Brampton Engineering Inc. (Booth N4749) is displaying the largest nine-layer blown film die ever built, according to the company.
Jim Waslowski, vice president of marketing and business development, said the 24-inch-lip die is one of two the company will ship to different U.S. customers within a few weeks. They cost about $2.5 million each without installation.
The line can make about 1,100 pounds per hour of 110-inch layflat film. Customers will use a combination of nylon, ethylene/vinyl alcohol, tie layer, polyolefin and ionomer layers to make vacuum-formable film to package food products such as cheese and meat.
The displayed die will be controlled by Brampton's improved Streamlined Coextrusion Die with the I-Flex Auto Gauge Lip and its Italycs system.
Brampton also is showing rolls of film made by its AquaFrost system, a water-cooled downward-blown film system that matches output rates of cast film production. Clarity of AquaFrost film equals that of cast film because the film is cooled while the polymer is still in the amorphous phase, Waslowski explained in an interview at his booth. Thermoformability is the same as cast film, according to the Brampton, Ontario, extrusion equipment supplier. An advantage of AquaFrost film is that it has balanced orientation. Brampton's five-layer laboratory line has made a range of barrier and monolayer films, which are on display at its booth. Waslowski said potential uses include meat and cheese film, clear shrink bundling films and heavy duty shipping sacks. He said Brampton worked on the process for about two years in response to customer demands for higher-clarity barrier films.
Brampton also is showing a new high-output cylindrical die package, its I-Flex family of gauge control systems and its new 4+1 Pancake IBC internal bubble control.
