MMP Final Report

Polyester Film Metallization Process

Farhan Zafar Khan - 1445108

BhaweshRathi - 1345141

Submitted to
Miss TanzilaYounas

Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................ 1
Film Extrusion............................................................................................................. 1
Description of Polyolefin and polypropylene............................................................1
Production of polyolefin (specifically LDPE).............................................................1
Blown Film Extrusion Process.................................................................................. 2
Description of process.......................................................................................... 2
Blown Film Extrusion Equipment..........................................................................2
Film Extrusion Equipment.................................................................................2
Film Forming Dies.............................................................................................. 5
Cooling Systems................................................................................................ 7
Windup Equipment............................................................................................ 7
Metallization Process.................................................................................................. 8
Description of metallization process:......................................................................8
Applications:............................................................................................................ 8
Description of the metallizer platform:....................................................................9
Coating trials conducted:..................................................................................... 9
Optical Density Measurements:.........................................................................10
Barrier measurements:...................................................................................... 10
Conclusion................................................................................................................ 10
Works Cited.............................................................................................................. 11

Introduction
The purpose of this report is to describe the process for the production of metallized
thin films used commonly in a variety of packaging applications from food to
decorative wrapping papers.

Film Extrusion
(Production of Polypropylene film by extrusion BOPP and BOPET processes)

Description of Polyolefin and polypropylene

Polyolefins are plastic resins which are polymerized from petroleum based gases.
The two principal gases are ethylene and propylene which are used to make
polyethylene and polypropylene respectively.
Polyolefins are classified as thermoplastics, which means that they can be melted,
set and then melted again. In comparison, thermoset plastics cannot be remelted
once they have been set.
Most polyolefin resins for film extrusion generally are used in pellet form. The
pellets are about 1/8 inch thick and 3/16 inch in diameter, usually somewhat
translucent and white in color. Polyolefin resins sometimes will contain additives,
such as thermal stabilizers.

Production of polyolefin (specifically LDPE)

Polyolefins are plastics made from high purity alkenes such as ethylene, propylene
and butane. These gases are obtained from purification of gas from gas fields, or
from refineries as by products. For high quality end products it is important that
high purity gases be used as raw materials.
LDPE
To make LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene), high pressure,high temperature
polymerization reactors are used. Ethylene gas, pumpedinto the reactors, is
activated by acatalyst and polymerizes intopolyethylene. The LDPE formedflows to a
separator where unused gas is removed. Next, the LDPEgoes to a compounding
extruderwhere additives are added prior topelletizing.

Figure 1: LDPE production process[1]

Blown Film Extrusion Process

Description of process
The film extrusion process occurs in a few steps. The resin in pellet form is added to
an extruder, which melts and mixes the resin into a continuous form ready to be
molded into a sheet. The extruder is heated in stages so that the resin is gradually
melted, and a screw in the extruder helps to mix the resin and push it forward into
the adapter. The adapter is a connection point between the extruder and the die.
The die is the main step in this process. It is used to take the molten resin and
convert it into sheet form. Many different types of dies exist and they are used for a
variety of different compounds. The two most common ones, blown film dies, and
cast film dies are discussed in the next section. After the resin has been converted
to sheet form, it goes through a cooler to undergo sufficient cooling, and is then
passed through a winding setup to be collected into rolls. Details of these
equipment and processes are also discussed in the following section.

Blown Film Extrusion Equipment

There are two basic methods used in the production of film, cast film, and blown
film extrusion. In both of these methods, the resin is melted using heat and pressure
in an extruder and then forced through a narrow slit in the die. The slit may be
either a straight line or a circle. The resulting thin film is either in the form of a
sheet or a tube. The equipment used in this process is described below.

Film Extrusion Equipment

Extruder
An extruder consists of a hopper, a heated barrel, a rotating screw, a screen
changer, a die adapter and a base.

