Extrusion International USA 3-2019

31 Extrusion International 3/2019 The core components of the pilot plant line are the high-speed extruder 75 T6.1, the STARextruder 120-40, and the Multi-Touch roll stack with a width of 1,400mm. The threemodern units clearly demonstrate that the specialist in sheet and board extrusion is committed to developing and improving its individual components and, hence, its complete extrusion lines on a continual basis and is constantly adapting to changing require- ments in the industry. The extrusion line comprises the two main extruders and a 45 mm co-extruder, each with a multi- component dispensing unit, melt pump, and screen changer, a feed block for B, AB, BA, or ABA layer structures, as well as the Multi-Touch roll stack with subse- quent winder. Depending on the config- uration, the line can achieve a maximum output level of 1,900 kg/h for PP or PS and around 1,200 kg/h for PET with line speeds of up to 120 m/min. When pilot plant tests are carried out, the relevant machine components are combined in line with the product speci- fication. If materials such as PS, PP or PLA are to be processed into sheets, the high-speed extruder is used as the main extruder. The tried-and-tested compact processing machine with a screw dia- meter of 75 mm and a processing length of 40 D is very energy-efficient and now offers better performance levels than ever before. High-speed extruders en- sure optimum melt characteristics and enable rapid product changeovers. The STARextruder, on the other hand, is ideal for producing PET sheets from new or recycled materials. The single-screw extruder with central planetary roll sec- tion processes the melt very gently and achieves exceptional degassing and de- contamination rates thanks to the large melt surface in the central section. “The STARextruder really comes into its own when processing recycled materials, as it reliably removes volatile components from the melt. When it comes to the pos- sibilities that this system can offer in the context of the circular economy, there is still a huge amount of untapped poten- tial,” says Dr. Henning Stieglitz. The Multi-Touch roll stack ensures out- standing sheet quality regardless of the raw materials used. The special function- al principle of this type of roll stackmeans that the top and bottom of the sheet or board can be cooled almost simultane- ously, thus achieving much better trans- parency and flatness. At the same time, the tolerances can be significantly re- duceddue to the increasednumber of ef- fective nips. Reductions of 50 to 75%can be achieved. The twomainprecalibration rolls are arranged in a 45° position – ideal for PET processing. Many of the key issues facing the packag- ing industry at the moment relate to the recyclability of its products. Mono-prod- uctswith a correspondingproperties pro- file, alternativematerial combinations, or bioplastics are just some of the options being considered in the context of “de- sign for recycling”. Dr. Stieglitz: “We are confident that the new pilot plant line will not only demonstrate our machine expertise in this sector, but will also pro- vide our customers with a special service, enabling them to work together with us to produce and test optimized sheets un- der production conditions.” New Pilot Plant Line for Packaging Industry battenfeld-cincinnati Germany GmbH Grüner Weg 9, 32547 Bad Oeynhausen, Germany www.battenfeld-cincinnati.com The latest addition to the battenfeld-cincinnati Germany GmbH pilot plant in BadOeynhausen is amultifunctional thermoforming sheet line. The complete extrusion line is equippedwith cutting-edgemachine components and can produce sheets and thin boards made fromnewmaterials, recycledmaterials, bioplastics, and combinations of materials. “The newpilot plant linewill enable our customers to develop new types of sheets or optimize their existing products – something that is becoming increasingly important in the context of “design for recycling”,” says CTODr. Henning Stieglitz Roll StackMulti-Touch Viewextrusion line FILM EXTRUSION