Pumping Resins in Laminate Manufacturing with a Verderflex ROLLIT
The world’s demand for laminated furniture, worktops and flooring continues to grow and there is increasing demand for toughened surfaces leading to greater use of an abrasive resistant paper (ARP) coated surface such as applied on a VITS coating machine. Typically, the abrasion resistant surface is produced by adding Corundum (Al2O3) to melamine resin to form a final product surface with enhanced ability to meet the anti-scratch Martindale test.
Viscous and abrasive: perfect Matches for Verderflex ROLLIT
The combination of a viscous melamine resin with abrasive additives such as Micro Corundum and Corundum makes this an ideal application for a peristaltic pump such as the Verderflex Rollit.
A peristaltic pump operates by a very simple, well proven principle, peristalsis. The alternating compression and relaxation of a hose which primes the pump and transfers the product to its delivery point. A rotating roller passes along the hose length, totally compressing the hose. It creates a seal between the pumps’ suction & discharge sides to eliminate product slip and remove the need for check valves and similar ancillary equipment, eliminating unnecessary complexity or high parts counts.
Other pump technologies find this a demanding application suffering from worn diaphragms or stators or excessive abrasive seal wear. These technologies have high shear forces that can result in bubbles in the resin adversely affecting final product quality. Additionally, the viscous products can cling to pump components increasing servicing time and costs.
In contrast, the Verderflex ROLLIT is a proven performer in many laminate manufacturing plants worldwide transferring these viscous, abrasive resins into the coating process.
Advantages of the Verderflex® Rollit
✔ Lube free execution: The hose only needs to be lubricated at installation. We recomend repeating this lubrication after 300 hours running time;
✔ Fast and easy hose replacement -> emptying and disposal of a lubrication bath is not necessary
✔ Three Rollers
✔ Lower pulsation – especially with double head pumps which are in phase giving 6 rollers
✔ Rollers and Inserts made of PTFE meaning very low friction and heat induction resulting in long hose-life