4 7

Extrusion

C o a t i n g

a n d

L a m i n a t i o n

Extrusion coating extrudes a polymer onto a substrate. Combining two inexpensive materials to make a higher performance product adds value and utility. Materials typically coated with plastic include paper, polyester, metal foils, cellophane, paperboard, cloth, and other plastics. The objective is to combine the best properties of each material into a third product that can perform a function neither of the individual products can do on their own. Potential value-added functionality might be Heat sealability for packaging applications Improved tear or crease resistance Better barrier properties to water or oxygen and other gases Improved appearance Additional chemical resistance Improved printing or decorating ability Figure 47.1 shows a potato chip bag with a decorated plastic coating laminated over top of foil. The plastic overlay may be coextruded with different layers to improve the surface printing, barrier properties to maintain the freshness of the potato chips, material to properly heat seal the top of the bag in the packaging operation, and a foil liner that maintains content freshness as it acts as a moisture barrier to protect the food while protecting the plastic from chemical attack by any of the food or its additives. Figure 47.2 shows a possible extrusion coating configuration. The unwind roll contains the material to be coated. It is passed through idler and tensioning rolls to remove wrinkles and flatten the web. Before coating, the substrate may be preheated on a heated roll, bringing it closer to the coating resin melt temperature. Using a film die, a polymer is coated onto the substrate, analogous to a cast film Hopper

process. Instead of extrusion onto a casting roll for cooling, the substrate and molten film are passed through pressure nip rolls to improve the adhesion between the substrate and the molten polymer. Which surface is exposed in the final applications and the surface requirements determine the finish to be applied in the coating operation. Gloss is specified as standard gloss, mirror gloss, or pocket gloss, depending on the reflective image and the surface brightness or shininess. Mirror gloss gives an outstanding reflected image, which is different from just having a shiny surface. Surface finishes available depend on the press roll surface characteristics and can range from a highly reflective gloss finish to a matte finish. After being joined, the structure is cooled before secondary operations that may include slitting, surface treatment, printing or decorating, and winding. In the slitting operation, edge trim can be removed or the web can be slit into different widths in-line. Some operations slit into multiple rolls off-line. Surface treatment might be used with either polyethylene or polypropylene films to modiAdhesive Layer Between Film j and Foil ! Foil Liner

Film for Decoration and Strength Figure 47.1. Foil laminated food package.

Unwind roll

EMruder Preheat Drum Die Resin

Treatment Center

Slitter

W i n d u p roll

Idler Idler Pressure rolls Idler

Figure 47.2. Equipment configuration for extrusion coating.

fy the surface chemistry, improving the ink adhesion. Corona discharge or plasma are standard treatment procedures, discussed previously in Part 7, Chapter 45, that add polarity to the polyolefin nonpolar surface. Printing or decorating can be done in-line between surface treatment and windup. Idler rolls are installed between the different secondary operations to provide tension and change web direction as necessary. Extrusion coating operations use high melt temperatures to lower the melt viscosity. This improves coating thickness uniformity and adhesion. On-line gauging is used in some operations to measure the film thickness. Either an operator makes manual die adjustments or a microprocessor controls an auto die from the on-line gauge data. A second critical performance criterion is film adhesion to the substrate. Adhesion depends on Resin melt temperature Resin viscosity (the reason high temperatures are used) Film/substrate compatibility Coating speed Coating thickness Chemical bonding, mechanical interlocking, or a combination of the two provides the film/coating adhesion. In chemical adhesion, the substrate and film are compatible, having similar polar or nonpolar chemistry at the interface or chemical groups that tend to bond together rather than repel each other. With mechanical adhesion, the substrate surface being coated is rough, providing a larger bonding surface area, with micro-undercuts or areas on the surface where the polymer can flow into and become mechanically attached on cooling. A third option is where both chemical and mechanical forces are positively binding the film and the substrate together. If the adhesion is inadequate under optimum processing conditions, it may be necessary to add an adhesive between the substrate and the film to provide the required performance. Typically an adhesive is a material that will chemically bond to both surfaces. The adhesive could be the top layer in coextruded film that is compatible with the substrate, producing good adhesion. A water- or solvent-based adhesive can be applied to the substrate prior to the preheat drum. The substrate can pass through a corona or plasma treatment to modify the surface chemistry and enhance adhesion. Corona or plasma treatment of a substrate being coated with a polyolefin resin is not anticipated to enhance adhesion to the polyolefin. Adding oxygen atoms to make the surface more polar will not improve adhesion with nonpolar polymers such as polyolefins. Defects in the coating that can render the coated product useless are

Voids Pinholes Thick or thin coating in the machine direction Orange peel Contamination due to gels or foreign material

