5.14.18
120 invited international visitors, from around 20 countries, spent the whole day at Hymmen’s in-house “Hymmen Insight 2018” trade fair at the company’s own technology center in Rödinghausen. They were wowed by the advantages offered by the latest developments in digital printing, liquid coating and laminating technology including Calander Coating Inert and double-belt press technology.
There was a varied program for the guests. They were divided into four groups and guided through the live shows and lectures. Both at the lectures and during the afternoon, visitors were able to hear presentations by the division heads and management of Hymmen on topics such as “10 years of digital printing”, “Latest innovations in digital printing”, “Modern production technologies for HPL/CPL compact” and “Hymmen turnkey projects: handling, automation, project management”. After lunch, all the guests then listened to a presentation from industry expert Gregor Ungricht.
In addition, practical demonstrations were offered in the technology center focusing on digital printing and tandem transport, Digital Lacquer Embossing (DLE), Calander Coating Inert (CCI) and pressing of digitally printed paper on the Hymmen double belt press.
Various end products were also displayed at the respective stations of the live demonstrations, as illustration of the possible result of the process which had just been demonstrated: these ranged from flooring and edging material to a piece of furniture to refined building material. As far as the decors and the structure of the surface were concerned, there was something for every taste. From wood optics to technical decors with and without synchronous structure, right up to plain colors in all conceivable degrees of gloss.
The wide range of presentations and live demonstrations made the profound process expertise that the experts at Hymmen GmbH Maschinen- und Anlagenbau have at their disposal abundantly clear to all. This makes the company stand out as a partner for integrating the latest technologies into existing production processes.
The social factor was not overlooked on the day either: there was a discerning buffet awaiting guests for lunch and between the lectures and demonstrations there was always the opportunity for a refreshing drink, a coffee and a small snack to accompany their conversations. Representatives of the flooring industry met a wide range of edging manufacturers, furniture manufacturers, door manufacturers and representatives of the building materials industry from 20 countries worldwide (from all over Europe, Turkey, the USA, China, India and the Russian Federation).
“We are pleased that our guests were able to take home with them a lasting impression of our latest developments,” said Dr. René Pankoke, Managing Partner of Hymmen. To make the positive memory of a successful day at the trade fair a little more tangible, and in addition to all the information material, all visitors received a small present of a sample of the best wood ever printed: the recently patented Digital Lacquer Embossing makes it possible to add a digitally printed surface to the digitally applied decor. This makes the refined wood-based material look and feel like a real wood product.
During the live shows, experts of all business units explained the advantages of the latest developments to the guests.
Live-Show 1:
The new digital printer in our technology center with transport system TTL (Tandem Transport Linear) offers highest precision by linear technology. Continuous operation or “front in, front out” operation is possible, in single pass mode as well as in multiple pass mode. Feeding is carried out with robots or alternatively by belt conveyor with up to 10 cycles/minute, depending on the product length. Currently, the maximum product measurements are as follows:
length: 1.500 mm, width: 680 mm, height: 200 mm, weight: 50 kg. In this digital printer, 8 color rows with Xaar 1003 (YYMMCCKK) have been installed, extendable to 10 color rows. Prepared for the new print head generation Xaar X 2001 (2xX1003 in one housing). A print head electronic system with new server architecture enables a faster data transfer and new features. Borderless printing is possible due to the possibility to equip the carrier with “collecting devices for the overspray”. Multi-part carriers are possible (several small parts on a carrier plate) which offers the use of the technology for single furniture parts, single planks, technical products like e.g. saw blades, automotive parts or similar.
The Digital Lacquer Embossing (DLE) is Hymmen’s patented technological response to the customers’ request that the haptics of a surface should correspond to its optics. In a first step, a UV top coat layer is applied (roller, pouring, injection or …). In step 2, a transparent medium is applied in/on the top coat lacquer layer which is not cured. The medium partially displaces the lacquer. After application of the structuring medium, the curing of the top coat takes place in step 3 by means of UV radiation. The outcome of this are the following advantages:
• High flexibility
• No storage costs for cylinders
• New design options
• No roller or press plate change
• Synchronous structure
• Option of integration into existing traditional lines
• All proven properties of known lacquers are maintained (scratch resistance, surface hardness, chemical resistance)
Live-Show 3:
The Hymmen Calander Coating Inert (CCI) system is a new technology for the refinement of melamine surfaces. The system enables production of “mirror” high gloss as well as ultra-matt optics on the same line with the same lacquer. Especially in the woodworking industry, it can be used for board material and for laminates produced continuously from roll to roll. There are more than 10 lines in the market with a width of up to 2.200 mm.
With the Calander Coating Inert (CCI) technology, an UV lacquer is applied on the substrate by roller application. A winder feeds a special foil into the machine and a calender “presses” the foil directly into the lacquer surface which has not dried at that time. The lacquer is dried with the foil on top, through the foil, by means of an UV lamp under inert conditions. After drying the foil is pulled off and wound up again.
This way, an oxygen exclusion of almost 100 % is always ensured.
Drying under inert conditions offers the following advantages:
• excellent surface curing and outstanding mechanical and chemical properties
• complete curing, no post-curing
• reduction of the photoinitiator content of the UV lacquer and therefore cost savings
• diminution of migration due to the lower photoinitiator content and complete curing
• diminution of the UV dosage and increase of production speed
• reduction of smell nuisance
• diminution of yellowing
Compared to other procedures, the CCI offers the advantage that surface optics from mirror high gloss to super matt are possible due to different foils upon using identical lacquers. It is a cost-effective production. Compared to other procedures, there is a higher scratch resistance and a higher chemical resistance. Moreover, an immediate further processing is possible (no post-curing or idle times necessary) and the surface shows highest transparency (no yellowing!)
Live-Show 4:
In the forth live show, the visitors could see the pressing of digitally imprinted paper in an isobaric double belt press. The live proof of the integration of the innovative digital printing into the proven CPL production.
The press is producing laminates with a digitally imprinted paper from our JUPITER digital printing line. The paper basis is M-Jet paper from Munksjö. This paper type has been developed for dry pressing. The presented paper structure contains an overlay, digitally imprinted M-Jet paper NC, white underlay impregnated with MF resin, a core paper layer impregnated with PF/MF resin and backing paper impregnated with MF resin. The working pressure for this process amounts to approx. 50 bar, the laminate thickness is approx. 0,6 mm.The temperatures in the infeed drums top and bottom are approx. 190°C. The cushion system has a temperature of approx. 185°C in order to balance the loss in heat radiation in the process. Turbo systems have not been connected during the in-house trade fair, but they can be used for other processes to bring further energy into the product. The feed speed during the in-house trade fair was 6 m/min in the laboratory. In practice, feed speeds of more than 10 m/min can be realized for this product structure.