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Plastic Processing Equipment Lab

The Marshall and Williams Plastics pilot orientation lab is the most complete plastics orientation laboratory commercially available for customer use. The state-of-the-art facility provides customers with a unique opportunity to develop products, solve process problems, and generate samples for pre-marketing evaluation.

The lab offers in-line extrusion for single layer or up to five layer co-extrusion with flexible casting, machine direction orientation (MDO), transverse direction orientation (TDO), and multiple winding and unwinding stations.  This allows customers the option to utilize previously cast or blown film  materials or use the Marshall and Williams Plastics extruder(s) to produce sheet on site with their own resin. 

The lab line is designed to handle a variety of resins, and has resin drying and gravimetric blending capabilities.  Processing flexibility is built in for a wide range of processing temperatures, widths, speeds, and material thicknesses.  This line is available for larger scale projects, which may be useful for  providing commercial quantities for end user evaluation and approval.  

The new lab line, commissioned in June 2004, is located at the Parkinson Technologies Inc. corporate facility in Woonsocket, RI.  Recent improvements to the lab include:

• Four extruders to allow for a five layer co-extrusion capability
• A fifth twin screw extruder for in-line compounding application
• Multi-roll casting machine with multiple pinning options
• MDO with single, two-stage, and Compression Roll Drawing options and high temperature processing capabilities
• TDO with high performance oven to deliver up to 2 meters (80in) wide finished and trimmed material
• Turret winder system from Parkinson Technologies Inc.
• Resin drying and handling system
• Edge trim system
• Two-sided corona treater system from Pillar Technologies Inc.
• Two beta gauge systems from Thermofisher Scientific

The laboratory/pilot facility is available on a reasonable fee basis to help customers test and evaluate process development and materials.  For more information, please contact the Business Development Manager, at

401-762-2100 or email him at  mwlab@parkinsontechnologies.com.

Marshall and Williams Plastics Orientation Lab