Extrusion International 4-2024

20 Extrusion International 4/2024 INDUSTRY NEWS www.smart-extrusion.com 18 Micrometer Thin MDO-PE Film Launched  Reifenhäuser Blown Film has produced the world's first MDO-PE film just 18 micrometers thick which meets or exceeds all previous mar - ket standards in terms of mechanical properties, appearance, and further processing. The film has been pro- duced on Reifenhäuser EVO blown film lines using the patented EVO Ultra Stretch MDO technology and has been developed and tested for practical suitability in collaboration with raw material manufacturer LG Chem and printing specialist BOBST. The new 18-micron film reduces the amount of material used by around 25 percent compared to previous film thicknesses of 25 microns. This makes the production of fully recy- clable mono-material structures sig- nificantly more economical. Christoph Lettowsky, Senior Prod- uct Manager at Reifenhäuser Blown Film, explains: "Machine builders andmanufacturershavebeenpursu - ing the same goal for some time: not to use more material in fully recycla - ble All-PE solutions than in conven- tional PET-PE laminates. Technically, this is achieved due to the different densities of PET film and MDO-PE film by replacing the 12 µm PET film with a 16 to 17 µm MDO-PE film. With the reduction to 18 µm, we have taken a significant step in this direction – with further downgaug- ing potential for the future." This leap in development was made possible by the combina - tion of MDO Ultra Stretch technol - ogy with suitable raw materials. Thanks to the patented position of the Ultra Stretch unit directly in the system's haul-off, the film is stretched from the first heat. This makes the process particularly re- liable: Reifenhäuser has produced the 18-micron MDO-PE film stably and reproducibly over many hours in the test runs. Mechanical and optical proper - ties reach or exceed market stan- dard Despite the low film thickness, producers do not have to make any compromises when it comes to opti- cal and mechanical properties. With a modulus of elasticity MD exceed - ing 1,400 MPa and a modulus of elasticity TD exceeding 1,100 MPa, the 18-micronMDO-PE filmachieves the current market standard for stretched PE films. With a haze of less than 5 percent, the 18-micron MDO-PE film performs even better in terms of optical properties than the market standard, which is 6 to 7 percent. The 18-micron MDO-PE film also performed excellently in the con - verting process and exceeded all expectations of printing specialist BOBST. Davide Rossello, Head of Competence Center and Process Manager Gravure at BOBST says: "The way this extra-thin 18-mi- cron MDO-PE blown film behaves on our printing machines is unique on the market. We have printed the film at high speeds of up to 500 m/min with excellent results in terms of printing quality and register performances. But even more impressively, we were able to demonstrate the quality of our ma - chine when printing in the BOBST oneECG process, achieving excel - lent print results at 300 m/min (and above)." Reifenhäuser Group www.reifenhauser.com/en/lines- components/mdo-pe-downgauging Davide Rossello, Head of Competence Center and Process Manager Gravure at BOBST (right) and Mohamed Timol, Reifenhäuser expert for MDO processes (left) present the printed and world's first 18 micrometer thin MDO-PE film (Picture: Reifenhäuser)