With its excellent plasticity, weather resistance and cost advantages, the application of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film materials in the fields of architectural decoration, furniture manufacturing and advertising logos continues to deepen. The three main processes of PVC film - flat composite, winding and vacuum molding - are developing together and constantly expanding their application range.

Characteristics and the latest progress of the three main processes

I. Technological innovation from plane to irregular shape

The application range of PVC film is very wide, among which the most basic process is plane compounding (gluing it to the surface of another substrate by adhesive). Flat or simple curved surfaces are ideal applications for traditional crafts. The latest technological progress is reflected in the following aspects:

Irregular surface plane compounding: By improving the adhesive formula (such as pressure-sensitive glue, hot melt glue, etc.), the composite equipment can accurately composite PVC film into complex curved surfaces and small radius arc surfaces, thus solving the common shaking or bubble problems on irregularly shaped substrates.

Online hot-press film laminating machine: adopts infrared heating or hot air circulation system, which can run continuously. The PVC film laminating speed is as high as 10-15 meters/minute, and the production efficiency is improved by more than 30%.

The solvent-free coating technology of water-based glue or UV curing glue reduces the VOC emissions of PVC film by more than 90%, which meets the requirements of environmental protection.

II. Film coating: transformation from manual to automatic

Lamination: The lamination process is mainly hot-pressed PVC film on the substrate, such as veneer, medium-density fiberboard profile edge sealing or other flat plates. Technical upgrades include:

High-speed impregnation machine: servo motor control, automatic feeding and cutting speed up to 20~30 meters/minute, suitable for all kinds of profiles.

Hot air coating technology: use hot air to soften PVC film, combined with vacuum adsorption or mechanical roller pressing to achieve perfect coating of three-dimensional complex profiles (the coating angle can reach 180° or even all-inclusive coating).

Cold glue coating technology: the cold glue system is used to avoid defects caused by heating, reduce energy consumption by 50%, and do not affect performance.

III. From small molding to large molding - vacuum molding process principle

The vacuum molding process uses heating to soften the PVC film, and then molds it through the suction action of the vacuum pump, which is suitable for complex three-dimensional shapes. Key technological breakthroughs include:

High-precision adult toy thermoforming machine: adopts multi-workstation and multi-temperature zone control, and the temperature accuracy reaches ±1℃; the vacuum degree can be adjusted to meet the molding needs of PVC films of different thicknesses.

Deep film vacuum thermoforming technology: can carry out equipment and process transformation, suitable for the molding of 0.5-3.0mm thick PVC protective paste; further expand the scope of product application.

Based on the two-dimensional visual inspection of CCD neural network camera, in the conventional molding process, the scrap rate is less than 3% (based on the PVC film used).

Process coordination and composite application

It is worth mentioning that these three processes are not independent of each other, but show a trend of integration and development:

Liquid material + coating composite technology: First, the liquid material is coated on the surface of the PVC film substrate in a flat form, and then the edge is coated to achieve the overall seamless effect. This production method is commonly used in the manufacture of wardrobes, dressing tables and other furniture.

Expand the application field:

Home interior decoration: flat fitting (PVC film fits the wall, ceiling and facade); vacuum molding various irregular shapes, such as ceilings, decorative lines, etc.

Furniture manufacturing - PVC film edge sealing cabinets, wardrobes, office furniture, etc., flat fitting or vacuum molding surface decoration.