San Marcos, California – B&H Tool Co, Inc. announced today a new wire and cable overcoat attachment for all of its adjustable-center, single-layer crossheads. This new attachment will allow telecommunication wire and cable producers to co-extrude a layer of solid FEP, (Fluorinated etheylene propylene) over a primary insulation layer of foamed FEP all in a one step process. Foamed/Skin insulated wire or cable has previously been made in a two-step process or has required a very expensive multi-layer high temperature crosshead. For users of the BH75A-2 or BH30A-2 high temperature crossheads, this new attachment is a simple low cost retrofit to their existing crossheads. Customers should contact B&H Tool Co., Inc. for specifics on the retrofit.

The primary benefit of the overcoat attachment is the enhanced electrical and dielectric properties of the foamed FEP. The wire and cable insulation produced by this co-extrusion process has a higher percentage of voids in the foamed layer, which leads to improved electrical properties. By encapsulating the foamed FEP the manufacturer has greater control of the physical properties than previous possible.

“When you inject fluoropolymer resins with an inert gas, such as nitrogen, it produces foamed FEP. The more gas injected the better the signal,” explains B&H President, Peter Neville.

Another significant benefit is improved production rates. The solid FEP overcoat has a better shear profile than foamed FEP, enabling manufacturers to maintain significantly higher production rates without experiencing material degradation. Completed laboratory tests at DuPont indicate increases in production rates of 40-50 percent.

Steve Randall, B&H Tool Co, Inc. Plant Manager, designed this new crosshead and expects the telecommunications industry to embrace this new technology to improve insulation quality and production rates for a very reasonable investment. U.S. patent is currently pending.

B&H Tool Co., Inc is a leading manufacturer of adjustable and fixed center crossheads, in-line dies, multi-layer crossheads, tips and dies, breaker plates and all types of customized extrusion tooling. For more information, please contact B&H Tool Co., Inc. 800-272-8878 or visit their web site at www.bhtool.com.

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