Rigid PVC Film
Packaging and pharmaceutical film, blister, credit cards, printing and advertising films. Focus: thickness tolerance, gloss and transparency, residual thermal stability for thermoforming.
Calender Consulting
Calender Technology: Consulting, Process Optimization and Training for Film Calenders
More than 30 years of calender technology in film production – from rigid and flexible PVC to PET. Our calender consulting optimizes thickness profile, changeover times and scrap on your 3-, 4- or 5-roll calender, and we train your calender operators on a model of your own line.
What we move on the calender
Thickness profile, changeover time, scrap – the three levers of the calender line.
In calendering, the roll nip decides quality and profitability. We bring nip force, roll temperature, roll bending and roll crossing to the operating point where the film runs within tolerance – and keep it there.
The line in 3D
A film calender line you can turn around: from the extruder to the slitter-winder
The model follows the melt across the feed conveyor, the 4-roll L-calender, take-off and tempering rolls to the finished reels – with a traversing thickness gauge and an inspection system of four line-scan cameras that detects defects in reflected and transmitted light. The film is shown clear; switch on “Temperature colours” to see the web temperature: from 200 °C on roll 4 down to 25 °C at the winder.
Loading 3D model …
Drag: rotate · Scroll/pinch: zoom
- Output
- 894 kg/h
- Reel diameter
- 500 mm
- Length on reel
- 0 m
- Defects detected
- 0
Schematic model with typical values for rigid PVC at 1,800 mm usable width. Web and rolls run in real time; reel build-up is accelerated 120-fold. For your line we parameterize the calender model with real roll, material and recipe data.
Calender types and films
Which calenders we work on
3- to 5-roll calenders in I, Z, F and L configuration, working widths of more than two meters, film thicknesses from about 50 to 800 µm.
Flexible PVC Film
Construction and technical films, roofing membranes, flooring, furniture and decorative films. Focus: plasticizer distribution, surface, embossing and shrinkage behavior.
PET and Other Polymers
Calendered PET, PETG and PP films as well as rubber and blended systems. Focus: rheology in the nip, cooling process, modeling of new formulations before the first trial.
Services on the calender
From the audit on the line to training in the VR headset
On-Site Calender Audit
Two days on your line: process parameters, measuring points, quality and complaint data. The result is a prioritized action plan with the levers that have the greatest effect on thickness profile, changeover time and scrap.
To the service packageCalender Model and Precalculation
Physical model of the flow, pressure and heat processes in the roll nip, parameterized with your roll, material and formulation data. It delivers mean film thickness, calendered width, throughput, shrinkage and the optimum values for roll bending and roll crossing.
To the VR projectTraining for Calender Operators
Practice changeovers and optimizations without tying up the production line: on a laptop or in a VR headset with the images of your line. One to two training days on site, up to eight participants.
To the service packageMeasurement Technology for the Calender
Inline: thickness profile, gloss, color value, surface detection, rolling bank level, bearing monitoring. Offline: longitudinal thickness trace, residual thermal stability, shrinkage and shrink force – linked with control system, laboratory and ERP.
To inline measurement technology
Standard reference on calender technology
Innovations in Film Manufacture – Exemplified by Calender Technology
Process fundamentals, measurement technology and digitalization of calender technology – written from three decades of practice at Klöckner Pentaplast and the research partnership with Technical University of St. Petersburg.
To the publicationsWhat question is your calender asking right now?
Thickness profile, changeover time, scrap, training – in a 30-minute initial consultation we identify where the biggest lever lies.