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1 March 2007



Polytype lines made to meet the converter’s needs


Two recent installations on opposite sides of Europe typify the ability of Polytype Converting to provide the right equipment for the job.

In the Czech Republic, leading supplier of flexible packaging material for food and tobacco products AL Invest has commissioned a second high speed foil/paper laminator at its Bridlicná site.

Designed and manufactured in accordance with the latest technologies used in the production of foil/paper laminates for the tobacco industry, the new machine features special short length, high efficiency dryers. State-of-the art on-line measuring and recording systems and an advanced visualization system with full process data management were included to meet the high quality standards set by the tobacco industry.

Polytype built and commissioned the machine within eight months of receiving the order; and Al Invest received product certification from its customer two months after commissioning.

Design features of the laminator include a web width of 1,250mm and a production speed of 600m/min. The unwinder and the rewinder are fully shaftless, and the units can be operated automatically or manually in both winding directions. The non stop unwinder has a motorized side-lay adjustment of +/-50mm. Web tension is controlled by a regenerative drive system with dancer roll, which also acts as a web brake detector. The winding characteristics on the rewinder are based on linear taper control. Splices are performed at full production speed.

The coating heads are equipped with a highly mobile trolley system for quick change-overs. The trolleys can be cleaned and set-up out of the machine. A multi roll coating system is used for the adhesive coating, and a chamber doctor system for the lacquer coating. Both systems are said to be well proven and are in use on other Polytype Converting machines for production speeds in excess of 1,000m/min.

A special task for the engineering team at Polytype was the customer's request for a highly efficient dryer of short length without compromising the production speed of 600m/min. Drying is achieved by a newly developed high efficiency air impingement dryer with driven support rolls.

The dryer hoods are designed for an externally located heat source. Individual air nozzles can be removed easily for cleaning and for access to the dryer inside.

On-line process control includes the PolyView 500 SCADA, an advanced visualization system with full process data management, PolyServe remote modem support, and a coating weight measuring system for the adhesive and lacquer coatings. Also incorporated are solvent concentration control, and surface inspection and moisture measuring systems for the paper and the final product, together with a total product thickness measuring system.

The AL Invest management is said to be “very happy” with the performance of its new machine.

Another recent Polytype project was an advanced coating and lacquering machine equipped with “ultra modern” dryer technology for Vaassen Flexible Packaging, in The Netherlands. It is hailed as “one of the highest performing machines for laminating and colour lacquering of aluminium and paper, as well as for pre- and post lacquering of paper for subsequent metallization”.

This machine consists of two automatic unwind stands, three coating heads with different coating methods, turner bars to turn over the web, and two of the latest generation Euro Dryer hot air flotation dryers (which are said to run at 800m/min below a noise level of 76dBA). It also boasts an automatic rewind stand, and the latest drive and control equipment, including a state-of-the-art Human-Machine-Interface.

The full line was handed over to production within a record time of 10 months from contract signature. Another record claimed is the “perfect control and reliability” of the automatic reel change facility, including the splice process for thin aluminium foil of 6.3 micron running at a speed of 800m/min. There are seven different web paths in the machine, requiring systems for quick cleaning and washing of the coating heads, together with additional unspecified new technical features that are said to allow production changes to be performed “within record time”.



Contact

Polytype Converting
Tel: +41 26 426 1211





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Polytype Converting

Vaassen line can run at 800m/min Vaassen line can run at 800m/min
Special dryer on AL Invest's machine Special dryer on AL Invest's machine


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