Kiefel unveils monoaxial film orientation equipment
Kiefel Extrusion has revealed the first glimpse of a new MDO (Machine Direction Orientation) monoaxial orientation module for film production. The technology is said to offer film converters new opportunities of substituting present complex barrier film structures with simpler ones. In a demonstration at its headquarters in Worms, Germany yesterday, Kiefel said the MDO has been designed to operate at up to 300 m/min with throughput up to 1,000 kg/hr. It is available for offline use, to enhance properties of either cast or blown film, and for inline use with Kiefel’s Kirion blown film lines. First tests with the MDO have shown that among the various film downguaging possibilities, polyethylene blown film with an EVOH barrier layer can be stretched four times without any reduction of barrier properties. Kiefel says this achieves significant EVOH material cost savings and opens up potential for new applications such as enabling barrier film to be used at an acceptable cost to extend the shelf life of biscuits. The MDO will be taken for demonstration at the Kiefel Extrusion stand at the NPE fair in Chicago in June.