Industry sector: Manufacture of plastic plates, sheets, tubes, and profiles (NAF 2008: 2221Z)
Company activity: Design, development, manufacturing, and production of printable polyester film
Company type: French company operating in more than 50 countries through its partners
Company founding period: 2002
Contact(s): Methods & Continuous Improvement Manager
Company context
A major player in coating and thermal stabilization of polyester films, our customer operates across numerous market segments. Beyond graphic arts and digital printing technologies, industrial-grade treated polyester films meet specific requirements for applications such as flexible circuitry, labels, cards, textile transfer and decoration, photopolymer plates, adhesive tapes, laminates, multilayer structures, coatings, medical applications, photovoltaic panels, flat cables, abrasives, and custom-made solutions, ensuring success with customers throughout the world.
Filtration challenge
The company contacted us following the discontinuation of production of its filter cartridges by its supplier. The Methods and Continuous Improvement Manager was seeking a replacement solution under the same production conditions, with filtration efficiency identical to that previously in place.
Pemflow filtration solution
The fluid to be filtered is a coating used to coat polyester films, for example for jersey flocking.
The filtration of this coating serves two essential functions:
- Prevent crosslinking of the coating (by avoiding the formation of agglomerates and thus wrinkles on the surface of the polyester film);
- And eliminate the deposition of particles on the coated surface.
After a series of tests under actual production conditions, the selected solution consists of a nominal depth filter cartridge with a 200 µm rating, fitted with two open ends.
Good to know
Nominal efficiency
The term “nominal” is used to define a filter element whose filtration efficiency at the stated rating is on the order of 90.00%.
We finalized and validated the trials using a SupaGard filter cartridge from AMAZON FILTERS. Manufactured with a true density gradient, this filter cartridge provides a large void volume, low pressure drop, and excellent retention capacity. Its structure remains intact, even under harsh operating conditions.
The manufacturing process provides the following advantages:
- Consistent and reproducible performance and efficiency
- Variable-density structure for maximum retention capacity
- Increased void volume for high flow rates and low initial pressure drop
- Wide chemical compatibility, using FDA-approved polypropylene
- Nominal range from 1 to 200 µm
- Thermally bonded fibers, minimizing fiber migration
- Monobloc construction up to 40’’
- Materials compliant with US FDA Title 21 & USP Class VI
- Compliant with food contact requirements as detailed in European Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004
During trials carried out by our customer with products from other suppliers, we highlighted the critical importance of a monobloc central core when filtering a viscous fluid.
The coating, with a viscosity of 200 cP, and subjected to increasing pressure during the clogging phase, can cause the filter cartridge to deform and lead to significant release of contaminants, incompatible with the process.
Therefore, SupaGard cartridges from AMAZON FILTERS, incorporating a monobloc central core, provide a clear and decisive advantage compared with filter cartridges without a central core.
This provides greater mechanical strength when handling viscous products. In addition, we demonstrated during testing that our filter cartridge had a service life 45% longer than cartridges without a central core.
This filter cartridge is particularly well suited and effective in surface treatment industries, such as baths, cleaning solutions, paints, resins, and varnishes.
Following these conclusive trials, we are considering complementing our offering with additional tests on a filter cartridge specifically adapted to this type of process and recently developed.
Our objective is to extend the service life of filter cartridges in order to meet the technical and economic requirements of this company.
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