Coating and Laminating
Genesis Air: One Year on from Launch
tension isolation, web cleaning and static management, every possible use case for a pilot scale roll-to-roll machine has been accounted for. Add to that the metrology options of inline weight and thickness measurement in pre-coat, post-coat and post-dry positions and what emerges is as sophisticated a machine as it is possible to achieve in such a small footprint.
I
t is 2023 and a cold November morning in Accrington, UK. The signature page on the test area gate is quickly fi lled up as the small group of mostly process engineers fi le in behind the temporary exhaust ducting. A pump cart is loaded with a water-based proxy coating solution and the modular,
slot-die coating head is pushed along its rails and locked into position.
The team from Ilika PLC are visiting E+R (Emerson & Renwick) Group to carry out factory acceptance testing of their fi rst roll-to-roll machine, which is also the fi rst of its type; a Genesis Air, pilot scale atmospheric coater. This is the latest in the company’s 106-year history, a machine conceived to answer today’s needs in research and development, dedicated to piloting the products of tomorrow.
Through a wide variety of confi gurations, enabling six individual atmospheric coating technologies and multiple options for drying or curing, the Genesis Air builds on the success of E+R’s popular Genesis vacuum coater, itself a machine with an array of confi gurable coating options. Customising a Genesis Air coater does not just stop at methods for coating and drying. With web handling options such as guiding, spreading,
From its inception, the primary goals of the Genesis Air platform design have been fl exibility and convenience, both of which are driven by the experience of E+R’s process development team. Working with customers at the group’s Innovation and Application centre, located nine miles away in the town of Burnley, this team of process engineers collaborate closely with customers on their particular needs to bring ideas from concept through to reality. Indeed, prior to ordering the fi rst ever Genesis Air coater, Ilika made good use of the I and A centre in dialling in the techniques and process parameters for their coatings, giving them the confi dence to specify a machine which accurately met the needs of their product development goals.
Fast forward a year and Ilika are making good use of their new hardware. A number of upgrade
10
November 2024
www.convertermag.com
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