Guill Tool opens rheology lab for commercial use

WEST WARWICK, R.I.—Guill Tool and Engineering Co. is opening up its rheology lab for commercial services for a fee.

The tool maker for extrusion technologies offers machines that measure the flow characteristics of plastics and rubber through dies, which can assist a customer when they get to the extrusion phase.

Tooling geometry is optimized virtually on Guill's systems, and the project can be viewed in 3D CAD. Available are a rotational rheometer, scanning calorimeter, thermal conductivity meter and a new CT scanner.

A rotational rheometer pumps out visco-elastic data for polymer melts, offering analytics on melt properties where test temperatures range between ambient and 300°C.

A scanning calorimeter determines thermal properties of a polymer, such as crystallization temperature, glass transition temperature and head capacity of the sample.

Awareness of these thermal properties allows for the simulation of shear heating and hot and cold spots in the flow area.

Guill's thermal conductivity meter—a newly purchased IM-8000 Series Image Dimension Measurement System—"has triple the detection performance."

"Greater simulation accuracy reduces the number of physical reworks needed," Guill Tool officials stated in a release. "The in-house lab provides faster turnaround on test results, reducing delays during the design process and offering better control over the testing parameters. The result is a high-quality part delivered on time."

Contact Tom Baldock, sales manager, extrusion, at 401-465-5526 or [email protected] for more information.