Extrusion International 6-2024-USA

24 Extrusion International 6/2024 INDUSTRY NEWS New Degree Program in Blown Film Extrusion The Materials, Compounding and Extrusion depart- ment of the SKZ Plastics Center in Würzburg is expand- ing its range of modular training courses to include “Specialist in Blown Film Extrusion”. Blown film extru - sion has become indispensable in today's world and requires extensive know-how to control the sometimes very complex processes. Depending on the area of ap- plication, certain film properties are essential, for exam - ple, to ensure gas-tightness in food packaging. This qualification – like all others offered by SKZ – is divided into compulsory and elective modules. This en- sures that participants can select the appropriate dates depending on their time constraints. The courses in the compulsory module provide a comprehensive overview of the topics of blown film extrusion. In addition to the material plastic and the material types relevant for blown film production, the course also covers the pro - cess structure and, in particular, the process sequence. Particularly in the case of multi-layer films, there is a sig - nificantly higher level of complexity here compared to other extrusion processes. Particular attention is paid to process control and er- ror analysis. In the in-house technical center, the knowl- edge gained can be put into practice on a laboratory- scale blown film line, and training can be provided in the start-up and shutdown and optimization process. The main topics are rounded off by the elective mod- ules, which can be chosen according to individual re- quirements. At the end, the knowledge imparted is confirmed by a written examination. SKZ Plastics Center Christian Emmerling, c.emmerling@skz.de, www.skz.de Blown film line at SKZ (Photo: Luca Hoffmannbeck, SKZ) “Micro Medical” Extrusion Tooling Guill Tool & Engineering intro- duced the new Micro Medical, an extrusion crosshead that uses mi- cro-fine adjustment screws for pre - cise concentricity adjustment. The precision of concentricity reaches 0.008” or finer per revolution. This single point concentricity adjust- ment is a unique Guill innovation for the extrusion of thin-walled and precision ID/OD medical tub- ing. One adjustment bolt con- trols 360° of adjustment. Features of the Micro Medical crosshead include a patented cam- lock deflector for quick change - overs, with a residence time of one minute at .5 lb/hr material flow, optimized usage with extruders measuring ½” and ¾”, and a max die ID of .250.” Additionally, the Guill Micro Medical crosshead offers great flexibility to its users. It not only accepts both vacuum and micro-air acces- sories, but is also ideal for pressure and sleeving applications. Fluoropolymer designs are available upon request. Guill Tool & Engineering Bill Conley, Sales Manager www.guill.com