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Adhesive
Application and Adhesive Selection: Chris has used his experience in adhesive formulating, material
selection, market studies, and environmental testing to help clients
determine appropriate adhesives for various end use applications.
This has included establishing adhesive design criteria and formula
selection for applications requiring oxygen and water vapor barrier
properties, specialty pressure sensitive adhesive applications that
had to adhere to difficult surfaces, and medical device adhesives
that had to meet specific light transmission requirements. He brings
to this area more than 30 years of experience and more than 10 years
of consulting.
Coating
Material: Chris has formulated barrier
coatings, pressure sensitive adhesives, release coatings (both silicone
and non-silicone), and hot melt coatings. For further information
see:
Ethylene-Vinyl
Acetate Hot Melt Adhesive
Hot Melt
Adhesives
Pressure
Sensitive Adhesives
Silicone Coating
Material
Solvent
Adhesive
Coating
Property: This is the functionality required
of the coating. Chris has developed several test methods for the
release and pressure sensitive markets to determine if the products
meet the end use requirements.
Coating
Weight: This is the amount of coating
applied to the substrate and is normally expressed as weight per
unit area (i.e. grams per sq. meter). The ideal coat weight varies
by application and at times it is the lowest possible weight and
in other conditions there is a very narrow window for good performance.
Chris has had considerable experience in determining the ideal coating
weights and in explaining the conditions affecting the target range.
Drying and Curing of Functional Coatings:
Using heat and various alternate energy forms (including UV and Electron
Beam) a functional coating is either dried, cured or a combination
of both.
Half of all coatings applied to webs require
either a drying process or a curing process. Chris, through his experience
in a wide range of coating operations has worked extensively with
the drying and curing processes and has used a number of key experts
in this area.
Ethylene-Vinyl
Acetate Hot Melt Adhesives: EVA hot melt
is the most common packaging and laminating hot melt. The EVA provides
excellent flexibility and is soluble in paraffin wax. EVA hot melts
not only can bond to a wide variety of surfaces (with the addition
of suitable resins) but also can provide both water vapor and oxygen
barrier properties. Chris has been involved in the formulating and
application of EVA and EEA hot melts since 1969.
Flexible
Coating Materials: This covers a wide
range of materials including various papers to a number of new films.
The design of a good product requires the best choice in both functionality
and cost. Doing this well requires knowledge of available materials
and a strong network of resources who can help narrow down these
choices. Chris has both the experience as well as the network to
help clients determine the material that will best fit their needs.
Hot
Melt Adhesives: This is a class of thermoplastic
adhesives that have a blend of good properties at reasonable costs.
Chris has been formulating and using hot melts for over 28 years.
He organized and chaired the first Pressure Sensitive Hot Melt conference,
and has done considerable work in this field.
Label Stock:
Pressure sensitive labels have been one of the fastest growing packaging
and labeling segments. This technology continues to be refined and
developed. Chris has been in the unique position of managing a pressure
sensitive coating operation, consulting into this industry, and providing
sales support into various label houses. For more information see:
Adhesive
Selection
Pressure
Sensitive Adhesive
Silicone
Coating Material
Solvent
Adhesives
Web Handling
Web Tracking
Medical
Coatings : There are a number of chemistries
that are used to coat films and webs in the manufacture of medical
devices and drug delivery systems. Chris has worked with a broad
range of coatings such as acrylic transdermal PSA adhesives, high
viscosity coatings, and very thin film specialty coatings.
Medical
Coating Materials: Much of the coating
materials and webs required for medical devices are very similar
to traditional coating materials. As a consultant, Chris has worked
in solving coating and laminating problems relating to the manufacture
of several medical devices. This has included special testing devices
and transdermal drug delivery systems.
Medical
Products: In recent years there had been
an increasing use of traditional coating and laminating
methods to produce medical products for drug delivery
and medical device construction. Combining the extensive experience
Chris has in special coating conditions and methods with the specific
client´s
product knowledge has provided faster market introductions
at lower costs.
Paper Finishing:
As VP of Operations for Zimmer Paper Products, as a consultant to
several paper mills, and in his capacity of specifying and selling
paper and film finishing equipment, Chris has significant experience
with the finishing processes including score, crush, and razor blade
slitting; the use of driven and undriven lay-on rolls; center winding,
surface winding, and center/surface winding.