Voids are caused by poor adhesion between the coating and substrate, where the two materials are not properly bound together. Pinholes are tiny holes in the coating. Voids and/or pinholes may be caused by excessively high coating speeds that are drawing the polymer melt too much. The other defects (gels, oxidized or burnt particles, orange peel) are the result of poor extrusion conditions or raw material supply. The extrusion operation has to have a properly adjusted die with uniform and constant melt temperature and pressure. Processing conditions may introduce too much shear heat that degrades the material, or stagnant places in the die may allow polymer to degrade over time. Polymer gels result in hard particles in the final film. Blocking is when the laminated structure sticks to itself in the wound roll. Unwinding causes defects, ripping, or tearing. Insufficient cooling prior to winding, electrostatic charge, and sticky polymer surface cause blocking. When the product is not cooled prior to winding, the residual heat takes a long time to dissipate. This heat, plus high windup tension, bonds or seals the polymer film to the substrate below it on the reel. Electrostatic charges by themselves do not normally cause blocking; however, electrostatic build-up can magnify any blocking problems that already exist. Adding an antiblocking material, such as talc, to the formulation may eliminate blocking attributed to tackiness or when the roll is wound hot. Lamination is similar to extrusion coating with the exception that two substrates are added to each side of the extruded film. Figure 47.3 demonstrates the basic lamination process. This can be considered a three-ply process, with two substrates and a molten film. If the film is produced on a coextrusion line, it can have multiple layers. A structure could be made with substrate A/three-layer film/substrate B, where the three-layer film might be an adhesive layer/film for structural integrity/adhesive layer to bind the entire laminate together. Building on the idea of multiple layers, a five-layer extrusion laminate might consist of substrate A/film 1/substrate B/film 2/substrate C. Figure 47.4 shows an extrusion configuration to produce a five-layer laminate. Adding coextrusion on both extruder 1 and extruder 2, very complex structures can be produced for food, medical, and industrial packaging applications. Applications for extrusion coating and lamination include the following:

 Film lamination Heat seal layer used in general packaging Dairy packaging Juice and folding cartons Cups Paper Foil Carpet coating and backing Food pouches Cheese bags Can linings Photographic paper Potting soil bags Release paper Frozen food containers

Urmnti Substrate 2 Esdrudor DM

Windup

Lh^ind Substrate 1
Procure Roll Figure 47.3. Extrusion lamination.

Chill Roll

Paperboard trays Oven-safe paperboard trays

Another lamination process uses a lamination press after materials are combined in a thicker structure than film. As an example, Azdel, a glass-reinforced thermoplastic composite made with continuous glass mat, is produced using an extrusion lamination operation. Film, continuous random orientation glass mat, and molten resin are combined in a lamination process using a Sandvik double belted press, shown in Fig. 47.5. Either continuous glass mat, made in a random configuration, or chopped glass strand mat, made with 0.5 inch (12.7

mm) or longer glass fibers, is added between layers of resin delivered either as film or from an extruder. The film layers are heated above their melting points in the hot section of the press, where pressure is applied to force the resin through the glass mat, impregnating the individual glass bundles and the glass fibers within each bundle. The top and bottom belts move at the same speed, carrying the product through the heating cycle, impregnating the glass, and making a uniform glass/resin distribution in the product. In the continuous process, the

Eitruder 1 for Film 1 Unwind Sutetrate A

Unwind Subitmte B

Eitruder 2 for Film 2

Unwind iubstnatsC

DIM

1 D M B

Wind up

Pressure Roll

Chill HoII

Chill Roll

Figure 47.4. Five-layer lamination with three substrates and two films.

Resin Glass Di EKtrudate Glass Res in Hot

Pressure

Cold

Hot

Cold

Pressure

Laminate Sheared and Slit to Desired Blank Size

Figure 47.5. Double-belted press laminator used to produce thermoplastic composite laminate sheet and blanks.
product is then cooled below the resin melt temperature. As the product solidifies, it releases from the belt and is drawn out by puller rolls. After the puller rolls, the product is slit to the desired width and cut to the desired length. Blanks are used in compression molding operations to produce high performance composites with continuous glass mat. Blanks are preheated in an oven to 40-100 0 F (22-56C) above their melting point if crystalline resins are used, and 150-2000F (83-111C) above their glass transition temperature if the resin is amorphous. After exiting the preheat oven, blanks are rapidly stacked and transferred to the mold in the compression press. The press is closed very rapidly, and the resin and glass flow in a uniform distribution to fill the mold. After cooling, the part is removed and any necessary secondary operations are performed.

Review

Questions

1. What is the difference between extrusion coating and laminating? 2. What materials are used as substrates and films in extrusion coating, and what are some of the applications? 3. What is the principal extrusion process used in extrusion coating or lamination? 4. Why might corona or plasma treatment of the surface be necessary in extrusion coating? 5. What are some possible defects and extrusion problems that might be encountered in extrusion coating operations? 6 Why is the polymer melt temperature normally run on the high side in extrusion coating operations? 7. Why is preheating used in extrusion coating? 8. What are the two types of bonding mechanisms that might be present in extrusion coating, and how might each be optimized to provide higher strength? 9. How does an adhesive layer function?