Strictly-Extrusion

At K 2001, ETA Kunststofftechnologie GmbH, will show a 400 mm blown film die with external cooling ring and IBC system, a complete package for high-output extrusion. The spiral mandrel is fed from an external melt pre-distributor, eliminating spiral flow lines, ensuring high clarity film with isotrope optical and mechanical properties. In addition, ETA Kunststofftechnologie GmbH, will display a 5-layer die, used by Messers. Degussa AG for development of automotive tubes, as an example of a co-extrusion technique using spiral mandrel technology. In this specific case, five concentric spiral mandrel manifolds with melt pre-distributors form a compact unit with sequential layer formation. The system is partially cut away and demonstrates the possibility for rapid cooling of the die body after shut-down.

As the flights are the parts of the screw most exposed to abrasion and wear, screws supplied by Reiloy Metall, Germany, are coated with an armouring layer. The thickness of the layer is between 1.5 and 2 mm, and is applied by means of the plasma powder arc weld process, during which the armouring layer, and the base material of the screw are inseparably bonded together. The alloy composition, structural state, hot hardness, and the sliding properties are the decisive factors for the abrasion resistance of a screw armouring. Regardless of the screw diameter, the most suitable base material for the screw is 31CrMoV9. To ensure that the screw root and the flight flanks are adequately protected against wear, the complete screw surface is ion-nitrided. In case of a risk of corrosion caused by certain additives or plastics, X35CrMo17 can be used. As an alternative a hard-chrome layer with a thickness of 0.03 mm can also be used.

AEP Industries Australasia Pty. Ltd. has acquired the films and laminates division of Melbourne-based VisyPak, a division of Visy Industries Holdings Pty. Ltd., for an undisclosed amount. AEP takes control this month of the business, which makes film and laminates for packaging candy bars. The division has six plants and annual sales of US$41.2 million.

Advanced Elastomer Systems (AES) in association with Paul Troester Maschinenfabrik, a leading German machine manufacturer, has developed a new, innovative co-extrusion process to manufacture profiles or weatherseals for the automotive and building industries. This new single step, co-extrusion process enables the attributes and benefits of Santoprene thermoplastics vulcanizate (TPV) and EPDM rubber to be combined. The machinery design, developed at the Troester Technology Centre, comprises a 60 mm plastic extruder for Santoprene rubber and a 90 mm vacuum extruder for EPDM compounds. A specially developed die head combines both materials simultaneously. For the full vulcanisation of the EPDM profile, the total EPDM/TPV system runs through a standard vulcanisation unit. All line components are part of Troester’s manufacturing programmes. Hybrid profiles exhibit excellent adhesive strength on the interface between the two materials. It is possible to design combinations in either solid materials or using the AES patented waterfoaming process for Santoprene rubber in black or coloured options.

The market for natural- and wood- fiber composites and plastic lumber in North America is anatomized in a new report from Principia Partners, a market- research and consulting firm. “Wood Composites And Plastic Lumber Directory, First Edition” is a new report that identifies and analyzes the activities of the over 150 producers of these products in the United States and Canada. The report has over 200 pages of company profiles, as well as industry information, including current industry demand and growth forecasts, trends in consolidation, advances in processing/equipment and product technology, and end uses. Each profile contains information on corporate structure, processing facilities, key plant personnel, raw-materials usage, equipment inventory, and plans for capital expansion. The study will be available in the first quarter of 2002. For more information about the upcoming directory, visit the company’s web site at www.principiaconsulting.com.

Tredegar Corp., USA, announced that its Film Products subsidiary is closing its plant in Tacoma, Wash. The plant, which employs 45 people, is scheduled to close by next April 30. Tredegar cited the continuing expansion of production capabilities in China for Asian markets and declining demand for embossed diaper backsheet film as the primary reasons for closing the plant. In 1998, Tredegar opened a plant in Guangzhou, China. Earlier this year, the company opened a plant in Shanghai.

Based on the increasing demands of complex plant designs, Brückner has developed a new manufacturing management system (MMS). It covers up-to-date information of materials, orders, plant components and processes in order to provide optimum production control and monitoring. The new MMS fills the gap between the supervisory ERP system (e.g. SAP) on the management and business level and the line`s process control and
visualization system. Comprehensive monitoring of all process data with detailed quality information enables film manufacturers to increase the efficiency of the whole production. The advantages of MMS will be demonstrated on the Brückner booth with a demo version and via online connections to production lines equipped with the new system.

A relatively new engineering thermoplastic is making commercial inroads in two areas of extruded packaging. One is peelable lidding stock consisting of polyolefins blended with Topas cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) from Ticona. Package Printing, a converter, makes lidding for sliced- apple trays for Nature’s Pleasures, a part of Cahoun Farms, Olcott, N.Y. The film has a 0.5-mil outer layer of OPP adhesive laminated to the 1.5- mil monolayer sealant film. The stock is heat sealed to a PVC tray coextruded with EVA sealant.

The monolayer sealant filmreplaced a five- layer coextruded sealant. “It’s rare to find a monolayer sealant film that can run on a seal machine and has the clarity, strength, breathability, and other properties needed for packaging fresh produce,” says Jeff Brandenberg, president of JSB Group in Greenfield, Mass., which developed the new sealant layer. “Topas COC was the key to gaining the right clarity and oxygen transmission. It also made the film stiffer and improved its sealability. The monolayer film also holds great promise for use in modified-atmosphere packages for many other fruits and vegetables.”

Topas COC also made the monolayer film easier to produce. According to Roland Brunell, special projects director at Dana Films in Westborough, Mass., which extrudes the sealant layer, “Topas COC boosts both melt strength and stiffness. The added melt strength means fewer bubble breaks when we blow the film, while the higher stiffness makes winding easier since the film lays better and stretches less.”

In addition, a three-layer coated and laminated rigid film of PVC/COC/PVDC has been added to the line of thermoformable films from Klockner Pentaplast of America, Inc., Gordonsville, Va. New Pantapharm COC SD/03 is aimed for pharmaceutical and other blister packages requiring ultra-high moisture and oxygen barrier. It is a cost-effective alternative to cold-form foil and offers crystal clarity with the excellent formability of vinyl. Klockner Pentaplast already makes Pentapharm COC films containing COC laminated to PVC or PP.

Film and sheet machinery builder Rulli Standard Indústria e Comercio de Maquinas Ltda., Brazil, is investing about US$5 million in a new production plant near São Paulo. The 320,000-square-foot facility, near Rulli Standard headquarters, is to begin operating by April. The company said it will shift production from its 70,000-square-foot plant in São Paulo.

For the first time, die cutters, laminators and thermoformers will have commercial access to Alcryn Melt-Processible Rubber in heavy-gauge extruded sheet form. This access is the result of a new partnership between Advanced Polymer Alloys (APA), maker of Alcryn MPR, and Caldwell Industries, which has been named official sheet extruder of Alcryn. Caldwell can extrude the entire range of Alcryn MPR in gauges from 10 to more than 125 mils and up to 34 in. wide. Various colors and textures will be offered. Alcryn MPR sheet can be used to create parts for a variety of industries, including healthcare, automotive, heavy-vehicle, and aerospace.