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The MLP-50. Photo credit: MLT GmbH
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The MLP-10. Photo credit: MLT GmbH
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Tipping paper micro perforation as seen under magnification. Photo credit: MLT GmbH
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The MLP-50 TWIN. Photo credit: MLT GmbH
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The HGLaser workstation. Photo credit: HGlaser.com
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When it comes to micro perforating tipping papers or HNB hollow tubes, high-powered laser equipment is the method of choice in modern tobacco manufacturing.
“Light” cigarettes are increasingly falling out of favor these days. But, micro perforating tipping papers is still a very common practice in the industry for “mild” brands, the microscopic holes providing ventilation to help diffuse inhaled smoke. In the (very) old days, those prick holes often were achieved by mechanical punching. It was a cumbersome, wasteful, and more often than not inaccurate procedure. Today, micro perforations are of course handled through technologically advanced, easy to control, and extraordinarily fast and precise lasers, most commonly of the CO2 (carbon dioxide) gas type. However, slowing demand has seen many providers drop out of this highly specialized equipment segment altogether. Presently, there are only a small handful of them left.
MLT, Germany: Last of its kind in Europe
One of these is German outfit Micro Laser Technology GmbH, or “MLT” for short. While a company spokesperson recently described the firm to Tobacco Asia as “the world’s last supplier of high-quality laser perforation equipment to the tobacco industry,” this notion is not entirely correct. After all, there still are several Chinese companies around serving this niche market. Perhaps the MLT spokesperson meant to say, “the last in Europe.” Founded at the turn of the millennium, MLT is nevertheless considered a market leader in the field.
As such, the company developed its MLP range of laser perforation equipment specifically for cigarette manufacturing. The most popular MLP model for offline deployment is the MLP10. Where relatively small production runs are concerned, it is of interest due to its “civil” starting price. Yet the MLP10 still offers the same superior perforation quality as MLT’s bigger and pricier models such as the MLP50 or MLP50 TWIN, which likewise are operated offline. When it comes to online modules, MLT doesn’t flunk out either, thanks to its MLP-M series, which is integrated into the cigarette maker itself and equipped with a more powerful laser source than the offline models.
For micro perforating tipping paper, MLT’s various models can all be easily adjusted to the parameters required by each cigarette product, such as prick diameter, perforation pattern, and number of pricks per square centimeter. The settings can be stored in the proprietary software for later retrieval and re-deployment. From there onward, the system controls everything automatically. The MLP10 to MLP50 TWIN systems are capable of punching up to 700 meters of tipping paper per minute, applying up to one million holes per second.
The Chinese Pioneer: HGLaser
In China, HGLaser, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wuhan-based high-tech giant HGTech, is considered the pioneer of industrial laser applications there, providing solutions for a wide variety of manufacturing sectors, including tobacco and vape. The company developed its first high-powered laser equipment as far back as 1971 and today maintains more than 30 sales and service centers around the globe. The firm has had major influence over establishing CO2 laser perforation for tipping papers. But the advent of vape and – a little later still – heated tobacco products (HTP) prompted HGLaser to also turn its attention to these product categories.
In 2022, the Chinese outfit introduced the world’s first hollow tube laser perforation workstation for the HTP manufacturing process. With very few exceptions, heated tobacco devices make use of a cartridge (often also called a “stick” or “heat stick”) that contains the tobacco charge. As this tobacco is only heated just below combustion point in order to release its vapor, an important component of a cartridge is an interior hollow tube, which acts as a cooling aid. To achieve the effect, the tube is perforated with tiny holes to allow for air ventilation. Additionally, circulating air helps to better diffuse the tobacco vapor and supposedly reduces the user’s tar intake, achieving an improved HNB experience.
The size, shape, and accuracy of the perforation can be fully controlled and adjusted from the intelligent HGLaser workstation. In principle, hollow tube perforation in the HNB process is of course not markedly different from punching cigarette tipping paper. The HGLaser equipment thus also can be adapted for precisely that purpose. An-other application area is e-cigarette diaphragm perforation. HGLaser cites the following benefits and advantages for its highly specialized equipment:
Deployment of a CO2 (carbon dioxide) laser source, with power reaching up 1,000W.
Completely automated process: feeding, perforating, testing, ejecting.
Production efficiency of up to 2,000 units per minute; in the case of tipping paper up to 1,000 meters per minute. Self-controlling, stable performance, ensuring high quality and quantity production even over prolonged production periods.