Extrusion International 6-2025

44 Extrusion International 6/2025 EXTRUSION TOOLING Extrusion Takes Some New Turns A longtime global leader in extrusion tooling for medical tubing and other products, Guill Tool & Engineering has achieved a series of successes in the areas of multi-layer dies and, most recently, a reciprocal tubing die for wound draining that recon gures the internal chambers of the tubing to accommodate drainage. Drain tubes can be inserted prophylactically to prevent or remove the accumulation of uid in a wound. Alternatively, such tubing can also be therapeutically inserted to evacuate an existing collection of uid 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 unique features that eliminate the need to weld or otherwise join sections with different pro les together. G uill has engineered this new reciprocal tubing die with vari- ous features, unique to the product. The traditional tip and die assembly is replaced with a linear recipro- cating assembly that changes the tube’s pro le within a given length. This process is repeated throughout a single extrusion run without inter- ruption. Cutting capability, in as- sociation with the extrusion speed, cuts the nished product to length. While cost and value stream activi- ties are reduced, quality is actually improved. Only one extrusion run is needed to produce a nished prod - uct, as opposed to multiple extru- sion 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 assem- bly operation. It also eliminates in- process inventory. Thus, there is no need for storage of various tubing shapes and connectors needed for assembly, ful llment of orders and replenishment of nished goods. Furthermore, the reciprocat- ing head eliminates a con- necting piece, allows JIT production and prod- ucts made-to-order. Lastly, it reduces total run time from receiving the or- der to shipping prod- uct. In the multi-layer ex- trusion 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 produce the highest quality, highest material-ef cient 1/8” to 6” OD tubing for medical and surgical applications. The rede- signed Series 800 produces aw - lessly smooth extrusion and layer de nition of Fluoropolymer and other materials for all multi-layer, multi-lumen medical tubing. The Guill design further allows thin lay- er combinations of polymers and adhesives to .02mm or less. Guill offers its extensive line of crossheads and inline tubing dies in xed and adjustable center, for single or co-extrusion applications. The tooling is designed to process all compounds and features the company’s patented, pre- cision Feather Touch Concentricity ad- justment, the Seal Right System, which combines with the Feather Touch system to eliminate polymer leaking. Guill also offers its unique spiral ow distribution system. All Guill tooling is pro- duced with rigorous computer simulation of the ow channels us - ing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) programs, resulting in opti- mum uniform ow with no weld lines. Finally, the new Series 900 of inline tubing dies from Guill Tool offers improved extrusion perfor- mance and capabilities to customize at standard, off-the-shelf prices. The new series is applicable to ex- trusion 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. The Series 900 technology offers these key bene ts: • Achieves concentricity or “prod- uct roundness” which greatly reduc- Internal con gurations 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 pro les within the tubing in a constant production run Guill Series 800