Miele, a famous appliance manufacturer, is the first to use the benefits of the waste-saving and energy of a film technology and a new process that was developed jointly with DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers (DuPont), Zappe Verpackungsmaschinen, a main producer of machinery, and jura-plast, a film manufacturer.
Applied using a modified skin-film process, the combination of a highly transparent base film derived from Surlyn® and a specially tailored adhesive resin, both from DuPont, provides reliable protection for susceptible components – from their production and assembly right through to their first use by consumers – and saves material as well as process energy compared to alternative polyethylene films.
Specially tailored skin packaging equipment and DuPont Surlyn, a transparent packaging polymer, form the innovative technology’s basis that was specifically designed for protecting surfaces of 3D components. DuPont, Zappe and jura-plast have jointly developed this new process. Miele used this new technology at its plant in Germany in order to avoid scratching of high-gloss, thermoplastic bezel that was specially made for washing machines. The modified skin packaging method supports in avoiding rejects and the associated wastes from raw-materials.
Surlyn ensures that raw materials and energy is conserved by the skin film process, when compared to conversion of polyethylene, which was the material utilised at an early development stage. The skin-film and its production wastes will be subjected to recycling in the polyethylene waste stream.
According to Jürgen Müller, jura-plast’s managing director, the film development has solved two issues. Air bubbles are not formed between the film and the component surface, due to the base layer’s special formulation made from Surlyn. Due to its integration with an improved adhesive resin from DuPont, the adhesive force between the film and the component is high for the completely assembled washing machine door, that weighs around 5 kg and is transported with vacuum grippers. Even then, the customer can remove the film without leaving any residue behind. Due to the very less weight of the Surlyn-based film, jury-plast has gained significant economic, mechanical and optical advantages with this new and sustainable development.
Zappe added that the Surlyn’s superior heat absorption property enables stretching of the film after just 10 seconds of heating and can save process energy.