On occasion of the next K 2022 show, Macchi will be exhibiting an R-POD (Polyolefin Dedicated) Flex 5 line for the production of 5-layer bubble film. It is the latest evolution of the innovative POD Flex system, specifically designed for very high productivity and for the use of "secondary" raw materials (regenerated/recycled). This new technology makes it possible to meet the growing market demand of highly flexible extrusion lines, capable of extruding recycled materials up to 1,200 kg/h at 2,500 mm net width.

The new R-POD Flex line allows extremely rapid job changes and, at the same time, minimizes production wastes. Thanks to the introduction of important developments both from the technological and automation point of view, the line on display will show how simple it is to shift from high-capacity productions for lamination films, to recycled material productions for industrial packaging.

The main innovations introduced with this new concept line are:

- new fully automatic and integrated 6 components batch gravimetric system with active loading control system to reduce time for material changeover and blenders cleaning;

- new design and mix of extrusion screws which allows greater flexibility in the processing of different materials and, at the same time, a greater extrusion capacity in 65/80/120/80/65 configuration;

- continuous type screen changer to avoid machine downtime during filter change operation;

- new TE556 Coex-flex series extrusion head, specifically designed to manage both polyolefin and regenerated materials;

- high-efficiency fully automatic and integrated high-flow rate air cooling ring, able to guarantee perfect recipe repeatability, minimizing set-up times during job changes;

- no-contact capacitive film thickness control system;

- new take-off unit series ST426R with an innovative reduced height design, securing safer

operating and maintenance activities and enabling a more rapid response to production changes;

- production fumes exhausting system;

- fully motorized gusseting system;

- fully automatic, double station, BoPlus winder with axial drive, equipped with the new Smart Load system for automatic reel handling in the special twin configuration;

- bilateral Corona treatment;

- annealing stretching unit to grant perfect film planarity;

- IoT line supervision system with integrated OEE monitoring, production breakdown analytics and maintenance prediction functions.