Plastic Bushing iglide® Application in Film Production

Decrease costs with these maintenance-free bushings

"To manufacture very wide and hose-shaped films, one uses ‘blown film lines.’ Here a hose is created by a ring-shaped tool, which is drawn upward vertically by an ‘air pin.’ A ‘calibration cage,’ which defines and stabilizes the film size (bubble diameter), is arranged between the air ring (tool) and the lay-flat device. The calibration cage thus has a direct influence on the film quality. During the production, volatile substances (monomers) leak from the film, which combine with dust particles in the air. This sticky film settles on the surface of the calibration cage. To guarantee a friction-less production run, the calibration cage should be cleaned at regular intervals. This is implemented in most cases with the modern ‘high-pressure cleaner.’ In conventional solutions, the lubricant on the bearings is washed away or the bearings are even rinsed to get rid of the dirt particles. This causes problems in the form of downtime which results in added costs.

With the use of iglide® plastic bushings, there is no need for this costly downtime or high-pressure cleaning. These lubricant-free and maintenance-free bushings would greatly increase the cost-effectiveness of the blown film line.”

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