Development and Application of an Innovative Automatic Air Ring

In the blown film production process, the automatic air ring is not merely a simple auxiliary cooling component; it is the core control unit that determines film quality, production efficiency, and corporate profitability. It is an indispensable key component for modern blown film machines to achieve high-quality, large-scale production. Its importance runs through the entire production process, directly impacting product competitiveness and production cost-effectiveness.

I. Importance of the Automatic Air Ring

The automatic air ring is the core control component of the blown film machine. Its cooling effect and adjustment precision directly affect bubble stability and film transverse thickness uniformity, thereby determining core properties such as film transparency and gloss.

Traditional air rings lack zone-specific thickness adjustment. They employ a mode of delivering a constant airflow around the entire circumference, allowing only overall air volume adjustment. They cannot perform local airflow fine-tuning for thickness deviations at different positions around the bubble circumference. This results in uneven bubble cooling and significant deviation in film transverse thickness, making it difficult to meet the demands of high-precision products. In contrast, the automatic air ring, through intelligent closed-loop control, precisely regulates cooling in specific bubble zones. This not only improves quality stability but also enhances efficiency, saves energy, and reduces labor costs. It is the core support for the transformation of blown film machines from extensive to refined and intelligent manufacturing.

II. Current Status of Air Volume and Air Temperature Air Rings

Currently, air rings on mainstream blown film machines have many pain points in air volume and temperature control, making it difficult to meet the refined requirements of mid-to-high-end films:

(A) Current Status of Air Volume Control

The advantage of air volume-controlled automatic air rings is the fast response speed of airflow adjustment, reacting quickly during process changes. However, their control precision is relatively insufficient, and the overall regulation is rather coarse, making fine-tuned control difficult. Furthermore, this structure requires an independent motor for each air outlet, with the number potentially exceeding two hundred. This not only complicates the overall structure and increases potential failure points but also significantly raises the difficulty and cost of manufacturing assembly and subsequent maintenance. Additionally, the motors themselves take up considerable space, limiting the number and density of air outlets that can be arranged, further restricting the finesse of air volume control.

(B) Current Status of Air Temperature Control

Air temperature-controlled automatic air rings are widely used in film production due to their stable operation and higher precision in film thickness control. Their level of refined control is significantly better than that of air volume-controlled rings, making them more suitable for production scenarios with high demands on film surface quality. However, this type of air ring currently has notable shortcomings, primarily reflected in a slower temperature adjustment response, leading to longer cycles for process adjustments and parameter optimization. Furthermore, a considerable amount of scrap is generated during commissioning and product changeovers, which negatively impacts production efficiency and material utilization.

III. Innovations and Advantages of the Dual-Motor Driven Edge-Following Automatic Air Ring

The dual-motor driven edge-following automatic air ring is developed by our company to address traditional pain points. Centered on dual-motor independent drive, combined with edge-following and intelligent closed-loop control, it achieves precise and flexible air volume adjustment. Its innovations and advantages are as follows:

(A) Core Innovations

1. Drive Structure Innovation:

Utilizes dual-motor independent drive. An edge-following motor controls the rotating disk to position the air outlets, while a damper motor adjusts the opening degree of the outlets, integrating "edge-following + air adjustment" into a compact and efficient structure.

2. Control Logic Innovation:

Integrates real-time data from the thickness gauge to form a closed-loop system. It precisely locates deviation areas and fine-tunes the air volume, breaking the limitations of traditional overall adjustment and significantly improving control accuracy.

3. Structural Design Innovation:

Features a circumferential air outlet configuration with movable adjustment blocks. This eliminates the need for numerous motors, simplifies the structure, and increases the number of air outlets. The separation of upper and lower air channels combines flow stabilization with precise adjustment, ensuring bubble stability.

4. Energy Saving Innovation:

Employs efficient drives and on-demand air supply control logic, resulting in low operating power and significantly reduced energy consumption. For instance, based on an industrial electricity price of 1 RMB/kWh, a single unit can save approximately 40,000 RMB in electricity costs annually, offering even more prominent economic benefits over long-term use.

(B) Core Advantages

This air ring boasts extremely high control precision, capable of more than halving the original film thickness tolerance. Taking a film with a 2.4-meter layflat width and an initial tolerance of 6% as an example, using this air ring can consistently control the tolerance within 3%. Field tests at customer facilities have achieved optimal results as low as 1.7%. This effectively reduces product defects, improves film quality, and better meets the demands of the mid-to-high-end market. By replacing traditional multi-motor structures with dual motors, it significantly reduces potential failure points, lowering manufacturing and maintenance costs. The equipment responds quickly with real-time precise adjustment, leading to noticeable improvements in line speed and output compared to air volume-controlled rings. Simultaneously, the on-demand air distribution design reduces blower energy consumption and minimizes scrap and raw material waste, making it more economical and energy-efficient for long-term use. Its strong adaptability makes it suitable for producing films like laminating film, protective film, and barrier film, stably handling production fluctuations for various functional films, and giving it a wide range of applications.

IV. Patent Certificate for the Dual-Motor Driven Edge-Following Automatic Air Ring

This air ring has been granted a national invention patent. The patent information is as follows, providing legal protection for product innovation and stability:

1. Patent Name:Dual-Motor Driven Edge-Following Automatic Air Ring

2. Patent Number:ZL 2024 1 1087285.7

3. Filing/Grant Date:August 9, 2024 / November 19, 2024

4. Inventors/Applicant: Chen Long, Lou Dongdong / Zhejiang Pengxiang Precision Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

5. Legal Status: Granted, and a patent pledge registration has been completed, reflecting market value and recognition.

This patent protects the core technology, solves the pain points of traditional air rings, fills a technological gap in the industry, and demonstrates the core competitiveness of the product.

V. Market Response to the Dual-Motor Driven Edge-Following Automatic Air Ring

Since its introduction to the market, the product has gained wide recognition and received an enthusiastic market response due to its precise performance, simple structure, and energy-saving advantages:

1. High Customer Recognition:

Collaborations have been established with numerous large and medium-sized blown film enterprises across various sub-sectors. Customer feedback indicates stable equipment operation, a 10%-15% increase in yield, and significantly reduced production costs.

2. Strong Demand:

It has become the preferred supporting equipment for mid-to-high-end blown film production lines, with its market demand and share continuously increasing.

3. Excellent Application Feedback:

Customers report high satisfaction with the control precision and energy consumption, noting a significant return on investment. Some customers have placed repeat orders to upgrade their production lines.

4. Outstanding Price Advantage:

Compared to traditional air volume-controlled automatic air rings, this air ring is nearly two-thirds cheaper. This significantly reduces customer equipment investment costs, offers a clear cost-performance advantage, makes it more readily accepted by customers, and further expands its market reach.

VI. Summary and Outlook

Technological upgrading in the blown film industry is an endless pursuit. The development and application of the dual-motor driven edge-following automatic air ring effectively solves the technical pain points of traditional air rings. Through innovative design, it provides a new technological solution for mid-to-high-end film production. The granting of the national invention patent and high market recognition fully confirm the core driving role of technological innovation in industrial development. Looking ahead, with the advancement of blown film processes and the evolution of market demands, only by persisting in technological innovation, focusing on production pain points, continuously optimizing product performance, and expanding application scenarios can we drive the blown film industry towards high efficiency, energy saving, and high quality. This technology will also provide a reference for the research and development of core blown film components, aiding the green and intelligent transformation of the plastic processing industry.