The Future of Global Film Products and the Development of Biaxial Stretching Technology

The rapid development of biaxial stretching technology has brought revolutionary changes to the flexible packaging market. There are three main development directions for global biaxial stretching technology. First, ordinary packaging products will place greater emphasis on low cost and high efficiency; second, for special packaging (due to smaller quantities), production lines need to be highly flexible to adapt to changes in polymers on the same line; third, new processes for technical applications, such as COC (Cyclic Olefin Copolymer), COP (Cyclic Olefin Polymer), TAC (Triacetyl Cellulose), or other optical polymers. Currently, most global investments will still focus on "traditional" sequential stretching processes, but with higher automation and the ability to adapt to the different process requirements of newly developed resins, or to provide flexible solutions for both product changes and polymer modifications in smaller market segments. Although there are various molding methods for plastic films, such as calendering, casting, blow molding, and stretching, biaxially stretched films have become a focal point in recent years. In the future, biaxial stretching technology will increasingly develop toward special functional films, such as thick film stretching, thin film stretching, and multi-layer co-extrusion stretching.

Global simultaneous stretching processes are becoming increasingly important, as the combination of new resins and existing formulations requires contactless and gentle stretching, with the ultimate goal of adjusting mechanical properties in all directions. Such lines can have up to 7-layer co-extrusion systems to provide high flexibility, characterized by a working width of over 7 meters and a speed of 450 meters per minute, achieving a more economical input-output ratio (e.g., Linear Motor Simultaneous Stretching LISIM).

In recent years, as the packaging industry's requirements for packaging materials continue to rise, various functional film markets have grown rapidly. Plastic films produced by biaxial stretching can effectively improve the material's tensile properties (tensile strength is 3-5 times that of unstretched films), barrier properties, optical properties, heat and cold resistance, dimensional stability, thickness uniformity, and other characteristics. They also feature fast production speed, high capacity, and high efficiency, driving rapid market growth.

In summary, the above equipment characteristics of DMT (Duisburg Mechanical Engineering Technology or specific company abbreviation) can meet the needs of film manufacturers to produce various types of films without changing or replacing equipment. Meanwhile, when producing different film varieties, the required changeover time is short. In addition, the reliability of the equipment, combined with proper maintenance, can increase production time to 8,000 hours per year, while comprehensive process technology enhances equipment reliability.