Extrusion flat-film

Blow film extrusion Flat film extrusion Blow moulding Thermoforming Compression moulding... 

A plastic film, 0.1 mm thick, is required to have its orientation in the transverse direction twice that in the machine direction. If the film blowing die has an outer diameter of 100 mm and an inner diameter of 98 mm estimate the blow-up ratio which will be required and the lay flat film width. Neglect extrusion induced effects and assume there is no draw-down. 

Flat Film Extrusion In flat film extrusion, the melt is extruded through a long slot in a T or coat hanger-type die, past the die lands. In this setup, the polymer melt is forced into the slot die at its center it reaches the slot opening by way of a manifold and over the lands. The principal advantages of film casting are substantial improvements in the film s transparency, freedom from haze, improved gloss, and other optical properties. 

Fig 23. Diagram of molding of molten polymer flat film canvas 1 — flat-slit extrusion head (spinneret) 2 — receiving roller ("drum )... 

Multi-layer films can be produced, composed of different polymers. For each polymer a separate extruder is applied the extruders discharge into an accumulator, in which the separate streams are guided to their own position in the film. A laminated film can thus be made, in which one of the layers provides the strength, another one acts as a gas barrier, other layers promote adhesion and weldability, etc. This laminating process is applied with flat film extrusion as well as with film blowing. 

Film can be produced either by extrusion tubular blowing or flat process. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. These processes result in film with a molecular orientation predominantly in the machine direction (MD). As reviewed later, orienting the film can be in two orthogonal directions that develop superior optical, mechanical, and physical properties. The process is known as biaxial orientation and it can be applied to both tubular and flat film. 

Several unique products are made by extrusion and the dies needed to make these products are classified as 1) sheet dies 2) flat-film and blown-film dies 3) pipe and tubing dies 4) profile extrusion dies and 5) co-extrusion dies. Furthermore, each product type has unique hardware downstream of the die to shape and cool the extruded melt. To aid the reader, detailed illustrations of the various die designs and the complementary downstream cooling and shaping hardware are shown. 

Water quenching can be used for wire insulation, tubing, and pipe. Sheet and film extruded from slit dies are frequently crystallized on polished steel rolls operating at 65°C-145°C. Extruded, blown, or flat film can be uniaxially or biaxially oriented to submil thickness. Monofilament is extrusion spun into a water bath, and then oriented and heat set at an elevated temperature. 

Extrusion either via a longitudinal slit (slot die) to give a flat film or via a circular die as a tube (lay flat tubing). 

The blown-film technique has several advantages the relative ease of changing film width and caliber by controlling the volume of air in the bubble and the speed of the screw the elimination of the end effects (e.g., edge bead trim and nonuniform temperature that result from flat film extrusion) and the capability of biaxial orientation (i.e., orientation both in the hoop direction and in the machine direction), which results in nearly equal physical properties in both directions, thereby giving a film of maximum toughness. 

After extrusion, blown-film is often slit and wound up as flat film, which is often much wider than anything produced by slot-die extrusion. Thus, blown-films of diameters 7 ft. or more have been produced, giving flat film ofwidths up to 24 ft. One example is reported [16] of a 10-in. extruder with 5-ft diameter and a blowup ratio of 2.5, producing 1,100 Ib/h, or polyethylene film, which when collapsed and slit in 40 ft wide. Films in thicknesses of 0.004-0.008 in. are readily produced by the blown-film process. Polyethylene films of such large widths and small thicknesses find extensive uses in agriculture, horticulture, and building. 

In flat-film extrusion (particularly at high takeoff rates), there is a relatively high orientation of the film in the machine direction (i.e., the direction of the extrudate flow) and a very low one in the traverse direction. 

Biaxial orientation effects are important in the manufacture of films and sheet. Biaxially stretched polypropylene, poly(ethyleneterephthalate) (e.g., Melinex) and poly(vinylidene chloride) (Saran) produced by flat-film extrusion and tentering are strong films of high clarity. In biaxial orientation, molecules are randomly oriented in two dimensions just as fibers would be in a random mat the orientation-induced crystallization produces structures which do not interfere with the light waves. With polyethylene, biaxial orientation often can be achieved in blown-film extrusion. 

The equipment used for extrusion coating is similar to that used for the extrusion of flat film. Figure 2.30 shows a typical extrusion coating setup. The thin molten film from the extruder is pulled down into the nip between a chill roll and a pressure roll situated directly below the die. The pressure between these two rolls forces the film on to the substrate while the substrate, moving at a speed faster than the extruded film, draws the film to the required thickness. The molten film is cooled by the water-cooled, chromium-plated chill roll. The pressure roll is also metallic but is covered with a rubber sleeve, usually neoprene or silicone rubber. After trimming, the coated material is wound up on conventional windup equipment. 

Production of permeation-proof plastic fuel tanks can be realized using coextrusion with mbular die systems, followed up by hollow article extrusion blow molds. Using slit dies, multiple-layer, flat films or plates can be produced, which can then be deep-drawn. When the melt is united before the die, oxidizing gas can be blown into the airstream as an adhesion promoter, or adhesion promoter layers can be extruded into the material by means of coextrusion. Using a rotating mass distributor, sheathing with spiral markings can be made for switch wires, tubes and marbled profiles. 

A. Christie, Flat Die Extrusion Cast Film (Coating Laminating, Tappi, 2009)... 

Flat film extrusion through a linear slit die into a water bath provided with submerged guiding rolls. 

The tubular-film process is only suitable for materials with sufficient melt strength to prevent blow-out of the balloon. Hence, grades with a higher molecular weight are sometimes used and the mass temperature is often 20-30°C lower than in flat-film extrusion. A low mass temperature is also required to decrease the height of the frost line, which results in a more stable balloon. 

In this respect the blow-extrusion technique is highly advantageous compared with flat film extrusion, where a similar combination of high molecular weight and low mass temperature would result in too much anisotropy. 

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