Van Wees is working closely together with Starlinger from Vienna, Austria on the development of a new process for the production of UD and Crossply laminates based on polyolefin tapes. Furthermore we are developing wider Crossply machines up to 5,4 meters.
Starlinger is a leading manufacturer of extruders for the production of polyolefin tapes, circular woven products and extrusion laminators. Based on an idea from van Wees we have made a line concept. In the drawing you can see the process flow.
Van Wees is working closely together with Starlinger from Vienna, Austria on the development of a new process for the production of UD and Crossply laminates based on polyolefin tapes. Furthermore we are developing wider Crossply machines up to 5,4 meters.
The tapes are made in the usual way. The film is cast and cooled in a water bath. After cooling the tapes are slit and heated again. By drawing the tapes by means of the godets, the tapes are stretched and their width is reduced. The tapes have their ultimate strength now and instead of being wound on spools, a carrier film is put on one side by means of a second extruder.
This process eliminates the spooling and unrolling operation that is normally used for the production of UD layers. Not only does this reduce production costs, the quality of the UD is also much better. Tapes on spools are often twisted on the edges and these edges mark themselves in the laminate. The UD laminates are handled in the same manner as other UD tapes on the Crossply machine. After laminating the Crossply laminates can be coated in the same manner as flat woven or circular woven products. These products find applications in carpet backing and laminates for building and packaging.
Another interesting development is the use of these Crossply laminates in thermo formable panels made with one-component polymers.