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| MEDD Extruder |
For Vesta Thermoplastics, a Lubrizol Life Science Health (LLS Health) Company, extruding the impossible is a daily endeavor. However, Davis-Standard’s extruders have risen to the challenge. Vesta, a leading supplier of tight-tolerance extrusions for the medical industry, recently installed a Davis-Standard MEDD extruder to augment the company’s existing Davis-Standard HPE extruders. The MEDD has helped Vesta increase productivity, alleviate potential backlogs and address shorter lead times for the company’s diverse portfolio of thin-wall tubing, multi-lumen, and coextrusion products. This includes tubing and devices that support single-use and long-term implantable applications such as neurostimulation, feeding and drainage tubes, catheters, and vascular loops.
“We’ve had a lot of success with our HPE extruders, and the MEDD has been a welcomed addition. We bought this machine during 2022 MD&M West since the show is only 30 minutes from our facility, making delivery very convenient,” explained Steven Mayol, Senior Process Engineer at Vesta Thermoplastics. “Installation went smoothly and the MEDD is already proving to be a good investment. Being able to exchange barrel sizes when necessary and having the capacity to run a variety of high-temperature polymers is essential to our business model. We pride ourselves in delivering extrusion tubing that no one can challenge, including extrusions that involve new polymers.”
The MEDD’s interchangeable barrel assembly, ease of maintenance, and operator accessibility have been notable for Vesta. This design is specific to clean room environments, providing a replaceable feed section liner and direct drive technology for bottom line efficiency and materials flexibility. Stainless steel surfaces, quick change capabilities, and a broad polymer range enable the tubing consistency and reliable performance Vesta needs to serve current and emerging medical markets. Vesta’s innovation encompasses lead tubing, balloon tubing, custom extrusion, PEEK extrusion, braided tubing, striping and multi-layer coextrusion, multi-lumen, heat shrink tubing, rapid and bump extrusion.
Mayol also appreciates Davis-Standard’s personalized approach to service. “Davis-Standard has been exemplary with timely, customer-centric service. Their troubleshooting support has also been helpful whenever we’ve needed it,” he said. “This includes designing the right feedscrews for our polymer range to address targeted outputs with excellent melt quality and product consistency.”
