Classen, a German manufacturer of synthetic flooring, has recently invested in new extrusion equipment including a Multi-Touch roll stack from battenfeld-cincinnati for the production of its Ceramin sustainable plastic floor boards. Ceramin, a material based on PP, is used in the carrier boards of the PVC-free floor coverings created by Classen that have earned the Blue Angel seal of quality. Ceramin is pollutant-free, 100 percent recyclable and produced with recycled materials. The floors are dimensionally stable, abrasion- and water-proof, warm to the touch and resistant to UV light.
Conventional plastic floors made with soft PVC have come under fire due to their composition. PVC contains chlorine, stabilisers, phthalates and other plasticisers - all elements that have raised environmental and other concerns.
By contrast, Ceramin boards consist of 60% of a natural mineral filler material, 39% of a PP-based polymer material and 1% of environmentally friendly and health-compatible additives.
The 2-to-5-mm-thick boards are produced with extremely narrow strength tolerances and with even and clean, ripple-free surfaces. This is achieved with the help of the Multi-Touch roll stack supplied by battenfeld-cincinnati,which ensures perfect conditions for calibration and cooling.
The two lines which are now installed at Classen are equipped with two twin screw extruders from Leistritz Extrusion homogenising up to 8 t of melt per hour. Downstream, these are connected to an automatic flat-sheet die, through which the melt film enters the 2.6 m-wide Multi-Touch roll stack. Here, pre-calibration takes place in a two-roll stack, before the board is passed through several more rolls for recalibration. In this way, the surface of the board is continuously in contact with the roll surfaces over a considerable period of time, resulting in perfect dimensional stability and excellent visual attributes.
The haul-off is followed by a size cutter. The complete line is controlled by BCtouch UX, which is integrated in the customer’s PDA system. In a second processing step, the boards are laminated with different layers of film including a decoration layer available in a wide range of patterns.