Figure 2: Standard extruder setup[1]

Hopper
Resins are droppedinto the extruder feed throatthrough a round or square
funnel,called the hopper. An automaticloader on top of the hopperperiodically feeds
resin into it.Two basic types of automatichopper feeding systems exist:volumetric
feeders, which refill the hopperon a schedule based on theextrusion systems
output; andgravimetric feeders,directly feed resin into theextruder.
The hopper throat can be cooled using water to prevent pellets from sticking
together. If an extruder is run at heat then during shut down, the feed screw must
be kept turning until all of the resin has been cleared out, to prevent it from sticking
and bridging over the gap.
Barrel
A barrel is a long tunnel where the heating processes for the resin take place, before
sending it to the die to be shaped. Most barrels have smooth bores. However, for
some low melting point resins, the mouth of the barrel may be water cooled and
have helical grooves. This allows low melt resins to be processed at high extrusion
rates.

Figure 3: Barrel with screw.[1]

Heater
For fast extruder start-up,barrel heating is necessary andusually done by electrical
barrelheating bands. They are PID controlled, respondrapidly, and are easy to
adjust.The heater bands are distributedalong the barrel length in zones. Generally,
the barrelis divided into three to six zones.Blowers in each zone decrease theheat
when necessary to rapidlycool the barrel when the extruder isto be shut down.
Water-cooledzones also are used by somemanufacturers for faster heattransfer.
Thermocouple
Thermocouples are inserted in the barrel wall, and insome cases into the melt,
tomonitor processing temperature.Signals from the thermocouplesactivate
temperature controllingmechanisms to regulate the heaterbands and cooling
devices.
Screw
A motor-driven screw rotateswithin the barrel. Screw speedsrange from 50 to250
rpm. As the screw rotates, the resin is forced forward, the screwchannels become
shallowerand the resin is heated, compressed, melted and mixed. The four basic
sections of the screw are shown in the figure below.

Figure 4: Different sections of a screw[1]

A long, properly designedscrew allows better melting andmixing of the resin, as well
asbetter film appearance, closergauge tolerance and increasedproduction rate.
Screws are specifiedby their length to-diameter(UD) ratio and compression
ratio.Ideally, the screw should be at least24 times, as long as its diameter. A larger
UDratio allows enhanced mixing. Thecompression ratio is the ratio of thechannel
volume of one screw flightin the feed section to that of onescrew flight in the
metering section.
Screen Pack and Breaker Plates
After traveling through the screw, the molten resin passes through a screen pack,
the supporting breaker plate and through the adapter to the die.
The functions of a breakerplate are to:
Support the screen pack
Reinforce the screen packs action
Develop back pressure
Straighten out the spiral flow ofthe melt caused by the screw
Serve as a melt seal betweenthe barrel and the adapter(which a loose breaker
platecannot do)
Help align the barrel andadapter.
Adapter
The adapter guides the resin melt from the barrel to the die as quickly and
uniformly as possible. Uneven flow would mean dead areas where some of the melt
could be held back, excessively heated and decomposed chemically. A hinged collar
generally serves to attach the adapter tightly to the barrel. Adapter heaters keep
the adapter at a specified temperature. Maintaining the temperature of the melt
when it leaves the extruder to be formed into film is very important. Melt
temperatures can be checked by using athermocouple that extends throughthe
adapter or die wall and into themelt stream.
Film Forming Dies
The film forming die is attached to the adapter. Its purpose is to smooth and
complete melt flow, thus preventing resin degradation from overheating. The
functions of the die are to:

Force the melt into a form approaching its final shape.

Maintain the melt at a constant temperature.
Meter the melt at a constant pressure and rate to the die land for uniform film
gauge, with allowance for gauge reduction.

