Five Layer Advanced Film Coextrusion System with Encapsulation Technology Delivered in Eastern Europe
Macro Engineering recently delivered a BXL-5160 five layer to its customer INVOS, spol. s r.o. from Brezolupy in the Czech Republic. INVOS is a leading Czech flexible packaging converter who has aggressively invested in technology in the last few years in order to sustain its growth and enter into new and more sophisticated markets.
At the heart of the INVOS line is an 18” (450mm) 5-layer AMT MacroPack™ coextrusion die with Advanced Multilayer Technology (AMT) and Macro’s patented blown film encapsulation technology. The die is capable of coextruding barrier films with PA, EVOH and PVDC; this last resin by using encapsulation.
Six MacroPlast extruders feed the die: five for each of the five layers and one for encapsulation. This setup allows the 5-layer die to produce a 7-layer structure when running all six extruders. For conventional applications (PA & EVOH), only five extruders are used.
For excellent gauge uniformity the die includes the ACCUPRO automatic gauge control system. The system delivers gauge variations of ±2.5% to 3.5% with polyolefins and ±4.5% to 5.5% with barrier resins such as PA.
Macro’s popular D10 Dual Lip air ring guarantees high output and excellent gauge uniformity. Operators using the D10 dual lip air ring for the first time are amazed at its ease of operation. Locking the bubble with the D10 is done “in a snap”.
A low friction Teflon roller bubble cage provides bubble stability. The bubble cage is vertically adjustable, at the touch of a button, for handling varying frost line heights. A 360° oscillating scanner takes measurements for the ACCUPRO automatic gauge control system.
For bubble collapsing, the line includes Macro’s patented arched Teflon roller collapsing frame. The arched layout of the Teflon rollers assures wrinkle-free collapsing with a wide variety of structures, including soft and thin films, as well as stiff films with PA’s. The collapsing frame includes side stabilizers for increased bubble stability.
The advanced design of Macro’s horizontal oscillating nips randomizes any gauge variations in the film. The operation is done at very low tensions preventing deformation of sensitive films. The advanced engineering of the nip minimizes lateral film wander.
The finished film is wound in two Automax automatic surface winders with taper tension and gap winding with center assist. The winders are mounted in a back-to-back configuration and include operator friendly features for shaft handling. Fresh shafts are automatically loaded into the winder and used shafts are removed from finished rolls. Operators do not manually handle heavy 6” steel shafts used when winding large rolls.
Macro’s SUPERCOM 9000 manages all line functions. The SUPERCOM 9000 is a powerful touch screen computer based supervisory, control and reporting system that makes the operation of the line simple. Recipes stored in the system eliminate the guesswork when running repeat jobs, providing consistency order after order.
“INVOS is extremely satisfied with our BXL-5160 coextrusion line,” expressed Mirek Planeta, Macro’s President. “The customer went from extruding only monolayer polyolefin film in the past, to extruding seven layer barrier films using encapsulation of PVDC. This transition occurred in a very short period of time allowing INVOS to break into new markets that were previously inaccessible.”
Mr. Josef Sveda, General Manager at INVOS, explains that service and training were pivotal in bringing his company up to speed in multilayer barrier film coextrusion. “Macro’s service commitment and dedicated training assisted us in gaining the expertise required to operate this sophisticated system, and the know-how for coextruding different barrier structures.”
