BOPA film is an industry with rich professional connotations that cannot be described in two or three sentences.
Unlike plastic chemical bulk commodities, the BOPA market does not have ever-changing ups and downs, but is stable with slight waves;
Unlike the retail industry, BOPA industrial products are not well known to the mass consumer group, and their achievements and fame are hidden;
Unlike the Internet industry, BOPA technology does not change with each passing day, but does the same thing day after day.
However, BOPA film is an indispensable product in people’s daily life. Everyone may need BOPA film for food, clothing, housing, transportation, travel, shopping and entertainment. The jelly that is torn open at will needs BOPA film as the cover material, large-package laundry detergent/liquid bags almost all contain BOPA film, the aluminum-plastic outer packaging of lithium batteries in smart phones needs BOPA film, vacuum bags of pickled pepper chicken feet and rice bags, vacuum compressed bedding bags, aluminum-plated balloons, etc., all kinds of packaging known or unknown in life will need BOPA film.
BOPA film meets people’s basic needs in life. At the same time, the preparation technology of BOPA film has also promoted the development of the entire flexible packaging industry through several technological innovations and upgrades, and even affected human beings’ pursuit of a higher level of life.
BOPA 1.0-Flat Film Stretching Technology
The earliest nylon film was developed and produced by the tube film method (also known as the blown film method or double bubble method). It is the earliest synchronous film, which realizes the industrial production of nylon film and lays a good technical foundation for the industrial development of BOPA film in the future. The nylon film prepared by the blown film method has good balance and high crystallinity, but its shortcomings are also obvious. Due to the limitation of the processing technology of the circular die head, the thickness is uneven, the small shaping structure leads to a large heat shrinkage rate, and its production capacity is very small. At present, only a few manufacturers in the world continue to use and produce a small amount of blown film equipment, which is no longer the mainstream of the market.
BOPA 2.0-Step-by-step biaxial stretching technology
The step-by-step biaxial stretching method is also called the two-step method (or asynchronous method). The product stretching goes through two stages: longitudinal stretching and transverse stretching. The nylon film prepared by the step-by-step method has significantly improved thickness uniformity and high ductility compared with the first-generation blown film nylon film, and has higher mechanical strength. The output of BOPA film prepared by the step-by-step biaxial stretching technology has been significantly improved, which has greatly improved the industrial productivity level of BOPA film and greatly promoted the popularization and application of BOPA film in the downstream color printing and flexible packaging industry. However, due to the limitations of stretching equipment and two-step stretching process, the film making will produce a bow effect, which will be subject to certain restrictions when used in fields with high requirements for bag flatness.
BOPA 3.0-Mechanical Synchronous Stretching Technology
Mechanical synchronous stretching technology, as the name suggests, is to complete longitudinal and transverse stretching at the same time, and revolutionize the introduction of “water treatment” technology, which solves the inevitable “bow effect” defect in the second-generation step-by-step biaxial stretching technology. The advantage of good balance largely meets the needs of application fields with high requirements for bag flatness. However, only a few equipment manufacturers can provide mechanical synchronous stretching production lines, and the preparation technology is monopolized by a few film factories. At the same time, due to the process limitations of the equipment, the “stretching ratio” in the mechanical synchronous stretching method is fixed and cannot be adjusted, and the mechanical strength and balance of the film have not been substantially improved. Therefore, the third-generation stretching technology cannot be widely promoted.
BOPA 4.0-Magnetic Suspension Linear Motor Synchronous Stretching Technology (LISIM Technology)
The so-called magnetic suspension technology, to explain it in a popular way, its principle is equivalent to the technology of Shanghai Maglev Train and Maglev Air Conditioning. In the stretching stage of the magnetic suspension linear synchronous stretching method, each chain clip is controlled by a separate linear motor. The core is to overcome the shortcomings of the fixed stretching ratio in the third-generation mechanical synchronous stretching technology. The stretching ratio and the track can be fully automated and intelligently adjusted, so that the mechanical strength and balance of the magnetic suspension linear synchronous stretching film and other physical properties have been greatly improved. It can be said that it is the world’s leading and perfect generation of synchronous stretching technology at this stage, realizing the perfect integration of large-scale industrial production and personalized customization.
The magnetic suspension linear synchronous stretching nylon film can not only meet the requirements of wide-width multi-color high-end exquisite printing with strict requirements on overprint accuracy, but also meet the requirements of heavy object packaging with high mechanical strength, and can meet the requirements of high-temperature cooking food packaging. The magnetic suspension linear synchronous stretching nylon film will gradually achieve market popularization, helping the downstream color printing and flexible packaging industry to transform and upgrade.
BOPA film is recognized as the most difficult plastic flexible packaging material to produce. The industry threshold is high, and the control ability of production equipment is very strong. It is quite difficult to master the mature biaxial stretching process technology. The mastery of the preparation technology can be said to have played a key role in the formation of the current domestic BOPA film industry competition pattern.
The fourth-generation magnetic suspension linear motor synchronous stretching production line (LISIM) is provided by Bruckner Maschinenbau, Germany. It has a width of 6.6 meters and is currently the world’s most advanced, largest, fastest and most productive BOPA film production line. Nowadays, the domestic BOPA film industry has more concentrated production capacity, with a large proportion coming from several major film plants. Xiamen Changsu, with its own production capacity and leading technology advantages, has focused on the layout and exclusively owns the fourth-generation high-end BOPA film technology, seizing the market opportunity; Cangzhou Donghong continues to focus on lithium battery separator products, making steady progress in the BOPA film field; and Yuncheng Plastics intends to explore a new path in the second-generation BOPA film market. It can be seen that advantages and high-quality production capacity will dominate the market initiative and voice, smaller film plants will gradually be marginalized, and it will be more difficult for companies outside the industry that are ready to move to enter and successfully gain a foothold here.
Since 2016, BOPA film has continued the hot market situation last year, and downstream color printing and flexible packaging industry customers have put forward more stringent requirements for the adjustment and upgrading of flexible packaging structure and the improvement of the comprehensive performance of packaging materials. The good market fundamentals imply that downstream customers are picky about plastic film products. The high-end trend of BOPA film is very obvious, and high-end synchronous nylon film with better quality balance, better dimensional stability, lower heat shrinkage and more superior comprehensive performance will become the mainstream of the market!
In short, the BOPA4.0 era is the fourth technological revolution characterized by the deep penetration of “full automation and intelligence”. The traditional BOPA film production and preparation technology will undergo revolutionary changes. The domestic BOPA film industry still needs to face up to the contradictions such as excessive low-end production capacity and surging high-end demand, and realize its own transformation and upgrading through technological, model and management innovation, and become the leader and winner of the BOPA 4.0 era
