ALUMINIUM

FOIL MAKING

By: Rasik Jain (17210081)

Suyash Gupta (17250026)
 Contents 2

 Introduction of Aluminium
 How Aluminium is made
 Properties of Aluminium
 Aluminium Foil
 Advantages of Aluminium foil
 Comparison with Tin foil
 Methods to manufacture foil
 Defects in foil making
 Quality control
 Application of Aluminium foil
 References
 INTRODUCTION 3

• Aluminium is a silvery-white, soft, non-magnetic, elastic metal which

is obtained from bauxite (ore).

• It is the third most rich element (approx. 8%) in the earth’s crust (after
oxygen and silicon) and most abundant metal on earth.

• At present, bauxite is plentiful enough so that only deposits with an

aluminium oxide content of 45% or more are mined to make
aluminium.

• Concentrated deposits are found in both the Northern and Southern

Hemispheres.
 How is Aluminium produced?

Bayer process for Alumina production Aluminium from Alumina in Electrolysis

cell
 PROPERTIES OF ALUMINIUM

 Aluminium alloys have high strength to weight ratio.

 It is non-toxic and non-ferro magnetic in nature.

 It can retain its strength at low temperature and so can be used for cryogenic application.

 It can be easily recycled for large number of cycles without much affect in its properties

involving very less energy.

ALUMINIUM FOIL
6
 Aluminium foil is made up from pure aluminium of
95% to 99% purity (i.e. 1XXX series).

 Aluminium foil is used widely for packaging i.e. about

75 % of the produced. The remaining 25% is used for
the industrial applications.

 Generally, foil is used for packaging in household work

whose thickness is around 11 microns.

 In 1903, France became the first country to produce

foil from purified aluminium followed by United States
a decade later.

 In a survey it was found that aluminium foil production

in Europe was around 8 lakh tonnes per year and in
US, it was about 6 lakh tonnes per year.
ADVANTAGES OF ALUMINIUM FOIL 7

 The raw materials necessary for its manufacture are plentiful.

 Aluminium foil is durable, non-toxic.

 It resists chemical attack and provides excellent electrical and non-magnetic shielding.

 Aluminium foils are impermeable to moisture due to which it is widely used in

pharmaceutical industries for packaging of medicines.

 The aseptic drink box, which uses a thin layer of aluminium foil as a barrier against oxygen,
light, and odour.

 It also extends shelf life, uses less storage space, and generates less waste than many other
packaging materials.
COMPARISON OF ALUMINIUM FOIL WITH TIN FOIL
8
Before aluminium foil, thin leaf of tin was commercially available from the late nineteenth into
the early twentieth century.

TIN FOIL ALUMINIUM FOIL

• Tin foil was less malleable and gave • Aluminium was found as a
a slight tin taste to food wrapped in substitute of tin, which was
it. hygienic and maintained the
original flavour of the food packed.

• Tin foil cannot be heated above
160 °C because of its low melting
point. So, if you need barbecue
food or baked food, you cannot
use tin foil.
• Aluminium foil has a higher melting
point i.e. 660 °C so can tolerate
high temperature. It can be
applied to common grilled and
baked foods.
METHODS FOR ALUMINIUM FOIL MAKING 9

Direct Strip
Rolling
Casting
process
process
 Direct Strip 10
Casting
• Direct strip casting is a continuous casting
process directly from the molten metal
without undergoing any intermediary
process.
• This modern technique reduces the
requirement for further secondary processes
like rolling and reheating.

Advantages:
• Strips as thin as 2mm can be casted directly
without preparing ingots.
• It is a cost-effective technique that reduces
the need for rolling passes.

Image Source: http://www.substech.com/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=continuous_casting_in_traveling_mold

 Rolling process 11

 Rolling process can be of two types i.e. hot rolling and cold rolling.
 Plates, strips and foil can be prepared from rolling process.

