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Hall 10: Our Masterpiece

 

In the new Hall 10, we at ORAFOL produce specialty films with the highest level of engineering expertise. A tour in four stages.

"When we are in buildings with glass facades and the sun shines intensely, the indoor temperatures remain bearable mainly because a special protective film is applied to or within the glass." So says Marcel Janssen, who heads the Technology and Engineering departments at ORAFOL. These so-called solar protection films for glass surfaces in buildings allow light to enter while blocking most of the heat.

Producing such films requires the highest level of engineering precision. This high-tech challenge is met in the new Hall 10 at ORAFOL’s headquarters in Oranienburg. The new building represents the largest investment in the company’s history. Over the past two years, it has become a technological masterpiece unmatched anywhere in the world. Marcel Janssen states: "In our new production hall, we manufacture self-developed films that set new standards. This places enormous demands on our production technology." He nods briefly. "That makes Hall 10 unique."

Sun and Precision

What makes a good solar protection film? "It should be invisible. It should let in as much visible light as possible while reducing heat penetration into the building as much as possible. The glass itself must not heat up. And that is precisely where conventional solar protection films often reach their limits," explains Janssen. These products absorb solar heat, meaning they store it. When applied inside, they heat up the glass. When applied outside, they weather due to UV radiation, becoming noticeable and unsightly over time. Additionally, they allow only part of the visible light inside, making rooms feel dim.

This is why ORAFOL relies on so-called spectrally selective films. They do not absorb infrared thermal radiation but rather reflect it. As a result, the glass does not heat up, and the interior remains cool. Additionally, the ORAFOL solution is almost invisible, boasting a high light transmittance of 85%. "Our solar protection films are ultra-thin and more advanced than any other on the market. However, processing such high-tech films requires an enormous degree of precision. Even the slightest vibrations or contamination can affect production results," says Janssen.

For this reason, the coating unit of the production line—the section where films pass over rollers and receive various coatings—has been given a separate foundation. Even during the pouring of the floor slab, it was determined where the coating unit would later be positioned. The planning and construction teams ensured that the foundation beneath the coating unit had no physical connection to the rest of the foundation. This is because numerous fans, dryers, and other machines in Hall 10 generate vibrations that could transfer to the floor. If the foundations were not separate, the rollers would vibrate, causing what are known as "cross-strikes"—small irregularities in the coating process. "Everyone we tell about the separate foundations initially thinks it's an exaggeration," says Janssen. "But we have precision requirements in coating our solar protection films that are in the micrometer range. We require a precision of ten micrometers—that’s about the width of two blood cells. To achieve this, the rollers must operate entirely vibration-free."

 

Furthermore, the rollers must be precisely aligned parallel to each other, both horizontally and vertically. In the three coating lines in Hall 10, each between 60 and 100 meters long, approximately 200 rollers rotate. These are aligned to within mere tenths of a millimeter of each other. Janssen explains why: "Anyone who has ever handled a thin film knows that films tend to wrinkle. Twelve-micrometer-thin film layers do this even more. If the rollers are not perfectly aligned during production, shifts can cause wrinkles in the final product." To prevent this, ORAFOL engineers decided to use the world’s most precise measuring instrument for roller alignment: three ring laser gyroscopes, which enable measurements in three-dimensional space using the ParAlign method. Janssen and his team hold the device against a roller, where the laser beams inside travel in a circular path, stabilizing at a specific wavelength. From this, the exact position in space can be calculated. "It’s like a three-dimensional spirit level—but even better, because the reference point for the device is the Earth's axis!" says Janssen. "That’s crucial because, with 200 rollers, we can’t measure them one by one and align them relative to each other. We need an external neutral reference point. So, we use the Earth’s axis itself." With the ring laser gyroscope, Janssen and his team can align the rollers with absolute precision. "If necessary, I could align our rollers in Oranienburg perfectly parallel to a roller in Australia."