Pressure
Sensitive Adhesive: Chris has been coating
and developing Pressure Sensitive Adhesives (PSA's) since 1969.
As Project Manager at Riegel he developed some of the first PSA
Hot Melts. At Zimmer Paper Products he established their PS program,
at Kleenstik-Fasson he over saw the development and manufacture
of PSA coated products. He has extensively consulted into this area
covering formulations, application technology, process control,
marketing.
Roll
Product Incoming Inspection : Chris has
worked with the test methods developed by the TAPPI and TLMI organizations.
In addition he has simplified some of the methods for quicker response
times and has developed unique test methods for silicone cure.
Roll
Product Industry Marketing: Roll products
covers a very wide range of possible end uses. Chris has provided
marketing assistance and marketing reports in the areas of Roll
Label Face Stock, Thermal Transfer Label Stock, and general market
overviews for the roll label industry.
Silicone
Coating Material: As the primary release
agent for Pressure Sensitive Adhesives, silicone coating materials
are an essential ingredient to the PS lamination. Chris began working
with silicone release agents in 1969 as manager of a release coating
group. In 1972 Chris again focused part of his attention to the
technology of coating silicones which included their chemistry and
cure properties. While at Fasson he was able to do much additional
work on silicone chemistry, coating methods, and production difficulties.
Silicone coatings are supplied in three
forms; solvent, 100% solids (solventless), and emulsion. Until recently
emulsion silicones were used only for non critical applications. Today's
latest chemistries have provided release ranges and product consistency
that allow emulsion silicones to be used for premium roll label release
agents. Chris has worked with and continues to work with emulsion
silicones as well as solventless and solvent based
Silicone
Contamination: In paper and film coating
the silicone coating is cured into a macromolecule. Incomplete cure
results in free silicone that can contaminate surfaces that it is
in contact with. Chris has been involved in a number of studies
on the relative effect of this silicone on various adhesives and
the effects on downstream properties such as die cutting. In addition
to the direct contamination due to uncured silicone there is also
the condition during solventless silicone coating at high speed
where the silicone coating forms a mist that can also be a contaminate.
Chris has limited experience in controlling silicone misting.
Solvent
Adhesive: In solvent adhesives, Chris'
experience has been in the field of pressure sensitive adhesives.
In the 1980's he was involved in formulating solvent PSA adhesives.
Since then his work has been in the application and testing of solvent
PSA adhesives.
Solventless Adhesives:
See:
Hot
Melt Adhesives
Silicone
Coating Material
Film
Laminating Process
Transdermal
Adhesives: The delivery of medical compounds
through the use of special adhesives has grown exponentially as
the efficacy and ease of use of skin delivery systems are documented.
Chris has had many years experience in the process technology for
the manufacture of these products as well as the particular adhesives
needed.
Web (material) :
See:
Web Handling
Web Tracking
Web Conversion:
See:
Web Coating Process
Web Handling
Web Tracking
Web Handling:
The proper tension control, tracking, and rewinding is critical to
producing an acceptable finished web product. Chris has extensive
experience in determining proper web handling conditions, trouble
shooting web tracking problems (see Web Tracking), and setting the
proper taper tension on the rewind for different web materials. He
has served as a consultant for companies in reducing waste due to
improper web handling conditions.
Web
Handling System: In order to provide
the maximum control over the web, the equipment used for web handling
(unwinds, nip rolls, drag brakes, coating process, oven conditions,
laminations, and rewinds) should be considered as a system. As a
consultant Chris has helped companies specify and select their equipment
and on existing installations he has provided a survey of the system
along with recommendations.
Web Processing:
See:
Web Coating
Web Handling
Web Tracking
Web Tracking: A number of factors affect web tracking: machine alignment, web condition
(baggy edges, wrinkles, etc.), tension control, web slip, surface
friction, differential draws, spreader rolls and devices (such as
bowed rolls). Chris has worked with all of these factors in his roles
as consultant and the several production positions he has held.
Web-fed
Machine: As a category this separates
web processes from sheet fed processes. See Web Coating, Web Handling,
and Web Tracking for more information
Winding: One
of the critical aspects of winding is the taper tension profile. Chris
has had significant experience in developing optimum winding profiles
for difficult to wind materials such as silicone coated papers and
films. |
