Vacumet Plastic Film Metallising Facility, Austell, GA, USA

Vacumet is constructing a new plastic film metallising facility in Austell, Georgia, to replace an older facility in Atlanta which does not have enough space to accommodate new equipment and technology. The construction of the new 81,000ft² facility was started in 2003 and is expected to be finished and fully operational by May 2004. The plant will be able to produce metallised plastic film, plasma treated plastic, stripe metallised plastic and specialty polymeric coatings. All of these materials are used in the packaging industry to produce flexible packaging, labels, decals, printed circuits and an array of metallised plastic products.

The new facility requires an estimated investment of $56 million. When fully operational it will be able to provide over 25 million pounds per year of new capacity. The new Austell plant is being built within 30 minutes of the old Atlanta facility, which means that many of the 100-strong workforce are to be retained as well as a further 30 people employed. The company will be running three shifts for 24 hours a day, seven days a week operation.

SUPPLIERS

Galileo Vacuum Systems of Prato, Italy, have provided much of the major equipment, including two 3.3m-wide Gold metallisers with roll diameter capabilities of up to 1.2m, two compatible Galileo MRS matching slitter/rewinders, plus all roll handling equipment. Polytype provided printing units (one to eight colours), lacquering units, UV curing equipment and hot-air ovens.

NEW TECHNOLOGY

The new plant will have two new Galileo metallisers and two new Galileo slitters, as well as several pieces of equipment that will be transferred from the Atlanta plant. The Galileo metallisers, a Gold 3310 and a Gold 3312, are designed to handle plastic film roll sizes to 132in wide. The 3310 accepts roll diameters to 40in; the 3312 handles 50in outside diameter. Both of these machines are capable of running at speeds as fast as 3,280ft/min while maintaining uniformity of deposition, and can deposit metal on many different plastic substrates. Vacuum pump down times are as low as five minutes compared to older equipment that required as long as 30 minutes to achieve metallising vacuum. Advanced cooling technology allows metallisation of different plastic substrates including heat-sensitive substrates.

GALILEO CONTROL SYSTEM

The new Galileo machines feature an advanced computer control system, integrating all of the command and control aspects of the machine such as DC drives, evaporation controllers and other critical parameters. It provides operators, supervisors and maintenance technicians with real-time analysis of all machine-critical parameters such as vacuum, tension, coating values, etc. These are displayed and controlled through two touch-screen monitors. All this information is recorded in a database for the generation of reports and analysis.

In addition to the touch-screens, operators can oversee the metallising process through a video display that monitors the process from various views within the chamber, such as the unwind, rewind and evaporation areas. Galileo's dual-mode monitoring system allows users to select either optical density or radio frequency to measure the depth and uniformity of the deposited aluminium coating. Microprocessor equipped emitters and receivers enable the signal to be processed within the sensor itself, rather than by a central processing unit, which provides higher measuring accuracy.

PLASMA TREATING CAPABILITY

The new Galileo metallisers will have plasma treating capability. This is a new technology that treats the polymer surface by changing the chemical composition of the metallised surface to achieve improved barrier properties and better metal adhesion. The new metallisers will be integrated with two new Galileo slitter/rewinders and related automatic roll handling equipment. Rolls of plastic film will be untouched by human hands from the moment they are ready for loading into the metalliser until they are packed and ready for shipment to a customer. This will preserve the aluminium layer throughout the converting process and also its gas and water vapour barrier properties.

PROCESS MONITORING

The new plant has an electronic kiosk, which is linked to all the process logic controls on the metallisers. This relays production process information through the internet to ei3, a company that provides manufacturing services including remote troubleshooting and data monitoring. If a process variation occurs or a problem is detected, ei3 will send an email to Vacumet and to Galileo to troubleshoot any equipment problems.

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