Corona Treatment Industry Applications

Most cast and blown film extruding applications are best served with a covered roll surface treater. Enercon offers two types of covered roll systems for extruding applications.

For many industrial applications, the use of a single ply of a material does not provide all of the critical properties required for the optimal performance of a product. In these cases, a composite of two or more layers of material can provide this required performance. A common method of creating such a composite is to laminate various materials to each other with an adhesive. Surface treating solutions such as corona treaters, atmospheric plasma systems and flame treaters are often used to improve lamination adhesion.

Successfully applying a high quality, continuous web coating requires advanced and versatile technologies which can effectively meet the varied needs for films. Surface treatment plays an important role in this process. The properties of the substrate are therefore absolutely critical to ensure good coating quality and product performance.

The task of optimizing printing adhesion can be difficult, primarily because of the many process variables which require control. There are six major printing/decorating processes, each distinguished by the method in which ink and an image are transferred to a substrate, and by the method by which the ink and image are conveyed for adhesion to a substrate. Almost all surfaces require preparation to establish minimum adhesion requirements. This step is known as pretreatment and post-treatment, and influenced by the base material surface receptivity of the ink layer.

The use of corona treating to improve adhesion on water based ink formulations is widely accepted as a best practice. However printers who use solvent inks may not realize that there is much to be gained from using a corona treater for solvent printing applications.

Metallized film presents adhesion challenges to both film suppliers and converters. Today, new developments in surface treatment are creating competitive advantages by extending surface energy stability on metallized film.

When it comes to surface treatment on a blown film line there are a number of different philosophies employed. Factors including budget, available space, and specific application criteria all contribute to your ultimate decision.

Flexible packaging converters and label printers know that almost all engineered films have nonporus surfaces with inherently low surface energy. These films are surface treated at the time of extrusion, but also require in-line treatment at the time of conversion.

Embossed films have peaks and valleys that create a special set of circumstances when it comes to interacting with corona. To minimize the chance of pinholing Enercon has developed a special ceramic electrode treater station design that minimizes filamentary discharges and also expertly manages the films’ exposure to watt density per square inch without sacrificing treatment levels.