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Prototyping new products
February 27, 2008
The first thing I like to do when designing a new substrate is to decide what the core needs to be and then choose the surface layers, based upon the fitness-for-use description (more on this at another time). Once these are determined, then any additional layers, which are needed to use scrap, or to adhere two incompatible polymers together or to add pigment etc., can be determined, and then the total structure may be defined for the first time. Then what? First, the new substrate concept has to be made, to see if the polymer selection is proper or if other modifications need to be made to make the product fit for use. The substrate has to be prototyped.
In general, the line which is available for producing the film is not suitable either in terms of layers, or the polymers for which the line is designed are not the polymers which we need to produce the prototype, etc. But changing the line is too expensive because no one knows if the product design is worth making, so no way will you get the capital to make the change until you make the product and show that it is worth making. It's kind of a "chicken or the egg" situation.
What to do? Well, in some cases, you may only be able to make one side of the film at a time. For instance, if you have a three-layer coex line but need to make a four-layer product. If one surface is “standard” like a sealant layer, then you can simply make the other three layers ignoring the sealant to determine the suitability of the other layer or layers for the job at hand. Not everyone will be able see the value of this (they need to see the whole product), but if you can prove one part of the technology and show its functionality, then you can usually make a successful request for some time and money to make a more complete prototype, either on your lines or an outside lab or plant with a more complete capability relative to your needs.
Next, you will have to answer the question, can these resins be extruded well enough with this extruder and die to make an acceptable sample? I will address this question in a few days and will show you what polymer information will be needed to determine how the coex structure you want might form in the equipment which you have. Then, if the equipment is not optimum, what your likelihood of success might be (in terms of yield or layer uniformity etc), so that going into the experiment you can be prepared to explain, or accept, a decreased yield of good product because of the equipment. Remember, we are prototyping at this point not making production economics. Once we have determined that a product is worth making, by prototyping, and then we can focus on making the product "Fit- For-Make" by obtaining a properly engineered production capability.
Posted by Eldridge M. Mount on February 27, 2008 | Comments (0)