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Extrusion Dies & Tooling
Proprietary extrusion tooling, crossheads and BAT tooling technology, designed and built in our own machine shop.
Extrusion dies and tooling, designed and built here
Extrusion dies, tips and crossheads decide what a line can make. To extrude complex medical tubing, we handle extrusion die design in-house and engineer our own proprietary extrusion tooling. Because our machine shop is entirely in-house, our tooling experts respond to a request for change quickly and precisely. Tooling is often the difference between a part that runs and a part that never makes it out of development.
What our tooling does
- Matches your exact design specifications, including outside and inside diameters, number of lumens, wall thickness and profile
- Compensates for process conditions, including pressure, temperature and material flow rate
- Holds geometry through draw-down, including multi-lumen and bump transitions
- Brings multiple materials together in our own co-extrusion and tri-extrusion crossheads
BAT tooling technology
In 2013 we invented BAT extrusion tooling. With it, we brought a 28-lumen tube into specification in 15 minutes, a breakthrough for multi-lumen extrusion. We applied BAT to other multi-lumen tubes and bump tubing in 2015, and used it for co-extrusion for the first time in 2024.
Our machine shop
- MasterCAM, which turns specifications into code and keeps generational information about previous runs
- Wire EDM machines that turn that code into precision cuts; our first wire EDM arrived in 2008
- CNC lathes, toolroom lathes and mills for tips, dies and fixtures
- Tools for keeping our dryers, extruders and lines in peak condition
The precision of our tooling comes from collaboration between our manufacturing team, our engineering and development team and our extrusion specialists. In 2023, for example, that team redesigned a spiral crosshead chuck and eliminated a weld line issue in a customer’s part.
On this page
Tooling facts
| Machine shop | In-house since 2006 |
| First wire EDM | 2008 |
| BAT tooling | Invented 2013 |
| Programming | MasterCAM |
| Quality system | ISO 13485:2016 |
How a tool gets made
From your print to a running die.
01
Design
Engineering turns your dimensions into a tool design, allowing for how the resin will draw down and relax.
02
Program
MasterCAM converts the design into machine code and keeps the history of previous tools.
03
Cut
Wire EDM and CNC equipment cut tips, dies and crosshead parts to precise dimensions.
04
Prove and refine
The tool runs on the line, the part is measured, and the tool is adjusted in-house until it is right.
Inside the shop
Where our tooling is made.
Why in-house tooling matters
Changes in days, not weeks.
When a die needs adjusting, our toolmakers are a short walk from the extrusion line. There is no waiting on an outside shop and no loss of knowledge between the people who design the tool and the people who run it. That speed matters most during development and validation, when every iteration counts.
It is also why we can take on parts others decline to quote. Our machine shop can make essentially any multi-lumen tool a design calls for.
Questions
Tooling, answered.
Questions about tooling for your part? Ask us.
Do you make your own extrusion tooling?
Yes. We design and build our own proprietary tips, dies and crossheads in our in-house machine shop.
What is BAT tooling?
BAT is the proprietary extrusion tooling technology we invented in 2013. It brought a 28-lumen tube into specification in 15 minutes and is now used across our multi-lumen, bump and co-extruded parts.
Who owns the tooling?
Tooling arrangements are discussed as part of each quote. Ask us about your project.
How quickly can tools be modified?
Because the machine shop is in-house, tool changes typically happen quickly, which shortens development and validation.
Have a part that needs new tooling?
Send us your specs, or just describe the problem. A member of our team will follow up personally to walk through tolerances, materials and schedule.
Start a project
Tell us about your part and our team will follow up personally.
Have full drawings and tolerances? Use our detailed request form.