Coating - Aimcal

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Executive Summaries • A Look Ahead slitting & Winding Since the start of the Industrial Revolution in the mid-19th Century, European and American manufacturers have sought methods and tools that would make production processes more efficient, profitable and safer. This goal of process improvement persists today within our paper and converting industries. Equipment suppliers continue to develop new technologies for the advancement of flexibleweb management and control. Some of the more recent innovative flexible-web technologies include improved web tension control, winding procedures and slitting tools. Web tensionsensing load cells now have very stable, fast and sensitive digital amplifiers. Direct web-tension communication to winder drives improves efficiency and potentially offers production data for roll and process analysis. Converters are showing increasing interest in non-stop web cut-and-transfer unwinds and rewinds. Combined with automatic slitter-positioning systems, the ability to run continuously reduces downtime and increases productivity dramatically. This process efficiency throughput can be improved only with faster web speeds. Referencing speed, paper winding and slitting at production web speeds in excess of 9,000 fpm exist today. We can expect more interest in this capability in the future as well. Automatic slitter-positioning systems can relocate “onthe-fly,” maintaining their slitting action while changing setup width locations. Individual slit-width correction can be made automatically or manually via touchscreen. These positioning systems can also react to tension control, thickness gauge, edge guiding or camera signals automatically when there’s an indication of potential loss of roll quality. Additionally, automatic slitter-positioning systems can relocate shear-slitting sets, or crush and razor holders simultaneously within 4-10 seconds. When relocating a large number of holders, significant production time can be saved compared to slower “pick and place” automatic positioning systems. 106 | 2012 AIMCAL SourceBook Wrapping films over a brush roller rather than a grooved and hardened-steel roll greatly reduces setup time and prevents blade damage and potential loss of cut-edge quality. Teflon-coated, lubricated, heated or chilled knives help reduce gummy buildup on adhesive web materials, preventing scrap rolls. Crush-cutting anvil rolls that slowly oscillate in the crossmachine direction increase crush-knife life tremendously, even on fiberglass-mat products. Knives can last months instead of weeks, which greatly extends time between anvil resurfacing. Shear knifeholders with dual air-pressure supplies have had a major impact on extending knife life and boosting roll-edge quality. Separate high-pressure Overlap stroke and low-pressure knife-contact stroke assure low male and female side-load force. Computer-controlled, servomotor-driven electronic shear knifeholders have eliminated operator Overlap setup error, improved safety and provided consistency to male and female knife-contact force. Additionally, computer control and electronic communication between flexible-web process equipment should advance use of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Systems (S.C.A.D.A.). These are just a few examples of the more recent converting-process improvements implemented over the past 150 years. The purpose remains the same. We continue to seek better ways to improve efficiency, profitability and safety. The more things change, the more they stay the same. n By David Rumson, slitting educator/consultant, DR consulting, 207-510-1959, email: drumson@maine. rr.com, www.drumson.wordpress.com
Web Handling The surest method to predict the near future is to extrapolate from decade-long trends. So what can we expect in web handling? Material costs will continue to rise, perhaps steeply, as might be the case for petroleum-based products. Expected responses would include efforts in waste reduction, material substitution and decreasing thicknesses, all of which have profound web-handling effects. For example, wrinkling is often in the top three causes of waste in a plant and any material changes can risk more wrinkling. Among the most challenging of product-design changes is to merely reduce thickness. Finally, buying cheaper materials to save money can be tempting but may have unintended consequences such as increased wrinkling caused by bagginess. Labor costs will continue to be significant. The expected responses would be more automation, such as better HMIs, grade setups stored in PLC menus, roll handling and so on. We would hope that process engineers will do their web-handling homework before setting up recipes for things like the TnTs (Tension, nip and Temperature) to optimize each of their grades. note that some web machines today, such as paper machines and coater/ laminators, have more buttons and dials than a small jet aircraft. The challenge for management is finding relevant training so that operators can fly rather than crash. We will continue to see a consolidation of machine builders. This is, perhaps, not totally a bad thing. Consider that a decade ago you could find hundreds of suppliers who claimed to be able to build a winder and scores that also tried their hand with coaters. Some machine builders are currently doing quite well in terms of orders, though their expertise is spread thinner than I’ve seen in my lifetime. We can expect ever-changing proportions of materials. Commodity grades, especially printing grades of paper, are doing poorly, and tablet computers will shut down even more paper machines and printing presses. Commodity packaging materials were always subject to the economy and are now competing with more complex constructions that were not possible a decade ago. On the other hand, many high-tech materials, such as solar cells, electronics, environmental and medical products, are moving from sheet to web handling to get economies of scale. There are two trends in information — one side negative and the other positive. On the downside, we are seeing a near total shutdown of all corporate R&D except for the occasional product development. Web-handling R&D is confined to a few dwindling and scattered academic programs. Also, trade magazines and, to a lesser extent, trade organizations are being shuttered. On the upside, Internet-based fare is growing but still trying to find its stride — particularly monetization. All of these trends have a hidden but connecting factor — the ever-present need for web-handling training. While something like 15,000 people have attended a formal web-handling short course, there is no sign of reaching saturation. Indeed, the training rate is level or even rising. There is, however, a shift of venue. Due to the very high costs of travel, attendance at public short courses has leveled. Conversely, in-house training is increasing. Extrapolating further we might expect a huge pent-up demand for training-on-demand — a subject in which I am currently immersed. n By David R. Roisum, Ph.D., president, Finishing technologies, 920-312-8466, email: drroisum@aol.com, www.roisum.com www.aimcal.org | 107 Executive Summaries • A Look Ahead
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creative COATING solutions “ iffi
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AiMcAL BoARD oF DiRectoRs (VOLUnTEE
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AIMCAL in 5 minutes AIMCAL The Asso
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AIMCAL Member Companies 3 Sigma Cor
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Member Capabilities Converter Capab
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Member Capabilities Hazen Paper Co.
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Filmquest Group Inc. FLEXcon Griff
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Member Capabilities HOLOGRAPHIC PAP
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Member Capabilities Technical Coati
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Member Capabilities Sheldahl Soluti
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Member Capabilities PILOT SERVICES
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Member Capabilities Sigma Technolog
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Member Capabilities Multifilm Packa
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Member Capabilities equipment and A
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Member Capabilities Sensory Analyti
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Member Capabilities Midwest Enginee
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Adhesive Applications 41 O’neil S
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variety of R&D and production appli
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Charlotte, nC 28273 Phone: (704) 58
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Key sales contact 3: Joe Ovnic Gene
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Key sales contact 4: Veronica Ataya
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corning incorporated 1 River Front
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with unique engineering and manufac
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Development/Tech Services 2nd Floor
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seeking new applications for pressu
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Global technologies LLc 321 Industr
Page 57 and 58: Henkel corporation 10 Finderne Ave.
Page 59 and 60: Products: Impreglon Engineered Surf
Page 61 and 62: Key sales contact: Rob Jessup Email
Page 63 and 64: Leybold optics GmbH Siemensstrasse
Page 65 and 66: Max Daetwyler corporation 13420 Ree
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Page 71 and 72: Fax: 585-321-2700 Email: diane.tren
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Page 75 and 76: Website: www.pruftechnik.com/ Paren
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Page 87 and 88: Website: www.unifoil.com/ Parent co
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Coating - Aimcal

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