Getting the Most from Your Extrusion Tooling

By utilizing state-of-the-art production equipment and processes, machining tolerances are held extremely close on today's multi-lumen and multilayer medical tubing. It is important to note that any misalignment of the tools may be exaggerated in the final product output. Clean parts, especially with sealing and locating surfaces, are key to product performance and successful end products. These surfaces receive the most care and attention during manufacturing and are the control surfaces that ensure uniformity throughout the tubing. Remember, precision-machined alignments are affected by even a speck of dirt measuring only a few thousandths of an inch. A human hair is about 0.003 in. (0.08 mm), and since there are many such surfaces in a quality tool, cleanliness is critical.