A weekly look at new products, innovations

Editor's Note: Each week, Rubber & Plastics News will take a look at some of the rubber industry's new products and innovations on www.rubbernews.com. Does your company have a new product or new innovation? To be considered for inclusion in this recurring feature, email [email protected].

Dow Corning has launched its digital topical formulation box, “Formulating with Fascinating Silicone.”

The company said this online tool allows access to ideas for faster time to market, showcasing better drug delivery, novel ideas for a variety of product forms and unique textures using silicone materials in pharmaceutical and topical health care products.

The company said the web-based tool complements its formulation box, by allowing greater convenience with mobile access and immediate availability of new formulations. Dow Corning said its searchable database contains formulations including gels, serums, creams, ointments, sprays, balms and cleansers, aimed at treating skin condition.

The company claimed the “Formulating with Fascinating Silicone” tool will help customers accelerate development and marketing of their pharmaceutical and over-the-counter solutions by streamlining the formulation process.

For more information, go to www.dowcorning.com.

Flexicon Corp. has released an extreme-duty flexible screw conveyor with that transfers bulk material received from front end loaders.

The conveyor has a heavy-gauge stainless steel screw that rotates within an 8-inch diameter stainless steel tube, the company said, and since the conveyor is driven at its top end by a 20 horsepower variable speed electric motor and gear reducer, material exits the discharge housing prior to contacting any seals or bearings.

The tube interior and removable screw are smooth and crevice-free, Flexicon said, allowing for rapid, thorough cleaning.

The heavy-gauge stainless steel hopper holds up to 8 tons, or 200 cubic feet, providing a supply of material for the high capacity conveyor to run continually as a front end loader replenishes the material, Flexicon said.

Self-contained on an all-stainless skid equipped with forklifting tubes, the system can be deployed in multiple indoor or outdoor locations with one power connection, Flexicon claimed, conveying a range of free-flowing and non-free-flowing materials from fine powders to large aggregates including abrasives, corrosives and materials with bulk densities up to 150 pounds per cubit foot.

Flexicon said material is conveyed at a 40-degree incline before discharging into downstream processing equipment or storage vessels.

For information, contact Flexicon at 888-353-9426 or visit the website at www.flexicon.com.

Guill Tool & Engineering Co. has introduced the 500 Series crosshead with gum space adjustment.

The 500 Series is designed specifically for the flow characteristics and unique processing challenges of elastomeric compounds, the company said. One key feature is the mechanically assisted gum space (MAGS) adjustment system, the company said.

The new method of gum space adjustment allows the operator to make an effortless adjustment from a single point using a common socket wrench, Guill Tool claimed, removing the need to struggle with multiple nuts and bolts in order to adjust gum space.

The indicator on the core tube allows the operator to see how far the gum space has been moved, Guill said, making those adjustments more accurate and repeatable.

The hardware-free and patented cam lock design of the 500 Series saves time unbolting and re-securing fasteners for disassembly and re-assembly. Only half of a rotation of the cam nut is required to loosen and automatically extract the deflector from the head body, the company claimed, saving more time. With no undercuts on the deflector, Guill said there are no material hang-ups when extracting the deflector, allowing for faster and easier cleaning and changeover.

The 500 Series features a center-stage concentricity adjustment system that the firm said reduces pressure on the tooling, allowing easier and more precise concentricity adjustments without loosening the face bolts. Easy-out inserts for the adjusting bolts allow simple replacement of locked or damaged adjusting bolts, Guill said

The rubber/silicone crosshead has a cast aluminum liquid-fed cooling sleeve that allows the user to switch the cooling jacket in the event of a line obstruction, reducing downtime, Guill claimed.

The 500 Series crosshead with MAGS gum space adjustment can replace existing NRM lines or also can be adapted to fit any extruder design or line layout.

The addition of a newly designed flow inlet channel reduces the shear and heat generated as the materials are being processed, the company said, leading to lower head pressures allowing the material to move through the head in a much more balanced and even flow.

Guill said its crossheads come with a tool kit for assembly and disassembly as well as a detailed operator's instruction manual.

For a video of the Guill 500 Series crosshead with MAGS gum space adjustment, click here.