Integrated system to manage coating parameters in a coating-laminating process

Presented by Giancarlo Caimmi, Nordson-NDC and Nordmeccanica

Coating on flexible substrates is a technology that is growing within the industry for flexible packaging, pharma and industrial applications in general. Either in the case of adhesive for lamination or for the application of functional coatings the number of installations is definitely increasing. Coating technologies have reached a significant degree of evolution. One of the aspects of the converting process that is still experiencing some limitation is process control, specifically the monitoring of the coating weight. A number of factors is influencing. The thin layer to be measured and the level of developments of currently available technologies. The most reliable ones require an expensive investment. An investment that may not be justified in some case being significantly unproportional to the investment for the main hardware. In other cases the limitation is given by the number of side influencing variables monitored by currently available sensors that may trigger false alarms. And, last but not least, the impossibility to monitor coating weight on the lower side of the range.

A solution has been developed. A new technology that allows to monitor the thinnest coating weight values and that is not influenced by side influencing variables. The technology can be used on the vast majority of coating applications and will allow for a totally reliable process monitoring.

The new technology manages the coating weight in solvent less lamination and other conversion processes has been developed based on an innovative sensor head and the total integration with the coating-laminating machine. The technology allows for safely close the loop between the monitoring sensor and the control of the coating head. Based on multiple chemical groups reading the new technology is free from negative influences of undesired variables and allows to run production jobs with no need of repeat calibrations of the sensor head.