Flat die maker Extrusion Dies Industries LLC of Chippewa Falls, Wis., said its contour die eliminates the trade-off between gauge uniformity and streamlined melt flow, thanks to its tapered, “sculpted” shape instead of the standard blocklike configuration.
EDI added extra die-body thickness where the pressure is greatest from resin coming out of the the manifold. The die is thinner where there is less force, and it is smaller and tapered at both ends.
The shape gives uniform die-body deflection across the width, but avoids the sacrifice of melt-flow streamlining with earlier “constant-deflection” dies, said John Ulcej, EDI's executive vice president of engineering and technology. Benefits include rapid adjustments to the gauge profiling system, low polymer degradation, fast purges for color or product changes and low scrap levels. To develop the new flat die, EDI used three-dimensional engineering software and a five-axis machining center.
Also new from EDI is the UltraLip, a scraper that traverses the width of a flat film, sheet or extrusion coating die in less than a minute to scrape buildup from the lips. Two scraping assemblies for the upper and lower lip faces move in unison along threaded drive screws. The screws can be operated from either side of the die by using a hand crank, avoiding possible burns to workers from reaching across the line to clean the die face.
A new motorized system from EDI, called UltraSplit, makes it unnecessary to take a flat die offline for color changes, cleaning or maintenance. Framing the die, the device splits it at the push of a button and orients the die bodies to give access to operators.
Tel. (715) 726-1201, fax (715) 726-2205, e-mail [email protected] dies.com.
