Cosmo installs lamination machine at its Karjan plant

The facility at Karjan houses BOPP lines, extrusion coating and chemical coating lines and a metaliser.

The installed machine is a Nordmeccanica product which is 1.8m wide and can run up to 450m/min speed. The machine can produce multilayer film laminates in any thickness and can go as thick as 450 microns. The laminate can be a combination of different materials such as PP, PET, PE, nylon, aluminium foil or paper. A dedicated sheet-cutter of the same width has also been installed next to the machine to process its output.

As the machine can laminate structures as thick as 450 microns, it would help the company serve customers requiring thick film laminates. Some of the applications areas of thick laminates include graphic arts, baggage tags, retort and stand-up pouches, high-strength hanging labels, aseptic boxes and luncheon trays, composites for construction and auto-segment, etc. The machine could also help company with the R&D testing during new product development process.

The adhesives used in the lamination process in the machine do not contain solvents. Solventless adhesive is composed of two components reacting with each other and consequently not requiring drying. The two components are mixed first and then applied to the film by roll coating method. Then these two components react with each other on the film web itself without any heat or radiation. The ratio of these components is important for polymerisation which consequently decides rate of curing and bond strength. Low viscosity of these two components allows easy coating on the film. Initially, the adhesive lends a very low green bond but within a span of 24 hours the adhesive gets cured and develops strength.

Pankaj Poddar, CEO, Cosmo Films, said, “The solventless lamination machine is the latest addition to our R&D portfolio; also available for our customers having thick lamination needs. Moreover, solventless lamination being an eco-friendly process with no emissions and low energy demands would also help us with our sustainability goals.”