Mechanical & Motion Systems

Designing a Better Rubber/Silicone Extrusion Crosshead

Feb. 6, 2025

Extrusion tool designers introduce a new extrusion head design featuring MAGS adjustment.

Related To: Guill Tool & Engineering

Exhibiting at MD&M West 2025, three members of Guill Tool & Engineering’s skilled team of machinists and engineers demonstrated new design features they’re bringing to extrusion tooling.

One example is the 500 Series crosshead. The engineers designed the series specifically for the flow characteristics and unique processing challenges of elastomeric compounds. It is a drop-in replacement on most existing NRM lines, noted the company. The crosshead design can also be adapted to fit any extruder design or line layout.

Mechanically Assisted Gum Space

A key feature of the new crosshead design is the mechanically assisted gum space (MAGS) adjustment system. This method of gum space adjustment allows the operator to make an effortless adjustment from a single point using a common socket wrench. The visual indicator on the core tube allows the operator to see how far the gum space has been moved, making the adjustments much more accurate and repeatable than before.

Guill Tool & Engineering representatives — Representatives from Guill Tool & Engineering demonstrated new design features they’re bringing to extrusion tooling.

Features and Benefits:

The hardware-free and patented cam lock design means no time is wasted 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; and
With no undercuts on the deflector, there are no material hang-ups when extracting the deflector, allowing for faster and easier cleaning and changeover.
The re-designed flow inlet channel reduces the shear and heat that is generated as the materials are being processed. This leads to lower head pressures, allowing the material to move through the head in a much more balanced and even flow.

Guill Tool & Engineering provides tooling for the medical, aerospace, defense, extrusion, consumer and commercial, wind, oil and energy industries.

View a video of the Guill 500 Series crosshead with MAGS gum space adjustment below:

Editor’s note: For more show coverage, be sure to check out our MD&M West 2025 content hub.

About the Author

Rehana Begg | Editor-in-Chief, Machine Design

As Machine Design’s content lead, Rehana Begg is tasked with elevating the voice of the design and multi-disciplinary engineer in the face of digital transformation and engineering innovation. Begg has more than 24 years of editorial experience and has spent the past decade in the trenches of industrial manufacturing, focusing on new technologies, manufacturing innovation and business. Her B2B career has taken her from corporate boardrooms to plant floors and underground mining stopes, covering everything from automation & IIoT, robotics, mechanical design and additive manufacturing to plant operations, maintenance, reliability and continuous improvement. Begg holds an MBA, a Master of Journalism degree, and a BA (Hons.) in Political Science. She is committed to lifelong learning and feeds her passion for innovation in publishing, transparent science and clear communication by attending relevant conferences and seminars/workshops.

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