Web Lines: Thinking About New Equipment?
A new year often brings new budgets and thoughts about new equipment. If you are lucky enough to be handed a project to buy new converting equipment,...
Differential Winding Limits: Part I
The purpose of differential winding is to apply a desired torque to two or more rolls winding on a single shaft. Differential winding allows multiple rolls to turn at differing speeds, with each roll free to slip at the speed required to compensate for roll-to-roll diameter variations and strand-to-strand length variations. ...
In Search of Tension Isolation
In web handling, one of the myths told most frequently is that of the independent tension zone, protected from other tension zones by the protective powers of the tension isolation. Like most myths, we want to believe, but alas, scientific reason is the myth buster....
Support Your Rollers: How should a roller be supported or attached to your equipment? | PFFC | September 2007
How should a roller be supported or attached to your equipment? To answer this question, let’s review your roller support needs and your options to meet these needs. ...
Baggy Webs: Part III—Causes
We know baggy webs are a problem and we know we can measure them. What do we do next? First, we need to find a way to fix it in the short term. Second, we can work on a long-term plan to prevent baggy webs from happening....
Folding Carton Shows Off
Adding a special effect to a package is one of the best ways to get a new brand noticed among dozens of similar products and thousands of other items on the retail shelf. One sure fire way to obtain a “look-at-me” look is via holographic technologies offering geometric, shimmering, and reflective metallic effects that provide the consumer with an almost interactive experience....
Don't Get Bent out of Shape
Bending a web is like bending a pencil or a wire. A little bending is no problem, but if you go too far, something will get bent out of shape or break....
Twist & Shout
A wrinkle is the web’s equivalent of a shout—stop it, you’re hurting me! To avoid your web shouting at you, think about how to apply uniform tension across it....
How to Drive a Winding Roll
What is the best way to drive a winding roll? You have three choices: from the surface, from the center, or both....
Dancer Rollers: Trust but verify
In last month’s tension quiz, I gave out five points if your process had a calibrated tension transducer roller. Those of you with dancer rollers might have wondered why you didn’t get any points. Why am I “dissing” dancers?...
Web Tension: A Pop Quiz
Today's column is a pop quiz on web tensioning. Feel free to work as a team on the answers. If you score poorly, don't worry, but it's worth your while...
Difficult Winding: Part II
Last month I introduced you to roll modulus ratio, the first of the terrible trifecta of difficult winding. This month let's move on to the next two of...
Whatever Floats Your Web
Why float a web? Because air floating can do things a roller can’t....
The Pressure of Winding Rolls
Too much pressure inside a roll means more wound roll problems. Too little pressure inside a roll has its own negative effects. Worse still is having both high and low internal pressure occuring at the same time....
Deflecting Nip Roller Problems?
What causes nip roller deflection? How can you compensate for nip roller deflection?...
If Not Rough, How About Groovy?
Even though rough surfaces have a bad reputation, rough is better than smooth to fight lubrication from air or liquid lubrication. But is rough the best solution?...
Are You Rough Enough?
What is the better roller surface to prevent web scratching, smooth or rough? Many people will opt for smooth, but in fact, this is the wrong direction....
Why Isn't Your Slitter Running?
Walk by any slitter and more likely than not, it won’t be running. Why? Besides having no input material or no demand for slitting, your slitter likely is not running because the slitter operator is busy doing all the work needed to support the slitter. Your slitter may not be running, but I bet your slitter operator is....
Converting Rx: Bowed Roller Dosage
Last month we picked up our prescription for bowed roller and read the instructions and warning label. But what's in that bottle? How do we know we have the right dosage of bowed roller? Let's combine a little diagnosis and diagramming to see how to find the proper prescription....
Converting Rx for Bowed Rollers
At the top of my list of converting controlled substances: bowed rollers. Let’s read the “Directions for Use” fine print on the bowed roller bottle....
The Case for Automatic Splicing
The risks of manual at-speed splicing should not be played down. Every time you ask an operator to crawl into or lean over a turret winder to make a slice and tuck transfer, you are playing Russian roulette with a possible broken arm, cracked ribs, or most unforgivable, loss of life....
The Converting Relay Race: Part II
Our rolls are loaded, spliced, and ready to run. To complete the unwinding relay, we need to finish strong with our plan for web alignment and tension control....
The Converting Relay Race: Part 1
Converting productivity is a race to see how much material we can get through our process. Instead of a marathon, with one runner going the distance, converting processes are more like relay races, with a series of runners. Like a relay, we need to pass baton from roll to roll so each roll can run their leg of the race....
Concave Rollers Pros & Cons
Got some nasty wrinkles on a roller? Some tape here, some tape there—wrinkles be gone. Adding tape collars or bands to a cylindrical roller just under each of the web’s edges turns a cylindrical roller into a wrinkle-stopping concave roller....
Drawing Conclusions: Part II
The principles of draw control usually create a good deal of confusion. Let’s pick up where we left off in my last column and see if we can move from drawing confusions to draw control conclusions....
