Machine direction orientation of nylon film

Claim 1

A process wherein essentially unoriented nylon film is oriented between first and second counter-rotating orientation rolls, the ratio of the peripheral speed of the second of such rolls to that of the first of such rolls being between about 1.1 and about 5.5, each orientation roll having a nip roll associated therewith, said nip rolls applying substantially uniform force across the width of such nip rolls onto the associated orientation roll, the force applied by each of the nip rolls being in the range of 15 to 45 newtons per centimeter width of nip roll, the distance between the orientation rolls being in the range of 100 to 2050 μm, the temperature of the first orientation roll being held at between 70° and 180° C. and the temperature of the second orientation roll being held at between the temperature of the first orientation roll and 20° C. below the melting temperature of the nylon film, said nylon film being made from the group consisting of (a) a homopolymer of hexamethylenediamine adipate, and (b) a copolymer of hexamethylene diamine adipate and a comonomer selected from the group consisting of ε-caprolactam, 9-aminononanoic acid, 11-aminoundecanoic acid, 12-aminoduodecanoic acid, and hexamethylene diamine duodecanedioicate, the content of said hexamethylenediamine adipate in the copolymer being at least 10% by weight of the comonomer and hexamethylene diamine adipate prior to polymerization, said homopolymer or copolymer having a relative viscosity between about 40 and 100.