The die consists of a body, mandrel or pin, heaters and lands. The die lands
decrease the speed of the melt flow and build-up back pressure in the die and
adapter. The die mandrel can beadjusted to change the die openingin order to
control gauge uniformity.Most film extrusion dies are dividedinto heating zones and
die heatersare automatically controlled.
Many different types of dies are available for the extrusion process. Some of them
are:
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Blown Film Dies

Rotating Dies
Coextrusion Blown Film Dies
Cast Film Dies
Coextrusion Cast Film Dies

Blown Film Dies

In blown film extrusion, the melt is forced through spiral grooves around the surface
of a mandrel inside the die and extruded through the circular die opening in the
form of a thick-walled tube. The tube is expanded into a long bubble of desired
diameter and decreased thickness. This expansion results from the volume of air
inside the bubble, which is introduced into the tube through the center of the
mandrel. Blown film dies have a number of circular heating zones. Most blown film
dies for polyethylenes are positioned vertically to push the tube upward. However,
downward extrusion also occurs.
The gap between the mandrel and the die ring ranges from 0.5 to 3 mm. In some
dies, this opening can be changed by moving the mandrel lengthwise in the die.
Most dies require a change in mandrels in order to adjust the die gap opening. This
adjustment changes the extruded tube thickness. A wider ring opening increases
output slightly, but due to uneven flow, it may make gauge control more difficult. It
also tends to promote film snap-off, particularly when the film is drawn down to a
gauge of less than 13 microns. Blown film dies can be as large as 80 inches in
diameter, producing film with 125 inches or more of flat width.

Figure 5: Setup of a blown film die[1]

Cast Film Dies

The most common cast film dies are the keyhole and coat hanger designs. In a
keyhole die, the cross section of the manifold is constant. In a coat hanger die, the
cross section decreases across the manifold from the center of the die to the outer
edges.
The coat hanger dies manifold distributes the incoming melt across a steadily
widening flow. Then the die land forms the melt into its final thickness before the
melt exits the die. Cast film dies can vary in size from a few inches to 180 inches in
width. The larger the die, the more important film gauge control becomes. The die
gap is the opening or distance between die lands. For film with a gauge of 1-3 mils
(25-75 microns), the typical die gap is 20 mils (0.5mm). Usually, one of the die lands
is adjustable to assist in controlling film gauge.
The output of film per inch of die width and the temperature of the die are usually
higher in cast film extrusion than in the blown film process. Cast film die
temperatures range from 450 to 550F (230 to 290C). Narrow multiple heating
zones are used to maintain die temperature uniformity which is also an important
factor in gauge control.
Cooling Systems
Blown Film Cooling System
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The film bubble produced by the die in blown film extrusion is cooled using ambient
chilled air. There are several ways to cool this bubble:
By air from a single- or dual lipped air ring
By adding air from single- or dual-lipped air rings inside the bubble to air from
similar rings outside the bubble
By water sprayed on the outside of a bubble that is extruded either downward or
upward. This method is most often used with PolyPropylenehomopolymer.
Cast Film Cooling Systems
In the cast film process, the molten resin falls onto a water cooled chill roll. This chill
roll may have a pattern or texture on it, which may be imprinted on to the film.
Generally in chill roll operations, the film is cooled by two or more chill rolls. This
allows the film to be cooled in stages. For example, the first roll has a temperature
between 40 and 65 C, and it takes out a lot of the heat from the film. Further cooling
rolls are then set up to cool the sheet and their temperatures are set based on the
initial cooling temperature.
Windup Equipment
After extrusion and cool down the next stage in film production is takeoff and
windup. That is the plastic film is wound into rolls. The setup for blown film is shown
below:

Figure 6: Setup of a winding operation for blown film dies[1]

Metallization Process
(Evaporated aluminum on polyester: optical, electrical, and barrier properties as a
function of thickness)

Description of metallization process:

We have produced aluminum films on polyester at various thicknesses using a high
speed modern move to-roll metallizer and described them utilizing a scope of
systems. This work is displayed in two papers. For this first paper, we have
measured the optical, electrical, and boundary properties for every example as a
component of aluminum film thickness what's more, time. We have additionally
measured the variety in the optical thickness as a component of down web and
cross web position on the substrate. The movies were created in thicknesses
comparing to optical densities of around 0.5 to 2.5 in 0.5 OD steps which compares
to physical thicknesses of around 6-40 nm. A partner paper (Part II) will depict a
suite of diagnostic estimations to portray the film thicknesses and will examine the
utility of film thickness in anticipating the optical and electrical properties of the
movies.
For several decades, aluminium thin films have been successfully deposited on
various polymer base substrates for the following applications.[2]

