Innovative thermoforming sheet lines embraced by customers worldwide

Innovation in thermoforming sheet extrusion lines has given battenfeld-cincinnati (Bad Oeynhausen, Germany) a global market into which to sell its newest equipment, the Multi-Touch roll stack line, which the company will be showcasing at stand B19 in hall 16 at K 2016 in Düsseldorf, Germany. The event runs from Oct. 19 to 26 at Messe Düsseldorf.

The company has been developing partnerships with customers around the world, including Korean company Dongjin Co. Ltd., a battenfeld-cincinnati customer for more than 20 years. “For us, battenfeld-cincinnati is the most innovative machine manufacturer for thermoforming sheet lines thanks to the high-speed extruder and the special roll stack,” said Song Seok Hwan, President and CEO. Dongjin is the largest producer of thermoformed packaging in Korea, according to battenfeld-cincinnati, and recently ordered a second complete three-layer line with a Multi-Touch roll stack. The line makes PE, PP and PS sheet in thicknesses ranging from 0.35 to 2 mm for thermoforming applications with outputs of up to 1,500 kg/h.

Dongjin operates seven lines from battenfeld-cincinnati: Two seven-layer lines and five simple co-extrusion lines, two of which are for PS, two for PP or PS and one for PET. The new three-layer line for PS and PP sheet with the Multi-Touch roll stack will be added in the near future. “With the first Multi-Touch high-performance line, we can produce 40% of the sheet needed and at lower energy cost,” said Hwan.

Thanks to the new high-performance extrusion line, the processor now needs to buy significantly less sheet from external suppliers. This is a great advantage, particularly as the investment cost of the line is paid off by the energy savings. The complete line uses about 15 to 20% less energy than a conventional sheet extrusion line, said battenfeld-cincinnati.

Equipped with a high-speed extruder and a screw diameter of 75 mm and a 40 D processing unit, the extruder reaches outputs of up to 2,000 kg/h, depending on the material processed. This ensures excellent melt quality even at high screw speeds of up to 1,200 revolutions/minute, claims battenfeld-cincinnati.

The Multi-Touch roll stack has been designed particularly for quality, high transparency, flatness and consistent sheet thicknesses. In contrast to conventional three-roll stacks, it works with a large number of roll gaps that ensure reliable cooling and calibration of the upper and lower side of the sheet. In the Multi-Touch roll stack, the sheet first passes through a pre-calibration unit made up of two large rolls. Then the sheet reaches the re-calibration unit, which is equipped with either three, five or seven small rolls. Thanks to constant contact with the rolls, the sheet shows little orientation and a particularly even thickness profile with an accuracy of +/- 1%. This enhances the efficiency of the line, as significant material savings can be achieved compared with conventional sheet extrusion lines.