STEPS INVOLVED IN ROLLING PROCESS

 Preparation of ingots
 Ingot to bloom
 Multiple rolling of bloom to form foil
 Preparation of Ingot 12

 Ingots are the raw materials for this process. They are
prepared by pouring molten metal into a mould whose
walls are water cooled, so that when the molten metal
comes in contact with the mould walls, it starts
solidifying.

 The base of the roller is lowered slowly such that the

level of molten metal in the bucket remains same. The
ingot is sprayed with water to lower its temperature as it
moves on roller bed.

 The ingot produced is cut into desired lengths according

to the requirement which can be upto 9mts long, 2.2 m
wide and 600mm thick. It may weigh upto 30 tonnes.

Image Source: TALAT Lecture 1301, The Rolling of Aluminium: the Process and the
Product, prepared by Roy Woodward, Aluminium Federation, Birmingham
Ingot to Bloom 13

 The size of ingot is reduced in reversible blooming mill.

 The ingot is heated (500 – 600oC) and passed between the rollers. After each pass
the ingot is tilted by 90 degrees and again passed between the rollers until the
bloom is obtained.

 The ends of the obtained bloom are cut off to remove the irregular shape. These
cut parts are again melted and used.
 14

Image Source:
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2Fslide%2F3282372%2F&psig=AOvVaw2NtszBwRPooucToFVBfqkb&ust=1540830987642210
 Bloom to Strip 15
 Blooms are further passed through the rollers until their thickness
is reduced to 6-8mm.

 During cold rolling process, due to deformation, the temperature

of the metals goes high upto 100oC and that is why coolants are
used.

 The strip produced is wound around to produce a coil and left for
cooling at room temperature.

 Due to deformation of strip, strain hardening takes place which

makes the strip hard and brittle. So before converting the strip
into foil in foil rolling mill, the strip is annealed so that it
becomes soft and does not break on further deformation.

 After cooling, coil is fed into four-high stand cold rolling mill.

 The strip is passed many times until the strip for desired
thickness is obtained, then trimmed and coiled.
Image Source: Aluminium in Packaging Industry, GDA- Gesamtverband der Aluminiumindustrie e. v. Am Bonneshof 5, Germany
Strip to Foil 16
 Foil rolling mill consists of single or tandem roll stands. The annealed coil is passed through the
rolls and lubricating oils are used to avoid damage.
 The thickness of the strip can be reduced upto a certain level in the foil rolling mill. Hence two coils
are simultaneously wound in one coil and fed into the rolling mill. This process is known as
‘Sandwich process’.
 The side of the coil which comes in contact with the rolls become shiny and the other side which is
in contact with the other foil has matte or dull finish. The sandwiched foil is separated in the final
pass and cut into the desired lengths and widths.

Image Source: Aluminium in Packaging Industry, GDA- Gesamtverband der Aluminiumindustrie e. v. Am Bonneshof 5, Germany
 17
Shiny surface of the foil

Dull surface of the foil

Image Source:
https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwifrsGZ7aveAhXPEHIKHTeyDiYQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com.a
 Defects in Aluminium Foil

Flatness Pinhole Wrinkling Improper Annealing

Poor roller Poor Web The Unsupported Web

geometry Quality
Excessive
Roll
Deflection

Poor Machine Web Expansion Improper Web Tension

alignment Control

18
 FLATNESS

• The flatness of the foil must be uniform

throughout.
• Uneven flatness will affect thickness of
foil which will create difference in
tensile strength of the foil.
• This will create problem during the
winding and unwinding of the foil.

REMEDY:
To avoid this issue, mill force, oil flow rate, mill
spray oil pressure needs to be chosen
correctly for each reduction of aluminium.

