to fracture; and as a result, the cutting edge or even the entire blade must be replaced frequently. This not only af- fects productiv- ity, but also the quality of the pellets pro- duced. This is why diamond-tipped PCD blades are often used in FRP applications. Their hard surface gives them a signi - cantly longer service life. However, they are up to ve times more expensive than carbide or cemented carbide tools. MAAG responded to this challenge with its new Dura- tion cutting edge, which expands the existing range of solutions today: The development features a new ma- terial called VS23 which increases the hardness of the surface by up to 70 percent, thereby reducing wear rate. This extends the service life by a factor of 5 to 9 com- pared to conventional carbide tools. VS23 represents a cost-effective alternative especially with its four cutting edges to the use of PCD blades with diamond segments on one edge only. The performance of the new blades has already been comprehensively validated in the labo- ratory and in practice. MAAG Group www.maag.com Cutting blade MAAG PRIMO 200E strand pelletiser with cutting blade