Machinery News

Lohia adds on co-extrusion line

The line was demonstrated using two separate extruders delivering the melt into the T-die to extrude a three-layer film with the top and bottom layer from one extruder and the middle layer from the other extruder in pre-set ratio. Line speed of 425 m/minute with high filler (CaCO3) content was demonstrated and the line was producing PP tapes with a middle layer having 25% filler content and the upper and lower layer with 3% filler as a possible solution to reduce the cost of raw material for certain applications like low GSM wrapping fabric and lowering the dust generation in weaving, reducing damage to loom elements and also the production environment.

The line was complemented with the Autoroto winders at the delivery end to make bobbins. These winders do away with labour needed to transfer the tape from full bobbins to empty tubes at speeds in excess of 500 m/minute and are said to "deliver tape packages of equal lengths." Using step-precision winding technique, the unwinding tension fluctuations is kept low and within a narrow band in the subsequent process of weaving. Autoroto, introduced in 2007, has been upgraded twice since then.