Extrusion Machinery Rei f e n h ä u s e r c o n v e r t s l i n e f o r p r o t e c t i v e garm en ts ; N o rds o n s t e p s u p fla t d ie s The C o vi d - 19 c r is is h a s s e e n a h ig h d e m and for g l o b al p ro d uc tio n c a p a c ity fo r h y g ie ne pro d u c t s . I n M a r c h th is y e a r, m a c h in e r y mak er R ei f en h ä u s e r h a s t e m p o r a r i l y p r o duced me t l b l o w n t o p r o d u c e r o u g h l y 1 m i l l i o n face mas k s / d ay at i t s Te c h n o lo g y Ce n tr e . T h e comp an y h as n o w c o n v e r te d a n o th e r p ilot line for p ro d u c t i o n . T h e fir s t b a tc h w ill p r o d uce 110 t o n n es o f pr o te c tiv e film fo r a g lo b a l ma n u f a c t u r e r f o r m e d i c a l c o v e r a l l s f o r u se in hos p i t al s . T h e in c r e a s e d d e ma n d is c u r r ently very h i g h f o r c ov e r a lls wo r n to tr e a t h ig hly infe c t i o u s c o ro n a v ir u s p a tie n ts . T h is v o lum e is suff i c i en t f o r ab o u t 1 .2 m illio n o v e r a lls . R ei f en h äu s er, th e m a n u fa c tu r e r o f pla s t i c s e x t r u s i o n l i n e s , n o r m a l l y u s e s t he Tec h n o l o g y C e n t r e t o r e s e a r c h a n d d e v e lop new ap p l i c at i o n s in c o lla b o r a tio n w ith its cus t o m ers . T h e film p r o te c ts a g a in s t in fections but a l l o w s a i r ex c h a n g e , w h i c h i s v i t a l f or hos p i t a l w o r k e r s w h o m u s t w e a r o v e r a l l s for lon g p e r i o d s o f t i m e . B r e a t h a b i l i t y c o m es fro m t h e p o r e st r u c t u r e i n t h e m a t e r i a l which is p ro d u c ed b y a s p e c ia l c a lc iu m c a r b o n ate add i t i o n f o l l o w e d b y a s t r e t c h i n g p r o c e ss (Rei f en h äu s er EVO Ultr a S tr e tc h ). T h e s a m e l i n e t y p e i s c a p a b l e o f p r o d ucing hyg i e n i c f i l m f o r u s e i n d i a p e r s , b e s i d e s cer t i f i e d m e d i c a l p r o t e c t i v e f i l m . U l t r a S tretch tech n o l o g y c a n a l s o b e u s e d i n o t h e r a d vanced app l i c at i o n s , s u c h a s r e c y c la b le A ll-P E fi lm (PET rep l ac em en t). T h e p r o d u c tio n u n it can the ref o re b e u s e d fle x ib ly to r e s p o n d to a wide vari et y o f ma r k e t d e m a n d s o u ts id e of an em erg en c y o r cr is is .
EDI dies from Nordson are used by customers for both extrusion and fluid coating systems
M eanwhile, the sur ging dem and for devices that pr otect against C ovid-19 includes sheet and coated fabr ics whose manufacture calls for flat die systems that in pre-pandemic days often had quite different uses, r epor ts Nor dson C or por ation. “Our company’s EDI Ultraflex sheet extrusion dies have been put into service for producing PVC, acrylic, and polycarbonate shields, face guards, sneeze guards, a nd bar r ier s and our Pr em ier fixed-lip slot di es are now used for coating fabrics and filter m em br anes specifically intended to prot ect against C ovid-19,” said Patr ick M einen, Global Pr oduct Line M anager.
Reifenhäuser has converted a pilot line for protective garments JULY 2020
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