Ventilation of mass products
Electrostatic perforation has been used since 30 years for ventilation of non filter, RYO or filter cigarettes to create a directed and guided air bypass or Lindstroem principle. For this purpose, cigarette paper for some non filter or RYO cigarettes and almost every kind of filter cigarettes tipping papers are perforated electro statically OFFLINE in zones from 2.0 – 6.0 mm width or in rows with ONLINE or OFFLINE by use of slow, fast flow, sealed-off or SLAB CO2 gas or diode laser in order to reduce the harmful substances such as nicotine and condensate down to allowed values. Another effect is the possibility to control the degree of ventilation of Cigarettes.
Online micro perforation – porosity profile
Many years ago IPM had developed a multiple online electrostatic micro perforation OESP-1 units at cigarette making machines which was patent applied with EP0460369 and DE4018209.
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/EP0460369.html
The method and the device for electro-erosive perforation of cigarette paper basically operates with at least two pairs of electrodes which are ignited at the same time in such a manner that each perforation section is treated twice in order to provide a corresponding intensity of perforation, taking into consideration the duration of ignition and the web speed. In particular, the invention operates with at least four pairs of electrodes (I to IV), between which the web (10) of cigarette paper to be perforated is moved through. The cigarette paper is moved in the longitudinal direction of the cigarette to be produced later, the width corresponding to the circumference of the cigarette plus an overlap section for bonding. Perforating is carried out transversely to the direction of movement, that is to say an accurately defined zone section is produced around the circumference of the cigarette. The pairs of electrodes are arranged at a distance which corresponds to half the cigarette length (a, b, c) when four pairs of electrodes are used. The first and the third pair of electrodes are ignited simultaneously. A distance-dependent control causes the second and fourth pair of electrodes also to be ignited simultaneously when the previously perforated sections have traveled the distance of half a cigarette length. Each section is perforated four times, the speed at which the web (10) can be moved being determined not by the spacing (half a cigarette length) of the pairs of electrodes but by the spacing of the pairs of electrodes in each case simultaneously ignited (one cigarette length). This provides for uniform, intensive and very powerful perforation and the cigarette paper treated can be continuously supplied to the cigarette machine for further processing in the longitudinal direction of the cigarette.
That electrostatic micro perforation process enables cigarette or tipping paper while cigarette making processes to reduce nicotine and condensate levels for non-filter and filter cigarettes as well. The OESP-1 devices opens fully new possibilities for cigarette or tipping paper ventilation during cigarette manufacturing by entire perforation cassettes integration into cigarette making machines as Max-S, Protos 80, Protos 90, Mark-9 etc.
Advantages during manufacturing
Compact all-over-dimensions, direct mechanical integration of perforation units, easy functional interfacing and full EMI acceptance in order of EN or NEC standards archiving high production efficiencies with controllable ventilation grades on highly automated cigarette making machines.
- Patented, powerful, dual high frequency switching electronics and multiple perforation performances of the circumference of each cigarette enables problem less perforation on high-speed cigarette making machines up to 12.000 cpm
- Porosity ranges from 50 up up to 400 C.U.
- pore densities from 25 up to 300 pores/cm2
- hole size from 30 up to 80 micron
- cigarette ventilation grades up to 45 % are archive able.
- All necessary perforation, production parameters are stored and controlled by microcomputer operation, i.e. geometrical and synchronized positions of perforation lines, zones etc., pore density, perforation zones width and distributions, perforation profile and porosity ranges for each cigarette brand
- Porosity profiles over the length of each non-filter cigarettes are possible.
- Furthermore single, multiple, different or equal groups of single perforation zones around the circumference of each cigarette for non-filter, RYO even tipping paper for filter cigarettes are possible.
- All stored parameter sets are linked to the PLC system.
- Different micro perforation designs and porosities of each cigarette brand are flexible to define and controllable during all production processes.
- Air ventilation levels are exactly defined and, due to online feedback, can be kept constant by means of perforation system design and porosity distribution.
- For non filter cigarettes for example, perforation can be effected over the entire length and circumference of the cigarette.
Liability and system investment
The ESP process OESP-1 has a high liability and is realizable with low investments and low running costs when compared with online macro or micro laser perforation processes. An online porosity control system OPSS-1 monitor continuously the air permeability, called optical online porovision or porosimeter, with a state-of-the-art technology to obtain a close-loop/feed-back to the perforation unit to keep ventilation grades constant.
Conclusion: Online micro perforation processes are possible to use for other mass products and application fields with full system integration in entire production lines as bag, sack, packaging manufacturing etc.
Product properties with electrostatic perforation
One of the foremost postulation which can be applied to many application purposes and products containing bonded fabrics, bag or packaging papers, non-woven, etc. with gas or steam permeability but water impermeability.
Further substrates or micro engineered membranes for micro filtration, fractionation, nanopattering, nanomembranes, nanophotonics, microbiology, catalysis, gas, alcohol, liquid or blood separation, battery separator foils or others are possible with ELECTROSTATIC NANO MICRO PERFORATION TECHNOLOGY, depends of material structures and perforability.
Which means pore sizes from 10 nm up to 10 µm diameter by up to 5 million pores per m2. This is due to the water’s greater surface tension as dyne level and hydrophobic property or wetability through the relatively small sizes of nano or micro pores. These and other advantages of the pores necessarily demand the application of the ESP perforation method because alternative perforation or processes are physically NOT feasible, too expensive or simply uneconomical and would not allow successful product applications.
To archive new nano or micro perforation demands IPM developed power electronics perforation units which working as upward converters with IGBT, BJT, MOSFETS, FRETFET or HVFET for ultra short power pulses from 10 ns up to 20 µs, high current peaks up to 300 Amps, base frequencies up to 200 KHz on plug-in ferrite transformers to generate 50 Kilovolt to each sparking electrode. Patent grant DE10328937 for power electronics.
Actual press release: Micro-perforation of running webs
http://www.flexo.de/de/aktuelles.htm
27.02.2008 - Jetzt erschienen: Flexo & Gravure Asia 1-2008 (in Englisch)
http://www.flexo.de/download/fga/1-2008/Inhalt_FGA_1_2008.pdf
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MLL-1 – Micro Laser Line Perforation for holes pattern, perforation design, e.g. waves, zigzag lines, line packages, cryptograms, company logos, holograms, anti counterfeiting product indicators
patent pending for process, device and product property DE102004012081
LPM-1 – nano micro laser perforation at wide web material with high power CO2 dual laser beam multiplexers and splitters, patent grant for process and device DE102004001327
ESP electrostatic nano micro perforation machines for cigarette, tipping, filter, packaging, plug-wrap and other paper products, patent grant for process and device DE10328937 of IGBT power switching unit
Optical online OPSS-1 porovision control/scanning system for ESP or LASER perforation machines,
patent pending for process and device DE10251610 -
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IPM – International Perforation Management
High-tech engineering - China – Germany - Thailand
http://www.microperforation.com
http://www.microperforation.com.cn
http://www.deguodaguan.com/ipm/
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http://www.microperforation.com/mll-1-laser-perforation.html
http://www.microperforation.com/lpm-1.html
http://www.microperforation.com/opss-1-optical-online-porosity.html
http://www.microperforation.com/igbt-esp-unit.html
http://www.microperforation.com/online-perforation-cigarette.html
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