US Extruders is announcing two new updates at the MD&M show in Anaheim, CA, April 12-14. With a continued focus on improving medical extruder technology to better meet the needs of the medical device market, the company will present the latest update to its MED-EX Modern Medical Extruder line at the show.

The company says the latest improvements are ideal for contract manufacturers that are operating in a high-mix, low-volume business as well as scaled, high-volume production.

To meet the increasingly stringent quality requirements within the medtech extrusion, US Extruders has developed virtual pressure measurement. Virtual pressure measurement eliminates transducer and rupture disc ports in the barrel and reduces stagnation points where material can degrade. Degraded material that ends up in medical tubing causes a weak point in the final device. This is especially important for applications that demand superior quality beyond dimensional requirements where maintaining mechanical properties is paramount. Examples include balloon tubing, heat shrink tubing and polymer stent tubing.

US Extruders has developed a custom “universal” barrier/mixing screw specifically designed for Nylon 12, PEBA and TPU reflow compounds that are commonly used for multi-durometer catheter jacketing applications. This screw design, combined with either pressure control or a melt pump, allows for optimal melt temperature uniformity and pressure stability better than 1%.