TECNADIS METALCOAT “EASY-TO-CLEAN” IN PAPER AND CARDBOARD SECTOR

Tecnadis METALCOAT “Easy To Clean” has a wide application in the paper and cardboard sector, as these are industries whose lines have a high and continuous production rate, being the maintenance stops one of their main enemies, including those for cleaning inks and glues that stick to the equipment and which must be eliminated to maintain the quality of the products. These cleanings, in addition, are often costly in time and arduous for the staff who carry them out, since they involve the use of abrasive media, such as scrapers, and solvent products to eliminate the remains of inks, paints or glues.

Tecnadis METALCOAT “Easy To Clean”, thanks to its excellent non-stick and easy-to-clean properties, reduces maintenance stops for cleaning and also simplifies these tasks, as it also reduces the resources used in terms of time, abrasive elements or aggressive cleaning products, among others.

REAL APPLICATIONS IN PAPER AND CARDBOARD INDUSTRY

GLUING ROLLERS FOR CARDBOARD

Problem: In paper and cardboard industry, glues are normally used to apply on the final products and they are often impregned and adhered to the metallic compounds of the lines as a clear example in glue roller lines. These rollers have small cells that are filled with glue to use later to coat the paper or cardboard. With the use of the rollers, some of the glue is gelling in the metal, reducing cell volume and therefore applying less adhesive material to the cardboard. For this reason, these lines are often stopped for cleaning and maintenance processes. Moreover, this task is laborious since the cleaning of the cells needs to be meticulous due to its complex morphology surface, not being possible to use scrapers for it. On the other hand, taking into account that the cardboard is highly abrasive, the anti-sticking conventional coatings like Teflon can not be used because they detach quickly leaving the surface bare again.

Application: Tecnadis Metalcoat “Easy-To-Clean” has been applied onto stainless steel anilox rollers with 2,56 m length and 30 cm of diameter of one of the leading companies in the sector of gluing and corrugated rollers production.

PRINTING UNITS

Problem: Printing machines for paper industry use inks in their processes that usually get adhered to the machine walls, return trays and pipe bends. The ink is extremely difficult to eliminate being necessary to use a complicated and arduous cleaning system. The conventional solution for this problem is to coat all the metallic elements of the line with grease, vaseline or waxes to reduce the adhesion of the inks. In any case, the machine has to be frequently dismantled for cleaning the inks which mixed with the protective grease create like a coloured paste that is very difficult to eliminate. For this process, firstly metallic scrapers are used to remove most of the paste and, later water, soap and high hardness solvents are used to eliminate the rest of the inks. This cleaning system usually generates damages and scratches on the surfaces of the machines, making next cleaning cycles even more difficult in addition to the risks that the hard solvents imply to the employees, the high consumption of resources and large stops that the maintenance activities need.

Application: Tecnadis Metalcoat “Easy-To-Clean” has been applied on CASEMAKER printing units, EMBA 245 model, from a paper and cardboard company, CARTONAJES SANTORROMÁN.

Results: A first application test was made on one of their printing machines in order to protect its critic parts such as trays and bends against ink and other contaminants excesses of the process. After 9 months, thanks to the anti-sticking property of this innovative and highly durable solution, Tecnadis Metalcoat “Easy-To-Clean”, it is possible to clean easily the surfaces with pressure water, a cloth or with a sponge, because the ink is not adhered to the metallic elements and therefore their cleaning is easier than before. Concretely, 25 minutes are reduced to clean one printing unit which means a reduction of 75% of the time that it took them before to carry out the same task. On the other hand, due to its high resistance to different solvents and chemical products, against corrosion, scratches and impacts, the durability of the coating is high and its reapplication is not required after each use. As a consequence, during the first 9 months after the application of the product, it was verified that the coating keeps its properties avoiding completely the use of products like grease, waxes and vaselines from which about 1,5 – 2 kg per printing unit and week were used previously, with its corresponding economic saving. As conclusion, it is worth to underline that the use of Tecnadis Metalcoat “Easy-To-Clean” involves a high economic saving because it assures that the coating works at least 9 months since its application with similar properties as the first day, with only one application and making easier the cleaning processes of the printing units as well as reducing the required resources in terms of staff and cleaning materials.

Moreover, according to the production manager of the company this problem was already solved with commercial greases and vaselines, but this cleaning work was awful and difficult for the staff that had to deal with it, although they were reluctantly willing to do it. After the application of the new solution, they devote one quarter of time that they used to for cleaning the machines, the process is easier and the surface is cleaner. Thanks to the successful results of the application of Tecnadis Metalcoat “Easy-To-Clean”, CARTONAJES SANTORROMAN and TECNAN have reached an agreement to coat the rest of the printing machines of this company.

BOOK BINDING MACHINERY

Problem: In the graphic arts industry, concretly in the areas of post-printing and binding, adhesives are commonly used at different stages of the process, for instance gluing the endpaper, back cover and cover, among others. After each production stop, the glue application equipment is impregnated with adhesive remains which must be removed before drying to avoid any negative interference with the quality of the gluing in subsequent productions, and to prevent the formation of layers of glue that would leave the application equipment unusable. Today, adhered glue remains are removed by manual methods, using aggressive tools such as spatulas or cutters, and cleaning is a tough job for employees

Application: Tecnadis Metalcoat “Easy-To-Clean” has been applied on a cold glue roller applicator in an important rotary press company specialized in printing and binding books in large series, being a reference in the manufacture of some of the most important Best Sellers on the market.