2009 PLACE Conference November 10-13, 2009 Mubai and New Dehli, India New On-Line Measurement and Control of Multilayer Blown Films Presented by: Name Mr. Vinay Verma Title Regional Sales Manager Company Thermo Fisher Scientific
Agenda Problem statement Review the original paper Latest developments Future Investigations Questions 2
2008 PLACE Conference September 14-17, 2008 Portsmouth, VA New Blown Film Measurement and Control Presented by: Name Marty Lauginiger Title Regional Sales Manager Company Thermo Fisher Scientific
Application High performance multilayer Blown Film lines Medical Films High Performance Packaging Barrier films Can distinguish between inner/outer layers and barrier layers in an A/B/C/B/A structure Should be used where the bubble is not split for winding on multiple winders Measures through the layflat (two plies) 4
Typical Blown Film Line Diagram Courtesy of Alpha Marathn 5
Line Pictures Miller Blown Film Line Octagon Blown Film Die Carnevalli Blown Film Lines Contact Gauge on Collapsing Frame 6
Problem Statement For Multilayer Barrier Films With the oscillating frame, difficult to map the measurement data back to the individual die or air nozzle Understanding and compensating for the natural twist angle between the die and the frost line (NO PENS!) Don t know how much of each polymer is being used Don t understand the material distribution Total measurement on the bubble with gamma backscatter or capacitance is too slow for effective control On the bubble solutions contact the bubble Getting a line under process control takes too long, creating excessive scrap and reduces overall production time 7
System Configuration 8
Why is our Solution Unique? FSIR provides material discrimination of key layers Scans the collapsed tube (double layflat) and distinguishes between top and bottom Splitting the tube is not necessary APC uses PI (Proportional-Integral) control on an annular die Actuators can be Viscosity Heaters or Air Nozzles Rotational speed of the collapsing frame is measured using a high resolution quadrature encoder Accuracy is maintained via a reference input every rotation, at the home position 9
The Solution - Sensor Full Spectrum Infrared (FSIR) Simultaneous software based analysis of a complete near infrared spectral range Discriminate between multiple components Report individual layer thickness as well as overall thickness Non nuclear Invented the technology >20 years of providing FSIR technology to our customers to better understand therefore control their process 10
The Physics Behind IR Measurement - General STRONGER Each material has unique absorption pattern EVOH weaker Absorption is stronger at certain wavelengths compared to others 11
FSIR Material Spectra Absorbance spectra increases with increased weight PE Surlyn PE and Surlyn 12
The Solution - Controls 21Plus! Operating System Data Mapping: Photo Courtesy: Gloucester Engineering Film measured as a collapsed tube Speed: Bubble rotational speed measured at the collapsing frame Haul Off Speed is measured at the winder or other convenient location Distance from the rotational point to the measurement point is entered Monitored by the digital tachometer Rotational data is saved along with corresponding measurement point position during each scan of the collapsed tube Photo Courtesy: Macro Engineering Automatic twist angle determination reduces start-up time 13
Data Mapping Technique J A A B C D C B D E Bubble J I I H G F H G F E Collapsed Bubble in Layflat Condition 1 ST Iteration 2 ST Iteration V =A+J V =J+I W X Y Z =B+I =C+H =D+G =E+F W X Y Z =A+H =B+G =C+F =D+E Start with the collapsed bubble in a layflat position with the first data set Data set rotates, due to tower/top nip oscillation, creating the second data set The process continues, creating a set of simultaneous equations from which to refine the die mapping therefore improving material control Starts resolving within 1 minute or 4 scans of the web 14
The Solution 15
Results Case Study: Poorly Centered Die Before: 12% After: 4.7% ** Results based on an Oakland offline lab profiler with resolution of 5000+ points across the web 16
Results Auto Die 5 Mil (127 μm) Barrier Film Before: 3.0% (2σ) >50% reduction in CD spread in ~45 minutes DATA ORIGINALLY PRESENTED AT TAPPI PLACE After 45 Min: 1.3% (2σ) 17
Results Auto Die Start: 3.7% (2σ) After 35 Min: 2.7% (2σ) DATA ORIGINALLY PRESENTED AT TAPPI PLACE After 65 Min: 0.9% (2σ) 18
Air Ring Situation: Upgrade of an auto Air Ring on an existing manual annular die End Product: 3 different, 5 layer medical flexible package films with annual resin consumption of ~2,000 tons Applied the same mapping measurement and control algorithms as with the heated automated annual die 19
Customer Results Air Ring >75% reduction in CD spread in ~25 minutes 20
The Value 50-70% reduction in CD variations 60% reduction in time for product change-overs and restarts 50% scrap reduction at winder Additional scrap reduction in downstream operations 21
Future Investigations Does the FSIR technology provide better uniformity over the traditional total thickness measurement combined with gravimetric resin monitoring? 22
Summary New revolutionary solution for high performance, multilayer blown film lines Proprietary mapping algorithm controlling critical barrier layer films Includes dynamic twist angle compensation Much faster measurement feedback and control as compared to conventional designs ~45 minutes for viscosity heater ~25 minutes for air nozzle Typical CD reduction of > 50% Does not require splitting the bubble onto two winders Measures and distinguishes top and bottom plies of layflat Have systems running at both end user and OEM sites Offers significant annual resin, scrap, and time savings 23
Thank You PRESENTED BY Name Mr. Vinay Verma Title Regional Sales Manger Company Thermo Fisher Scientific QUESTIONS?? Please remember to turn in your evaluation sheet...