Just how thin can slot die go?
Slot Die Coating: How to Get Ridiculously Thin and Accurate In the world of slot die coating, thin is in. Or, to be precise, thin AND accurate is in.
Roll-to-roll slot die coating has become the industry standard for extremely thin and extremely accurate coating, according to Scott Zwierlein of Frontier.
Just how thin can slot die go? With a slot die, Zwierlein explains you can achieve an attainable wet coating thickness of <2 micron, but only slot die can achieve this level. Why? It is the nature of the equipment design. Other methods will flood a large amount of coating, and then wipe it away. Slot die does the opposite. It applies the exact amount to the substrate. Everything the pump delivers is applied to the substrate – there is no waste.
Other methods, such as reverse roll, knife over roll, and comma coating, use a device to wipe away excess coating leaving just the thickness desired. In this scenario you are requiring a blade or bar to be positioned 2 microns away from a substrate. According to Zwierlein that is almost impossible.
EXTREMELY ACCURATE Accuracy is based on the amount of material you want to put down, how close you are, and how uniform you want it to be. Zwierlein explains that you might be able to achieve 2 microns with other methods, but you cannot match the accuracy of slot die. With other coating methods the gap set for the blade, or the bar is fixed and the substrate and coating fluid pass through it. If the substrate thickness varies, the thickness will vary. “The substrate you coat on is never that flat,” he says.
THE IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTES OF SLOT DIE COATING A number of attributes need to be present to help slot die deliver on its promise. These attributes result in significant benefits over traditional methods in terms of functionality and cost savings.
- Precision pre-metered fluid delivery
- Extremely flat and straight die surfaces
- High-precision backing roll
- Accurate and precise positioning of die to the substrate
- Precision Die Vacuum System for coating bead stabilization
- Contamination free environment
STRIPE COATING In battery and capacitor applications, for example, stripe coating is the preferred method when you are producing a narrow strip with exposed foil along one or both edges. One requirement for good stripe coating is uniform coating thickness – proper cavity design is essential. You need proper die shim thickness for optimized die pressure; that produces the right uniformity for cross web production. It is also essential to have accurate width control and good edge quality – accurate shim design and fabrication is important to maintain the proper alignment. A die vacuum is used to fine-tune the width and to ensure there is no saw tooth or waviness.
INDUSTRIES FOR SLOT DIE COATING Slot die is becoming increasingly necessary in a number of industries. Here are just a few applications: Micro-electronics (flat panel displays, thin circuits), batteries and capacitors (lithium-ion battery electrodes, multilayer ceramic capacitors), barrier films (food and medical packages), solar photovoltaic (solar cells require thin coatings), and medical diagnostics. Variations in thickness can lead to differing results. The more accurate you coat the transdermal, the more accurate the dosage.
PROVE > DESIGN > BUILD Frontier is committed to helping you streamline the process of determining the right coating application for your company and your product. Visit the Delta ModTech Blog for this full article and many others related to this growing industry. www.deltamodtech.com/blog
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Visit Delta ModTech and Frontier at The Battery Show Europe in Stuttgart Germany on 23-25 May 2023. See us in Booth# 6-F46, Delta and Frontier technical sales representatives will be on hand and available for private meetings to discuss your toughest converting challenges.
LIVE Machine Demonstration – Booth 6-F46 will feature Delta ModTech’s Crusader Converter running a multi-layer process to demonstrate the converting of anodes and cathodes after coating and drying with a Frontier coater and dryer.