Extrusion International 6-2024-USA

54 Extrusion International 6/2024 EXTRUSION TECHNOLOGY fore less dependent on the qualifications and experience of the systemoperators, achieve a faster start to filmpro - duction, higher output and consume significantly less en - ergy. This is because the motorized actuators only need to be supplied with power for a short time during adjust- ment and not permanently, like conventional thermal expansion bolts. The overall equipment efficiency (OEE) improves significantly overall. Tim Bänsch, Product Manager at Reifenhäuser Extrusion Systems, explains: “With PAM automa- tion, we can offer our customers a unique sys- tem that offers decisive competitive advantages thanks to the patented mechatronic control sys- tem and has proven itself in every respect with 150 systems on the market.” The technology was developed by maku AG, which was founded by Robert Maeder in 1983. In 2022, Rei- fenhäuser Extrusion Systems (RES) - the Reifenhäuser Group's business unit specializing in extrusion compo- nents - entered into a strategic partnership with maku to jointly develop the PAM system further and market it worldwide. Reto Maeder, the current managing direc- tor, co-owner and son of the company founder, contin- ues to be active in the development and customer sup- port of the PAM system and is available with his many years of expertise in the field of mechatronic die control. Simple operation and high work safety make producers less dependent on highly qualified personnel Usually, starting up an extrusion line or changing products requires many skilled operations. Producers are therefore dependent on well-qualified machine operators, which is a huge problem in times of a short- age of skilled labour and high staff turnover. With PAM, producers become more independent, as the system it- self can restore the optimum die setting at any time. Another decisive advantage of PAMautomation is the increased work safety. With a manually controlled flat film line, the machine operator works directly on the so- called hot part of the line. When using PAM, the opera- tor does not have any contact with hot metal elements of the line or with the hot melt itself. Burns or other in- juries caused by working on the running extrusion line are therefore ruled out. In this way, producers can easily fulfil the mandatory occupational safety requirements in high-tech markets, such as North America or Europe, and protect their employees in the best possible way. PAM for coextrusion adapters The PAM control system is not only available for flat dies but also for the Reifenhäuser Coextrusion Adap- tor Pro. This feedblock is the only coextrusion system on the market that enables the profiling of individual film layers while the system is running. Unlike conventional solutions, the elements in the adapter do not have to be removed, processed and reinstalled in a time-consum- ing manner. Instead, profilers can be flexibly controlled individually or together during operation via a central adjustment. With the PAMoption, Reifenhäuser goes one step fur- ther and automates the setting of the layer distribution and simplifies adjustments and optimizations thanks to integrated recipe management. This is particularly worthwhile for manufacturers of films with many layers and many product changes. While the coextrusion adapter for simple 3-layer lami- nates can be set in a few simple steps, up to 70 profilers need to be adjusted for barrier laminates with 11 lay- ers, for example. Compared to manual adjustment by a machine operator, automation saves around half an hour of changeover time, depending on the number of profilers to be adjusted. Reifenhäuser is one of the fewmachine manufacturers on the market that produces all hot part components it- self – extruder, coextrusion adapter and die. Thanks to this hot part expertise within the group, all process-relat- ed interfaces can be perfectly designed towork together. PAM takes the whole package to a new level. Reifenhäuser Group https://reifenhauser.com/en/lines-components/pam Movable mechatronic actuators precisely set the adjustment screws of the die In combination with the Reifenhäuser Coextrusion Adaptor Pro, PAM enables the individual film layers to be profiled while the line is running