Extrusion International 5-2025

42 Extrusion International 5/2025 К 2025 Sustainable Production, Recyclate Processing and AI Methods in the Plastics Industry T he Institute for Plastics Process- ing (IKV) will be presenting three forward-looking topics at K 2025: The focus will be on the development of a sustainable, fully recyclable 2K soft- touch application, a roller inspection system for improving quality when processing recycled material in at lm extrusion, and a new initiative that supports companies in recognis- ing, systematically evaluating and spe- ci cally utilising the potential of digi - talisation and arti cial intelligence. Foam2Cycle When developing multi-component soft-touch parts, design for recycling and reduction of the product life cycle CO2-footprint are particular challeng- es. At K 2025, IKV will be presenting a mechanically recyclable lightweight alternative for soft-touch applications that can compete with conventional soft-touch solutions both in terms of optic appearance and haptics. At stand C16 in hall 14, IKV will be producing soft-touch wrist supports for computer keyboards during the trade fair, dem- onstrating performance, series pro- duction potential and economic viabil- ity of the new production concept. Detect before Defect – Inspection system for tracking roll deposit formation during at lm extrusion To improve quality and productiv - ity in at lm extrusion, IKV has de - veloped an optical inspection system that can be used to track and evalu- ate the formation of deposits on the calender rolls during the running process. Early detection of deposit formation is crucial because deposits on the roller cause a reduction in lm quality, which can lead to interrup - tion of the production process. Es- pecially when processing recyclates, the formation of deposits cannot be predicted due to batch uctuations. Without monitoring, critical val- ues are only recognised when rejects are al- ready being produced and production has to be interrupted to clean the roller. The inspection sys- tem developed at IKV can be easily and cost- effectively integrated into existing systems. It can also be coupled with an automatic roller cleaning sys- tem, which is triggered when a critical amount of deposit is detected. The inspection system is based on the optical de- tection of gloss changes on the roller surface caused by the deposits. A camera system inte- grated into the system generates an image of the roller surface for each roller revo- lution. An image processing algorithm then quanti es the deposit formation based on the grey values of the image so that the deposit formation can be tracked over the extrusion length. The inspection system offers small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular – which often rely on sim- ple, robust production processes – the opportunity to detect critical roller de- posits at an early stage and respond before rejects are produced or un- planned downtime occurs. With this system, IKV now has a test bench that enables the systematic investigation of interactions between plastics and roller surfaces using minimal material quantities. The insights gained serve as a basis for practical recommenda- tions for industrial production. The IKV booth will feature a simula- tion of the lm extrusion process us - ing a rotating chill roll tted with the inspection system. The roller is pre- pared in sections with various depos- its to simulate typical build-up effects. As in the real process, the integrat- ed camera constantly creates new images of the roller surface for live evaluation of the deposits based on the grey scale and for tracking deposit formation. The development of the inspection systemwas part of the research project “Increasing productivity and lm qual - ity in at lm extrusion by prevent - ing the formation of deposits on chill rolls”, which was nominated as a nal - ist for the IGF Project of the Year 2025. The inspection system is fully integrated into the at lm extrusion line and makes it possible to track and record roll deposit build-up during the running process (Source: IKV)