10 Calendering
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10 Calendering OVERVIEW Calendering is essentially extruding a plastic material between successive pairs of corotating, parallel rolls to form a film or sheet. However, most film and sheet are prepared by extrusion techniques (Chapters 8 and 9). These different techniques can provide different: (1) properties, to meet various product performance requirements; (2) processing performances; (3) delivery schedules; and (4) costs. Thermal properties, molecular char acteristics, and degree of crystallinity of the plastics are factors which affect the processability of plastics. Additives can have a major influence on processability (Chapter 3) As a method of film and sheet manufacture, calendering is widely used. Like extrusion, design and construction of the calendering equipment has become increasingly sophisticated and engineered. The progress made, as with extrusion, has been largely empirical and in the direction of better and faster big machines. Understanding the process and the effect of different processing variables also continues to be studied theoretically. Calendering was developed over a century ago to produce natural rubber products. With the development of TPs, multi-million dollar, ex tremely heavy calender lines started using TPs and now process mainly TP materials. Another major product continues to be elastomeric tire fabric coating. Calendering is a highly developed art and theory, rather recently eluci dated by combining the complexity of melt behavior with the mechanics of screw rotating machines (Chapters 2-17). With this understanding comes the ability: (1) to make calenders more productive by increasing their speed; (2) to produce films and sheets with tighter thickness tolerances and greater uniformity; and (3) to handle thicker sheets more effectively. D. V. Rosato, Extruding Plastics © Chapman & Hall 1998 Overview 419 The calender consists essentially of a system of three or more large diameter heated rolls whose function is to convert high viscosity plastic melt into film or sheet. The equipment can be arranged in a number of ways with different combinations available to meet different product requirements. Typical line set-ups are shown in Figs. 10.1 and 10.2. The preparation of the material or compound is important to successful calendering. It is usually done by computer controlled electronic weigh ing scales that supply precise amounts of each ingredient to a high inten sity mixer. It is designed to incorporate any liquids into the plastic particles and to secure uniform distribution of all powdered ingredients (Chapter 17). Blending is generally done for a specific time and to a specific tempera ture. The still-dry, free-flowing blend is then charged to a feed hopper where it is screw fed into a continuous mixer, such as an extruder and/ or kneader [4]. Under the action of a mixer's reciprocating screw in the confined volume of the mixer chamber, the blend begins to flux or masti cate into the required plastic state. Usually the next step is to force the plastic out of the barrel of the mixing chamber through a die producing strands. The strands can exit as a continuous rope or be chopped into small baseball size buns. This hot plastic material may be passed through a two-roll mill and/or be directly conveyed to the top of the calender. Preparation of stock material for calendering, conditions on the calender, take-off thickness measurements, windup system, and line ."...,,"'"=~, Oven temperatures =---= A;r flows --------------- Damper pOSitions z=====, Lower explosive l' ----- Roll gaps ----=======0;& :=== Sheet temperatures _____ Center bendmg ----:<:====::::l:!:I........,==J~ _ ____ Roll rati os Roll speeds ----- Air pressure t=~~:;:::;:;;:;:;;;;::;;;;;:~~~, ViSCOSi Y =_ _ __ ==-- % Solids NiP pressure ----------.....--"-------- - Blade pressure --- Figure 10.1 Simplified schematic of calendering. 420 Calendering Blenders Feed system Calender Power feeder I Stripper Kneader Winder Conveyor r;:;;:-I - • • o Ex~~?er o /_ " '. I / IO~· + + • ~~~ _o::-tI~W--IM'-- n~ Metal \ + '~ Banbury Mill detector '..,../ mixer Windup Thickness Cooling drums gauge Figure 10.2 Calendering lines. control must all be adapted to the plastic compounded system being processed. Other considerations include whether: (1) only the plastic is used; (2) what finish is required, i.e., glossy, semi-matte, or matte; (3) plastic is laminated to a fabric; (4) web is embossed; (5) web is slit in line; (6) very low strain recovery is in the film or sheet; (7) the product needs special properties, such as optical clarity and mono or biaxial orientation; and (8) others. General processing considerations include temperature and pressure controls, calender line speed, dimensions of thickness and width, surface finish, and orientation. Calendering or extrusion Film and sheet can, in principle, be made by calendering or by