AIMCAL Activities
- Published: November 12, 2019
AIMCAL Issues Call for Papers
The Association of International Metallizers, Coaters and Laminators (AIMCAL) has issued a Call for Papers for the 2020 AIMCAL R2R (roll-to-roll) Conference Europe. The conference devoted to roll-to-roll web coating and finishing will be hosted by AIMPLAS, May 18-22, 2020, in Valencia, Spain. Proposals should be submitted via the AIMCAL website, www.aimcal.org, by January 15, 2020. Click “Events” at the top of the home page.
The association also is seeking committee members to help organize the conference agenda. The conference will feature a dual-track schedule covering the full spectrum of web coating, vacuum web coating and web handling. Other activities include a TableTop Exhibition, short courses, networking activities and opportunities to speak to industry experts.
AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Centre, is a non-profit research association, which serves as a technological partner for companies in the plastics industry by coordinating research, development and innovation projects and technological services (analyses and testing, technical assistance, training, and competitive and strategic intelligence). It is listed in the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness’s Registry of Technological Centres and is a member of the Spanish Federation of Technology Centres (FEDIT) and the Network of Technological Institutes of the Valencian Community (REDIT).
AIMCAL Awards Entries
AIMCAL members have until January 11, 2020, to submit entries in the association’s annual awards competition. Winners in the Product of the Year, Technology of the Year and Sustainability of the Year contests are announced at the AIMCAL Management Meeting, receive international media exposure and a plaque recognizing their achievement.
Winners in the AIMCAL Awards program also are now eligible to enter the WorldStar competition, www.worldstar.org, sponsored by the World Packaging Organisation (WPO). As the pre-eminent international recognition in packaging, WorldStar Awards illustrate the continual advancement of packaging design and technology and create a living standard of international packaging excellence from which others may learn. According to WPO, WorldStar winners gain worldwide recognition, are noticed by some of the biggest packaging buyers in the world, impress existing and potential clients, may use the WorldStar winners logo on promotional materials and receive a complimentary trophy and certificate at a gala dinner on May 8, 2020, in Düsseldorf, Germany, in conjunction with the triennial Interpack (May 7-13, Messe Düsseldorf).
Judges for the AIMCAL Awards competition consider many facets of each entry including features, immediate and long-term benefits, impact on the industry, general technical importance, uniqueness and usefulness and degree of technical contribution by the applicant company to the total technology (when more than one company is involved in the development). Judges also take into account quality improvements, degree of difficulty, problems solved and efficiency improvements (internally as well as throughout the supply chain).
Entry forms and guidelines may be found on the AMCAL website, www.aimcal.org. Click “Events” and select “AIMCAL Awards.”
AIMCAL’s 2019 Product of the Year Award honored the Spirit of Innovation holographic folding carton. Designed by Hazen Paper Co. to help Autajon Packaging USA demonstrate holographic options, the carton precisely registers multiple holograms, embossing and matte and gloss finishes. In-house hologram design, film production and laminating provided a four-week turnaround from concept to finished product.
The AIMCAL Awards competition is now recognized by WPO, making winners eligible to enter the WorldStar competition.
Learn About Intermittent Coating
Mark Miller of Coating Tech Slot Dies, LLC, will present an AIMCAL TV program on the art and science of patch coating in Intermittent Coating – Slot Die Technology at 11 a.m. EST on Wednesday, November 20, 2019. Intermittent, or patch, coating features an uncoated border and a start and stop shorter than the length of the full roll. Patch coating costs less than full web continuous coating and is particularly important to the flexible electronics and energy storage industries.
In the case of slot die intermittent coating, the shape is always a rectangle. Intermittent coating can be completed across the full web or in lanes, creating rectangles downweb from the coating source. Limiting factors are patch control and reaction time.
In this ever-progressing field, developing a deeper understanding of raw material rheology and process limitations provides the framework for new developments and breakthroughs. Investigations into line speed limitations, die swell (liquid spread), and the effect of gravity, pressure, viscosity and surface energy help reduce waste and defects associated with the transition from fluid flow to no fluid flow. Start-up considerations include wetting of the fluid on the substrate, pump control of fluid dynamics and physical position of the coating equipment in relation to the substrate.
