Custom Core Shafts Do the Job

Published: August 01, 2008

NEW BERLIN, WI

Premier Paper Converting Machinery, a company making machines that produce fiber and corrugated partitions, now offers a custom machine for producing honeycomb panels. The panels are used as protective packaging inside cartons of heavier products, such as appliances.

Feeding this machine are four rolls, up to 98 in. long and weighing to 5,300 lbs. The core shafts for these rolls had to be precisely 100 mm dia, and the shafts had to be long, strong, and lightweight enough for the customer to handle safely.

The solution for this custom machine turned out to be a custom core shaft from NimCor. Using in-house carbon fiber winding capabilities, NimCor employed a special winding pattern with a high-strength fiber modulus and resin to obtain the required tube strength, rigidity, and weight. Hardened steel journals serve as bearing surfaces while also custom-machined to the OEM's brake system.

The resulting carbon fiber core shaft could properly support these huge rolls. The finished shafts weigh less than 140 lbs, reportedly light enough for two people to handle with safety.