19
Image Source:
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rg%2Fpaper%2FA-Low-Cost-System-For-Flatness-Monitoring-in-Metal-Lopera-
Villegas%2F708be3ebe47c4077fc3de170821e0b275ed2db8c&psig=AOvVaw1gZlkjehEuvmir6g3J608U&ust=1540909578752770
 PINHOLES
• Pinholes are very minute holes which appear on the surface of foil during rolling.
• Pinholes are undesirable when the foil is being used for packaging mainly in pharmaceutical
and food industry.
• Pinholes let the moisture in and destroy the tablet.
• Beverage cans with pinholes will not be able to hold fluid in it.

Reasons:
• Impurities in the aluminium ingot (in the form of slag).
• Dust on rollers and foil during rolling process.
• If the rollers in the rolling mill are not installed properly,
it will lead to over-stretching of the foil thereby creating
holes.
• Due to usage of wrong rolling oil and its amount.
Image Source: 20
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orrosionpedia.com%2Fcoating-holidays-pinholes-chinks-in-the-armor%2F2%2F5245&psig=AOvVaw04xBNqfamOFAeWy2CD5ueK&ust=1540909948953077
IMPROPER ANNEALING
• Annealing is done to make foil soft and ductile so that it can be further
processed.
• Improper annealing may lead to reduction of wettability property of foil due
to presence of lubricating oils on the surface.
• This makes colouring, lamination, coating, printing operations difficult.
• Additional operation like degreasing and pickling is required for the removal
of oils which increases the cost and time of production.

21
 WRINKLING

Poor roller geometry Poor Web Quality Poor Machine alignment

The Unsupported Web Excessive Roll Deflection 22

Image Source: http://pffc-online.com/web-handling/9810-web-handling-top-7-causes-wrinkles-1010
QUALITY CONTROL
There are different types of test done to ensure the quality of the foil. Some of them are:

• Wettability test: A wettability test is used to determine the dryness. In this test,
different solutions of ethyl alcohol in distilled water, in increments of ten percent by
volume, are poured in a uniform stream onto the foil surface. If no drops form, the
wettability is zero. The process is continued until it is determined what minimum percent
of alcohol solution will completely wet the foil surface.

• Thickness test: Standard test methods have been developed by the American Society
for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Thickness is determined by weighing a sample and
measuring its area, and then dividing the weight by the product of the area times the
alloy density.

• Tensile test: The sample is placed in a grip and a tensile or pulling force is applied
until fracture of the sample occurs. The force or strength required to break the sample is
measured.

23
 APPLICATIONS

Packaging

Art and decoration

Cooking Insulation tape and
electromagnetic shield 24
Image Source: https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjx99j-
8KveAhWXdH0KHTxjDfUQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phearcreative.com%2Fblog%2F2017%2F4%2F3%2Fcraft-breweries-wineries-shake-off-aluminum-can-
 REFRENCES
1. Manufacturing of aluminium through Bayer process, published by Data research analyst, Worldofchemicals.com

2. History of aluminium foil, Wikipedia.org

3. Aluminium in the manufacturing industry, GDA- Gesamtverband der Aluminiumindustrie e. v. Am Bonneshof 5, Germany

4. SubsTech: Substance and Technologies, Block Caster

5. Aluminium in the manufacturing industry, GDA- Gesamtverband der Aluminiumindustrie e. v. Am Bonneshof 5, Germany

6. The Rolling of Aluminium: the Process and the Product, by Roy Woodward, Aluminium Federation, Birmingham

7. Aluminium in the manufacturing industry, GDA- Gesamtverband der Aluminiumindustrie e. v. Am Bonneshof 5, Germany

8. Aluminium in the manufacturing industry, GDA- Gesamtverband der Aluminiumindustrie e. v. Am Bonneshof 5, Germany

9. Website of Aluminium foil consultancy, Quality issues

10. Website of Paper film and foil convertor, causes of wrinkles in foil

11. How products are made, volume 1, Aluminium foil

12. How products are made, volume 1, Aluminium foil

13. Application of aluminium foil, Wikipedia.org 25

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