Olbrich Answers the Call from Customers 

The German Coating Experts Find Room in Pilot Facility for a Third Machine  

WEST HARTFORD – Represented by Matik, Inc. in North America, Olbrich is a world leader in coating technologies and performance. In 2011, the German coating experts opened their Pilot facility in order to give the company’s customers a tool to develop both new processes and new products. The center boasts two large pilot lines and recently announced their decision to invest in a third. 

The new product line will be named BA2. The line will offer more than 30 coating methods! The building of the machine is underway, and it will be presented at an open house in late September 2015. It comes at a time where the company is expanding their product range to offer wider thin film coatings capabilities that have been pushed by the demand for high optical quality. The experts at Olbrich are keen that BA2 will enable them to react, with even more flexibility to new or enhanced products, and simulate them in a production-like environment. It will operate with a maximum web width of 1050mm and working speeds ranging from 1 to 500m/min. The BA2 will be equipped with Olbrich’s cartridge change system, innovative drying and curing technologies, pre-treatment systems and a unique thin film measuring technology that is capable of accurately measuring even multi-layer coatings.  

The two existing lines will remain in use in the facility, allowing for additional testing. BA1, a coating line that is suitable for the processing of plastic and metal based films and foils, is capable of applying a wide range of functional layers by coating and printing. The products that can be produced on the BA1 include wallpapers, floorings and artificial leather, as well as optical, electronic and medical applications. It offers coating methods like slot die, doctor blade, commabar, pressure chamber doctor or curtain coating. Tests can be conducted at medium-high speeds, and in attempt to mirror actual production machines, the products can be wounded, printed, laminated, embossed and dried. 

PLA1 is the second of the two existing machines available in the pilot plant. This is an embossing and lamination unit used for the assembly of single- and multi-layered products. It can laminate the different layers to each other and if needed apply a structure embossing. This technology is used to create decorative and functional materials for dashboards, door panels and other areas of application in the automotive industry, furniture films and laminate flooring.