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CALENDERING PROCESS

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CALENDERING PROCESS
BASIC PRINCIPLE

Calendaring is the process of squeezing a


plastic melt between two or more counter
rotating cylinders or rolls to form a
continuous film and sheet.
The art of forming a plastic sheet has been
adopted from the technique of making
paper, metal and rubber in industries
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Plastic material and its


Compound
The PVC resin is generally processed in
calendaring plant, and it needs blending,
mixing and compounding by addition of
suitable chemicals called as additives and
fillers to make compound before
processing in the calendering plant.
Other then PVC resin ABS, PE, PP and
Styrene are also used for calendering
process.
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Calendering process with


plant details
The rolls are heated either by steam or hot oil and roll
temperature ranges from 150 to 180C.
Fluxed material delivered to the first calendar nip is
regulated to form a rolling bank. The sheet passing the
first nip forms another bank between the second and
third rolls, at the final nip, the desired thickness is
obtained from the smallest bank possible to minimize
stress in the sheet.
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Take off roll


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Sheet

Embossing and laminating


To create leather like grain or other surface structure, the
hot sheet coming from the stripper rolls is passed
between a steel roll nipped by a rubber roll that forces
the PVC into the grain.
To laminate another sheet or a fabric to the calendared
sheet, it may be nipped against the sheet on the last
calendar roll or a laminating station may be installed in
place of the embossing rolls.
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Calendering process with


plant details
After fluxing and gelation, either a two roll mill or an
extruder is used to form strands or any acceptable
forms.
Melt is maintained and delivered to the calender at
around 140-160C.
The calender roll squeezes a plastic melt into a flat
sheet.
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Cooling and winding of the


sheet

The sheet is cooled by passing it over cooling rolls then through a


thickness gauge prior to being wound-up.

The sheet is then trimmed to required width and wound on a tube or cut
to length and stacked as sheets.

The trimmed edges of the sheet can be recycled.

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Precautions to be taken
during processing
Preparation of stock for calendering, conditions on the
calender, the take off, thickness measurements, and
control to wind up.
Other considerations include whether the plastic is
laminated to a fabric on the calender.

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Types of calenders

Superimposed calenders (I Type)

Offset calenders (L or Inverted L Type)

Z type of Calenders

The I type calender rolls has the advantage of taking


up a minimum of floor space and offers the designer a
more simple problem for the strength of the side frames

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Types of calenders
Z type calender has the advantage that bending of
the rolls caused by pressure of material in the nip
has no effect on the succeeding nip and therefore
tends to improve thickness accuracy.
The inverted L offers a good compromise, since
the first pair of horizontal rolls hold the input
material easily succeeding two nips can be
arranged to give good control

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- Type

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High pressure hot water (H.P.H.W.),This is effective method to heat


the calender rolls by circulating H.P.W.H. through each roll.

The hot oil can be circulated through the rolls to achieve the high
operating temperature.

Processing Parameters
The processing parameter needs to be set and control are
temperature, speed, pressure and the nip gap.

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Examples:
Roll No.
Roll Temp.(C)
Speed( m/min.)
1st
165
80
2nd
168
82
3rd
171
85
4th
174
88
Nip gap between rollers:
Roll No.
Nip Gap
1st - 2nd High

2nd -3rd
3rd -4th

Medium
Low

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TABLE 1

Roll No.
Roll Temp. (C)
1st 145-150 75-80
2nd 150-155 80-82
3rd 155-160 83-85
4th 160-165 85-90

Speed ( m/min.)

Nip gap high


Roll
1

Roll
3

Nip gap
low

Roll
2

Nip gap medium

Roll
4

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Nip gap
between rolls

Roll No
1-2
2-3
3-4

Nip Gap
High
Medium
Low

Mechanism against Roll bending

The calender lines during operation generate very high forces exerted on
the rolls to squeeze the plastic melt into a thin web or sheet.

High forces can bend the rolls.

Crossing the rolls slightly, thus increasing the nip of opening at either end of
the rolls.

Roll bending, can be avoided by extra second bearing on roll

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Troubleshooting in calendaring
process
Faults

Causes

Compound formulation

The use of wrong ingredients or wrong


quantities

Poor gauges

Improper temperature
Improper compound
Improper flow

Streaks

Poor compounding
Improper temperature
Contamination

Thickness variation

Bent / deflection in rolls


Mis alignmentt

Film curling or side bending

Wrong roll design


Non uniform roll temperature

Discoloration

Regrind material Poor compound


Quality of Pigment
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Advantages of Calendaring Process

Delivery/ output of a calender is high.

Versatile in product design and pattern and permits lamination &


embossing without additional equipment.

Increase in maximum width of film / sheet.

Better control of film / sheet thickness.

Better optical properties due to cooling chilled rolls.

PVC

being heat sensitive material, it is safer by calendering

process than extrusion process.

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Applications

The applications include sheets in hospitals, Printer blankets, rain


coats, table cloths, draperies, water tank liners, wall covers, thermoform
sheets, packaging applications, medical applications, stationery items,
files, folders, luggage bag applications, counter tops, flooring,
upholstery, automobiles applications, and Toys.

They may be heat-sealed, heat shrunk for blister packaging or used


plain as wrapping materials, mulches, swimming pool liners, reservoir
films, vapor barriers.

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