extrusion. Factors that govern the advantages and disadvantages of each process can interact in a complex way. Factors to be considered include: (1) type of material to be processed; (2) quantity of product to be produced; (3) thickness required on film or sheet; and (4) costs. The capital equipment Table 10.1 Guide for producing PVC film and sheet by different fabricating processes Extruder- Blown Flex-lip Plastisol Calender calender film extruder cast Melt roll Lines installed, USA 155 2 90 40 60 5 Relative resin cost lowest low higher higher highest low Machine cost ($ million) 1-6 1-2.5 0.3-0.6 0.3-0.6 0.3-0.7 0.3-1.3 I 1 Rate and range (Ibh- ) 800-8000 500-1500 600 (4 1z in) 750 W,'zin) 750 100-1000 Product gauge range (in) 0.002-0.050 0.002-0.005 0.001-0.003 0.001-0.125 0.001-0.012 0.0015-0.020 Sheet accuracy (%) 3 (1-5) 3 (1-5) 10 10 7 5 (2-10) Time to heat (h) 6 5 3 3 % 3 Time for 'on stream' 2-5 min 10 min 2h 5h 10 min 2-5 min Gauge adjust time seconds seconds 5-30 min 5-30 min seconds 1 min a Autogauging capability yes yes no no no no <::l l':) Color or product change time 5-30 min 10-40 min 30-60 min 30-60 min 15min 30-60 min ""'t <::l Windup speed (ydmin-I ): 80 (150) 60 (80) 15 (20) 15 (30) 20 (40) 20 (30) R). average (max.) El Limitations High capital Lower rate, Poor accuracy, long on Fumes, Reduced rate cost, heat versatility stream time, low rate, inefficiency, and range, time problem degradation, reduced high energy soft materials versatility cost, resin only slow cost, release manual paper cost gauge change Applications and advantages Versatility, . Accuracy, Low investment, Grain retention Good on wall high rate, gauge multiplant capability, (pattern cast covering, thin accuracy, adjust, thin gauge (0.003 in in), soft hand material, ease and, reduced and under) and heavy and drape coated fabric, adjustment cost gauge (O.05D-O.125 in) accuracy, ease at reduced oJ::. N reprocess investment ..... 422 Calendering and replacement parts in calendering lines are expensive. The very small unsophisticated lines start about the million-dollar range compared to the much lower cost extrusion lines. Table 10.1 provides a guide comparing different fabricating processes to produce PVC film and sheet. In general, plastic materials, such as PE, PP, and PS film and sheet, are usually produced through the rather conventional extrusion lines. To produce PVC film and sheet in large quantities, calendering is almost always used since the process is less likely to cause degradation than is extrusion as well as having dimensional and cost advantages. The review in this chapter principally concerns calendering PVc. A web thickness between 0.05-O.50mm (0.002-0.020 in) is generally the kind of plasticized film and sheeting produced by calender lines. For extremely light gauges, those under 0.02mm (0.001 in), calendering could become impractical or damaging to the equipment. The reasons include factors such as, for certain materials, there exists poor strength of the thin webs and also very high forces develop on the matting heavy duty rolls. For very heavy/thick gauges, such as sheeting over 0.50mm (0.020 in), calendering may not be the optimum method of production. The reason is that there may not be enough shearing action that can be put into the rolling banks to keep the compound at uniform temperature. In addition, the separating forces on the rolls become so low that gauge variations could become prohibitive. It can be said that basically the up-stream and down-stream procedures are similar in production lines whether calenders or extruders are used (Chapters 8 and 9). For a given quantity of output, it is usually necessary to have more extruders than calenders. This situation makes the extrusion lines more flexible and more able to handle short production runs. The extrusion flexibility, when compared to calendering, includes ease of changing product thicknesses, widths, and materials. Calenders are capable of higher production speeds. Thus, there are situations where they provide a favorable situation for long runs. For these long runs, cost advantages exist. Calenders are better at producing sheets and film that have tight thickness tolerances. Calendering also provides product uniformity. Constant in-process monitoring and continuous profile adjustments is usually a significant advantage of calendering over other methods. CALENDERING OPERATION The calendering process prepares plastic materials or compounds. It melts the material and then passes the pastelike melt through the nips of two or more precision heated, counter rotating, speed controlled rolls into webs of specific thickness and width as shown in Figs. 10.1-10.3. The (usual) 0000.. ~ Reverse feed Q True "L" Conventional inverted "L" Symbols: inverted "L" ~ ;:::: F~ Positive ~ -------./ Cal;"-der ---0 bender --t -:~ s- Positive and Oq -0 negative bender ~Cl ~ Fume suction device ---Cross axis ~ Preload ~ Pick off Driving motor ......