Co-extrusion in groundbreaking development
16 May 2005
"It's a good market for new products in extrusion and lamination at the moment. More and more we are breaking new ground in extrusion coating," said Walter Krämer. "Take the automotive interior trim sector. Here the extrusion coating process offers several advantages. You don't need a long drying tunnel and you can process a wide variety of materials. And no solvent is used. So it is eco-friendly in more ways than one.
"Development of high quality products demanded by the automotive industry has been made possible by having our own pilot line and working closely with the materials people. A three legged stool (that's to say the producer, the machinery manufacturer and the raw material supplier) doesn't fall over, as we say!"
Last year at the open house and during K Reifenhäuser demonstrated the Lamicor 5 – 1200 extrusion coating line and a Laminator unit for the line. "Our competitive advantage lies in the extrusion process itself," he stressed. "The best mix is obtained through the co-rotating twin screws in the Reitruder; also important is the design of the slot die with internal deckling of up to 50 per cent. Another part of the line that plays a vital role in the coating process is the laminator, which features a contact pressure of up to 1,000N/cm2. The laminator can be adjusted horizontally or vertically."
And what is the commercial success? "We have received seven orders for the Lamicor 5 in the last three years with two in the automotive field. Sixty per cent have been sold in Europe and the rest in Asia and other countries.
Just how important to the market is the ability of Lamicor to be flexible regarding substrates? "Very. Next to flexibility with materials value for money and being more friendly to the environment are also important."
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Reifenhauser Tel: +49 (0) 2241 481 135 |