Extrusion International 6-2022

37 Extrusion International 6/2022 Stretch Film Line with a Patented, Brand-new Triple Turret Winder Presented on K 2022 SML comes with a world debut in stretch film manufacturing to K2022: A patented triple turret winder for the PowerCast XL stretch film line. The W4000-4S-3T is the first winder in the market for manufacturing 2” stretch film hand rolls on a 4.5 m wide line. SML’s new “three-turrets-in-one- frame” concept enables significantly higher production speeds for maxi- mum output quantities – especially at the lighter 2” rolls. “The PowerCast XL with the new turret winder W4000-4S-3T has yet to meet its match. The possibility to manufacture also 2” rolls on that 4.5 mwide increases the product diver- sity and productivity of our PowerCast stretch film line significantly,” says SML Product Manager Thomas Rauscher. Until now, it was only possible to run 2” hand rolls on lines up to 3 m width, thus the new development boosts the output of hand rolls by about 50 %. As before, 3” hand rolls, machine rolls and jumbo rolls an also be manufactured, with ease, with this new solution. “The trigger to develop a new wind- ing system for 2” hand rolls for our 4.5 m wide PowerCast XL line came right from our customers. As a starting- point for our development works we took the proven double turret winder W4000-4S”, Thomas Rauscher explains. The technical basis of the new winder W4000-4S-3T is the patented ‘three tur- rets-in-one-frame concept’. Compared to other winders for wider lines, the three winding shafts with 1.5 m each are relatively short. This guarantees very stable production processes and allows significantly higher production speeds, especially at hand rolls. Heat-resistant C-PET Light Cup Promotes Circular Economy SML has joined forces with its part- ners Sukano AG and Kiefel Packaging B.V. The result of their common R&D is a C-PET light cup that combines trans- parency and recyclability as well as suit- ability for thermoformed hot-filling or microwavable products. Further advantages include short cycle times during thermoforming and a high stiffness. The newly developed C-PET light can thus be a reasonable option for manufacturers looking for an eco- nomic and easy-to-recycle alternative to PP and PS. Transparency for recyclability “Because easy recyclability is becom- ing increasingly important, we opted for a transparent C-PET solution at an early stage of our joint research and development work” says Max-Phillip Lutz, Product Manager at SML. Com- pared with other coloured PET or PP and PS products, the recycling process of C-PET light is considerably easier. C- PET light film can be smoothly repro - cessed in existing facilities together with other post-consumer or post-in- dustrial PET materials. Alternative to PS and PP In general, C-PET is temperature re- sistant up to 220°C. However, this is not necessary for many applications and limits the output in thermoforming. In contrast, C-PET light was developed to withstand a maximum temperature of 100°C. The newC-PET light enables the manufacturing of transparent thermo- forming products for hot-fill applica - tions up to 100°C at output volumes comparable to those of conventional A-PET processes. Especially the shorter cycle times during thermoforming are an economic advantage compared with conventional C-PET. Adjusting process technology All three project partners shared their specific expertise and their pro - found experience in their respective areas in order to improve every single step in all processes. The main techni- cal challenges were to find the opti - mum dosage for the additives, to ad- just the formulations and the process technology during film production, and to find the right parameters for the thermoforming process. SML www.sml.at Max-Phillip Lutz, Product Manager at SML, at the K 2022 exhibition stand