Fault Finding; Poor Film Adhesion - usi CRL 40 Instruction Manual

13.

FAULT FINDING

13.1

Poor Film Adhesion

Problem: Material not laminating or laminating in patches.
Nearly all instances of poor lamination adhesion is due to a lack of heat or pressure at the
laminating nip.
Possible Cause
Lack of heat in the nip roller due to insufficient warm up period and/or lack of nip roller rotation
during warm-up. Remember that while the heat shoes reach operating temperature quickly (10
minutes) successful lamination requires the nip rollers to be thoroughly heated (a slower process).
Possible Solution
Ensure the laminator was warmed up at 270ºF and is laminating at the operating temperature of 250º
- 270ºF. If a lower temperature was used repeat the warm up procedure.
Possible Solution
Leave the laminator for a further 10-15 minutes rotating the nip rollers half a turn after 5 minutes.
Laminating too early will give "cold spots", repeating bands of delamination mirroring the colder
section of the nip roller (see Section 9.1, Cold Spots, Page 14).
Possible Solution
Cold stock, particularly heavy card, can draw essential heat away from the laminating nip. Warm
the stock or start laminating thinner items first until the machine is fully warmed up.
Possible Cause
Lack of nip roller pressure (extremely rare).
Possible Solution
The rollers may be forced apart with excess adhesive residue or scraps of film or paper wound
around the front rollers. Inspect and if necessary clean rollers.
Possible Solution
The factory nip roller setting may have been disturbed and will require a service visit to adjust. This
is a most unlikely cause and all other possible causes should be investigated thoroughly.
Possible Cause
The nature or the condition of the article to be laminated may be inconsistent with the lamination
process.
Possible Solution
High moisture content in the material (symptoms - steam bubbles) may require conditioning in a dry
warm environment.
Possible Solution
A silicone or varnish coating on the materials surface may resist lamination - try another article of a
similarsize/weight.
13.2 Curl
Problem: Laminated articles have excessive upwards or downwards curl.
Curl problems are the result of imbalanced film tensions.
Possible Solution
Adjust film tensions to achieve a flatter result (see Section 9.2, Curl, Page 14)
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