Innovative Film Line for Customer Trials and Development Applications


(Somerville, N.J.)--Davis-Standard, LLC recently commissioned a coextrusion pilot line at its new 4,000 square foot (372 square meter) blown film lab in Somerville, New Jersey, for equipment development for coextrusion film constructions and new materials. The line, available for trials, is engineered to support growing markets in stretch hood, lamination films, shipping sacks, GP film and technical films. This includes ongoing research with biodegradable films and further development of applications requiring higher rates and tighter gauge control.

According to Rick Keller, vice president of blown film for Davis-Standard Converting Systems, the line enables customers to run trials on a production-size machine with strict confidentiality.

"We designed this line to support customers who strive to bring new ideas and technologies to the marketplace. As such, we anticipate most trials will be proprietary," said Keller. "In addition to highly technical equipment capabilities, we have several degreed engineers on staff with experience in process tuning and film development. Our machine's integrated data logging simplifies trials and by using production-size equipment, any scale-up difficulties should be minimized. We're excited about the potential this line has for our customers and us."

Line components include one 100mm and two 2 ½-inch (64mm) MAC extruders; gravimetric batch blending; a 12-inch (300mm) Vertex three-layer die with new IBC design; 12-inch (300mm) WesJet air ring; profile control; an 80-inch (2-meter) finished width, oscillating haul-off; and 1150 turret winder for films rolls up to a 30-inch (750mm) outside diameter. The Vertex die utilizes a large center hole for IBC that is capable of a 25 percent rate increase. The polymer distribution is through a binary divider network that feeds a nested spiral mandrel configuration. All distribution channels are fully circular to allow for faster purging and better flow geometry. The line is controlled by a distributed, commercially available control system employing touch-screen and graphic HMI. Full process trending complements the ability to generate full reports for customer trials.

The lab is available to customers Monday through Friday. Those interested in scheduling a trial should contact Rick Keller at kellerr@bc-egan.com.

CONTACT
Christine Maxam
Global Marketing Administrator
Converting Systems
315-593-0359

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