Applications:

Barrier protection
Reflection/ absorption requirements (Optical)
Low energy requirements (Electrical)

Description of the metallizer platform:

The machine stage utilized for the metal thickness trials was a 2007 General
Vacuum Equipment K4000 vacuum roll-toroll coater with a warm resistive PVD
source. The machine had a greatest viable covering width of 1650 mm and can suit
move distances across of up to 1000 mm. The most extreme line rate of the
machine was 840 m/min.[3]

The vacuum chamber had two independently pumped zones, which worked at two
distinctive weight administrations, specifically the winding zone and the dissipation
zone. The pumping gathering for the winding zone comprised of a two stage
mechanical blower framework (12865 m3/hr and a 4035 m3/hr) upheld by a
variable pitched screw dry pump with a pumping pace of 630 m3/hr, and the
vanishing zone is pumped by 3 x 10,000 lpm dispersion pumps upheld with a 4035
m3/hr mechanical blower and a further 630 m3 /hr screw dry pump. A polycold
quick cycle water vapor cyro pump is likewise utilized in the vanishing zone with a
hypothetical pumping pace of up to 300,000 l/sec.

Coating trials conducted:

Five beginning covering trials were directed on a 12 micron crown treated
polyethylene leatherette base substrate fluctuating the wire food rate to get the
required optical thickness levels. The trial set is compressed in table

Optical Density Measurements:

OD estimations were taken in the vacuum move coater utilizing an as a part of line
non-contact optical screen utilizing a 5 mm spot size at 626 nm wavelength outlined
by General Vacuum Equipment Ltd. Sender and collector pitching was set to 100
mm and situated in-line over each evaporator watercraft. With the in-line optical
screen adjusted with a guaranteed lens, the covering trials on the machine were
directed in open circle control and the wire food rate was physically changed in
accordance with accomplish the craved OD target level, to be specific 0.5, 1.0, 1.5,
2.0 and 2.5 OD. A static completely oxidized reference test of covered film was
additionally situated in the measuring width of the pillar to guarantee the OD levels
got were exact amid handling and didn't float with time, vacuum or temperature
varieties.

Barrier measurements:
Regular polymers utilized for bundling applications have penetration values for
oxygen and water vapor that would either make them unsatisfactory for obstruction
bundling or require to a great degree thick movies. Today thin film obstruction
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layers, for example, metal also, metal-oxides are utilized and give much lower
dispersion coefficients than the polymerization.The warm dissipation of aluminum
from an earthenware evaporator onto polymer movies is a standard strategy that
has been around for a long time. Such movies are generally utilized for sustenance
bundling, ornamental, intelligent and other specialized applications. For sustenance
bundling, gas saturation is of awesome significance keeping in mind the end goal to
augment the items time frame of realistic usability, and assurance against light,
oxygen and water vapor saturation is vital. Amid the most recent fifteen years, the
comprehension of the metallized film boundary advancement has enhanced, and
expansive film hindrance properties can be appeared as far as fragrance, dampness
and oxygen obstruction for an extensive variety of metallized movies.

Conclusion
The process for producing metallized films is highly technical and requires a number
of precise steps so that the end product is of high quality. However, it is one of the
most important and widely used processes in the production industry as the number
of end products related to this manufacturing process is vast and it is linked to
every other industry in one way or another.

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Works Cited
[1 Equistar, "A guide to polyolefin film extrusion".
]
[2 "Wikipedia," Wikipedia, 2015. [Online]. Available:
] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metallised_film. [Accessed 2015].
[3 R. A. Nick Copeland, "Evaporated aluminium on polyester: optical, electrical, and
] barrier properties as a," 12/09/2010.

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