Paint Protection and Purity

A second innovation produced in Hall 10 is a paint protection film for cars and bicycles. "Owners of high-end e-bikes are just as concerned about paint scratches as owners of luxury cars," says Janssen. In any case, a good paint protection film is one that protects the paint but is practically invisible. The film must be completely flawless. "Even a single hair or the tiniest speck of dust makes the film unusable as a paint protection film. Yet, these films are electrostatically charged and actively attract dust and dirt. The production of ultra-transparent stone chip protection films thus requires an extremely clean production environment."

To achieve this, Hall 10 has three separate air zones: black, gray, and white. Black means normal air quality equivalent to outdoor air. To enter the gray zone, one must pass through automatic airlocks that open and close quickly. The air in the gray zone is filtered and maintained at a slight overpressure. "When you walk through such a high-speed door, you always feel a breeze. It blows away dust and insects, keeping them outside." The white zone is also maintained at overpressure relative to the gray zone and requires passing through another airlock. The coating unit is further isolated from the white zone. The filtration system here is even stricter than in the white zone, allowing only particles smaller than five micrometers—about the size of a bacterium—to pass through. Employees working at the coating unit wear hairnets over their heads and beards. "This isn’t a full cleanroom like those used for microchip production, but we follow strict cleanroom standards," says Janssen. The air in the coating unit is completely exchanged 35 times per hour, ensuring ultra-clean conditions. The hall, covering 14,000 square meters with an 11-meter ceiling height, maintains a constant humidity level of 40 to 45% year-round to minimize electrostatic attraction of dust. The flooring is also made of conductive material to prevent static buildup from shoe soles.

Adhesive Tape and High-Performance Production

The third product line in Hall 10 is adhesive tapes. Janssen states: “In Hall 10, we are fully committed to productivity when it comes to adhesive tape production.” Specifically, this refers to double-sided adhesive tapes for the construction and industrial sectors. These tapes must perform exceptionally well, offering immense adhesion strength and adhering reliably even to dirty and uneven surfaces, such as drywall. “For this reason, a high amount of adhesive mass is required. We have opted for a water-based dispersion adhesive.” The necessary technology for this process has been installed in Hall 10. ORAFOL has developed a machine specifically designed for producing adhesive tape systems based on water-based dispersions. This machine coats 400 meters of carrier material per minute—an outstanding figure—at a working width of over two meters. This means that the new machine produces 840 square meters of high-quality adhesive tape per minute—larger than a handball court.

Foam and Light

Marcel Janssen concludes the tour in front of his personal highlight: the “foam machine,” which is actually a specialized UV dryer integrated into one of the coating systems. This machine is used to produce self-adhesive foams. Double-sided adhesive foams are in high demand in the industry: Instead of fastening components with screws, which adds weight, or welding them together in a cumbersome process, materials and parts are increasingly being bonded. This applies to vehicle interiors, smartphones, satellites, and more. However, applying an adhesive layer to such foams is quite challenging. “To apply adhesive, pressure is needed, but this pressure also compresses the foam,” Janssen explains. “So how can we ensure that the foam fully regains its shape after the adhesive has been applied to both sides?”

This challenge led ORAFOL’s laboratories to an innovative idea: What if a foam could be developed that adheres on its own—without any adhesive application?

Using special UV acrylates, the chemists in Oranienburg achieved this goal and developed an industrially manufacturable product. The ORAFOL engineering team provided the necessary production technology. The acrylate mass, which has a consistency similar to honey, passes through the machine that Marcel Janssen is so proud of: “The channel through which the mass travels is equipped with state-of-the-art, controllable LED technology—our own prototypes. They irradiate the mass from both sides, from above and below, over a long distance with UV light. And then the crucial transformation happens: The mass expands and becomes a double-sided self-adhesive foam.” Janssen adds: “This foam adheres incredibly strongly—simply impressive!”

Thanks to this process, ORAFOL not only eliminates complex production steps but also offers its customers a powerful new product range.

Since the end of 2024, ORAFOL has been ramping up operations in Hall 10. By the first months of 2025, Oranienburg’s masterpiece will be fully operational, ready to produce new products for the global market.

Read more in the ORAFOL magazine

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