Davis-Standard: HPE extruder and regional capabilities at Chinaplas

As an example of its extrusion technology, Davis-Standard will exhibit an HPE-H extruder for medical tubing applications. The energy-efficient HPE-H is compact in design, available for a fast delivery, easy to maintain and one of the company's most widely used models. It is available in 20mm (3/4-inch), 25mm (1-inch), 30mm (1 ¼-inch), 40mm (1 ½-inch) and 45mm (1 ¾-inch) sizes for processing versatility.

Davis-Standard continues to see strong demand throughout Asia for feedscrews, control systems, medical tubing technology, and its dsX™ product line for cast film, blown film and packaging applications. Davis-Standard's regional presence has continued to grow since opening Davis-Standard (Suzhou) Plastics Packaging Machinery Co., Ltd. in 2012. This facility is Davis-Standard's manufacturing base in China and houses an R&D laboratory for process development and trials.

"We've experienced growth across all platforms in China, but the medical tubing sector has been especially strong for us," said Sekaran Murugaiah, Davis-Standard Vice President of Business Development, Asia. "Customers appreciate our regional presence and the availability of the medical tubing laboratory in Suzhou to test new resins and processes. These R&D capabilities have been key in ensuring customers in the region are equipped to address market demands."

The Suzhou lab features direct-drive 19mm and 24mm single screw extruders, each with a polymer melt pump, a sophisticated three-layer spiral flow tubing die, PLC line control with data acquisition, precision vacuum sizing tank for both rigid and flexible products, closed loop ID/OD control via an ultrasonic gauging system, a servo controlled combination puller/cutting system, and a transport conveyer with single-zone air eject. It also includes a single layer tubing line designed specifically for the production of FPVC tubing for IV & fluid delivery applications. Products ranging in size from 2mm OD to 8mm OD can be produced with an accuracy of +/- 50u at line speeds up to 100mpm. Davis-Standard's facility in Pawcatuck, Connecticut, also has a fully equipped medical tubing laboratory.

Both labs support applications for Alternate Polymer®, microbore tubing, multi-lumen and catheter tubing, edotracheal and tracheotomy tubing, radio opaque tubing, bubble tube, taper tube, pipette tubing and multi-layer tubing, among others. Complete medical tubing systems support extruder outputs up to 315kg/hr (700 pounds per hour) and line speeds up to 240 mpm (800 feet per minute) for a range of materials including PLA, PLLA, PEEK, FPVC, polyurethane, nylon, PEBAX and FEP. Extruder options are available depending on process and application and engineered for a fast delivery and competitive pricing.