Solventless laminating machine and the advantages of using solventless laminating adhesive “Namitek” for flexible packaging
Packaging is one of the key factors in maintaining the quality and safety of products. The choice of an appropriate packaging method depends on factors such as the type of product, storage conditions, transportation, and packaging dimensions. One of the methods used in flexible packaging is the use of solventless laminating adhesive to bond two or more layers of polymeric wrap.
Solventless laminating adhesives hold a significant market share in Europe and the United States, accounting for 80 to 90 percent of laminating machines. This can lead to assurance against contamination in the packaging of food and pharmaceutical products, which is increasingly applied in the multilayer film packaging industry and the flexible packaging industry.
The solventless laminating machine has high speed and efficiency. The economic justification for using the two-component solventless laminating adhesive “Namitek” from Teknam Kayhan Polymer for flexible packaging will be discussed below.
1. Cost savings in final packaging
The use of this flexible packaging adhesive, due to its superior properties, reduces packaging costs. Solventless laminating adhesive is suitable for packaging various products because of its adaptability to different conditions such as moisture, temperature, and pressure. Additionally, solventless laminating adhesive has high resistance to tearing and abrasion, thus packages utilizing this type of adhesive face fewer problems.
2. Maintaining product quality
The use of flexible packaging laminating adhesive preserves product quality during transportation and storage. The adhesive creates a protective layer over the products, preventing scratching and damage. Furthermore, the laminating adhesive ensures proper and safe packaging.
3. Environmentally friendly
The solventless laminate uses a solvent-free adhesive that does not emit VOCs and does not produce any irritating odors. This addresses the issue of residual solvents in packaging, eliminates organic solvent erosion on printing inks, and can also lead to environmental protection.
4. Energy savings
The solventless laminating machine does not require a dryer, which reduces energy consumption. Additionally, in the curing process, the curing temperature of solventless laminates is significantly similar to that of dry laminates, thus energy consumption is relatively close as well.
5. Safety
Since there are no organic solvents, there is no need for explosive or heating measures during production, transportation, storage, and use, eliminating the need for dedicated storage facilities for solvents. More importantly, there is no harm to operator health.
6. High efficiency
The speed of machines using this type of adhesive typically ranges from 300 to 600 meters per minute, while solvent-based laminates usually operate at 150 to 180 meters per minute.
7. Cost-effective
a. The coverage amount for solventless adhesive typically ranges from 1.3 to 2 grams per square meter, while dry laminate ranges from 2.5 to 4 grams per square meter; therefore, adhesive consumption can be reduced by about 50 percent compared to dry laminates.
b. Since the solventless laminating process does not require a drying process, energy costs are effectively reduced.
c. In terms of production efficiency, the efficiency of solventless laminating machines is 1.5-2 times greater than that of conventional dry laminates, effectively reducing production costs.
Summary
Solventless laminates utilize green environmental protection technology. Solvent-free laminates offer numerous advantages such as cost reduction, improved product quality, environmental protection, safe production, and sustainability, providing high practical value in production.
Teknam’s products comply with a wide range of FDA regulations for packaging adhesives and are suitable for most films, foils, etc. Namitek solventless laminating adhesive is designed as a green product, especially to enhance operational safety and provide lower costs at higher machine speeds (in line with high-speed machine operation and high productivity).