Davis-Standard Upgrades Coating & Pelletizing Lab

Published: February 25, 2013

PAWCATUCK, CT | Davis-Standard reports its laboratory in Fulton, NY, has expanded. The lab, dedicated to developing global coating and pelletizing technology, is designed to provide five unique configurations, said to make it ideal for testing a variety of converting process solutions and formulations.

Lab’s capabilities include two liquid coating lines (one pilot and one production size); a coextrusion line for cast film and extrusion coating; a coreless stretch film winder; and a universal underwater/water ring pelletizer and plastic compounding lab.

Both liquid coating lines have been upgraded with new drives, PLC and HMI. This includes the Wonderware-based Integrator Pro SCADA system to support data collection, trending, and coordinated operation over a broad tension range with numerous web path selections. On the production line, the unwind has been replaced with a new continuous dual-direction splicing unit. This unit uses a high-speed, servo-fired paster roll system. Advantages include the ability to adjust the tail length of the splice, an improved core detect system, and razor zip knife for cutting heavy-gauge materials.

In addition to solution coating, the production line can demonstrate continuous unwinding and rewinding using flying splice and roll changing capabilities with center, surface center, and slip core winding modes as well as in-line shear slitting. The liquid coating lines are equipped for trials using different coater arrangements, offering customers the flexibility to test aqueous, solvent, or 100% solid formulations to determine best application methods and performance using a 60-ft (18-m) flotation oven or UV. More than 50 different coating methods can be tested, including die, gravure, and other roll coaters.

The coextrusion line is adaptable for both cast film and extrusion coating processes, and the line with the high-speed coreless winder enables customers to test winding of stretch films in widths to 20 in. (0.5 m). Trial capabilities include coreless or thin core, conventional or pre-stretch films. Also tested on this line is technology for pre-stretching films down to 7 micron, depending on incoming film structure and quality. Film can be wound coreless or on thin cores at speeds up to 1,000 mpm.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.