Any size you want

5 July 2011



Slitting and rewinding is a key part of many converting operations. Mike Taylor reviews some of the recent innovations from the equipment suppliers.


Soma Engineering has launched its ‘second generation’ automatic rewind tension control system, the Tenzomat II. Available for the company’s complete range of slitter rewinders this option enables a wider range of flexible packaging materials to be handled.

Tenzomat II enables a wide variety of materials to be handled at high speeds down to a slit width of 35mm. It achieves precise rewind tension control through loadcells linked to a PLC to measure tension values at each working station. These values are subsequently compared through special software to pre-set targets, and any deviations are corrected through changes in the pressure inside the rewind shafts.

The new system allows for variations in the width, thickness and diameter of rolls and enables the user to process a wider range of materials ‘with top quality finished reels’. Recipes can be stored for repeats jobs.

Webtec has given a facelift to its most widely used slitter, the HY-FS. The new model HY-FSa is said to have a ‘very modern’ design and, with continental European users in mind, the UK manufacturer has made the obligatory use of a safety cover on the machine easier on this model.

The sliding safety cover on the front of the machine no longer has to be lifted up: it simply slides backwards through the rails on the inner sides of the machine. The cover is also equipped with larger windows for a better view of the cutting process.

Another new feature is the laser positioning system, which makes the first cut more accurate with less effort. Also, whereas the standard model is open at the back, the rear of the HY-FSa is closed by doors which operate on the same sliding system as the safety cover.

This new machine will be demonstrated during ICE Europe 2011 (8-10 November).

The WC70 vacuum splice table option is now available on all Rotocontrol RSC and RSP slitting, rewinding and inspection machines ‘taking operator efficiency to a whole new level’, according to the company.

By automatically placing mill-splice/flags, matrix/missing labels and vision detected defects right on the vertical inspection plate for reworking, the operator is only required to leave the rewind zone to change the master roll. The vacuum and mechanical clamping system holds the material in a vertical position at eye level directly in front of the operator, ‘assuring perfect splices for finished rolls every time’, states the company.

One of the first companies to order an RSC slitter with the integrated vacuum splice table and waste windup is Reynders Pharmaceutical Labels in Boechout, Belgium. Also equipped with an AVT Helios 100% inspection system, this machine follows three other Rotocontrol slitters previously purchased by Reynders.

Bimec recently provided a TCA/84-E duplex turret slitter with overhead web path to the German branch of a leading supplier of flexible packaging. This machine can unwind mother rolls of 1,200mm maximum diameter and rewind finished rolls up to 800mm. At the customer’s request, it has been supplied with a splice table mounted on the separate shaftless unwind stand.

To minimise downtime, unloading of the finished rolls is totallyautomatic; once the rewinding cycle is finished, the rolls are pushed-off from the shafts and loaded onto a motorised scissor lift that takes them away from the working area.

A fully automatic knife positioning system is provided, and the machine can reach a working speed of 700m/min.

With a working width of up to 2,500mm, Goebel’s MPW 300 slitter is said to process plotter and digital printing papers ‘productively and with great flexibility’. The centre winder is also suitable for sensitive materials such as SD papers and thermal rolls. From core feed to packaging of the finished rolls, the whole process takes place fully automatically.

With a run length of between 50-200m, the machine processes rolls with a cycle time from 20-30sec. Unwind diameters are up to 1,500mm; rewind diameters up to 300mm; and the top running speed is 600m/min.

To accommodate the variable slitting widths, the core magazine is stocked with two lengths. The winding shaft can be charged with one or both core lengths of different widths together. The magazine can hold 100-200 core sets, depending on the diameter of the cores. If a smaller job with a different roll width is inserted into the processing sequence, the cores required are fed to the machine by an additional core loader. The core magazine does not need to be emptied and restocked; which saves both time and costs.

The customer selects the level of automation from a wide range of solutions, including automatic plugger, packer and shrink tunnel, cartoning and palletising system and labelling unit.

Ashe Converting Equipment’s S²R model in its Sapphire range of duplex slitters incorporates a driven unwind with dancer control feedback for high speed operation and accurate tension control, and will handle reels up to one metre diameter. If required, the bottom shaft on the rewind easily converts from differential winding to a lift-out lock bar arrangement.

The S²R will inspect, rewind and cut out damaged material, as well as defective print or other faults - it can even rewind printed product so that the print is the correct way around for the next operation.

The machine can be operated so that on inspection, if there is a missed flag or a splice, it can be reversed back to the unwind, wastage taken off and then continued to the rewind. According to Ashe, the machine is so versatile that changing it back to a duplex slitter rewinder requires ‘just a matter of minutes’.

When rewinding, the bottom shaft is lifted out. Normal offloading is by overhead crane, but reel lifting is an option and with the Sapphire’s latest shaftless unwind stand with floor pickup, electric operation loading and unloading of reels is said to be effortless.

Davis-Standard recently added a new Black Clawson SurfaStart servo controlled winder its range. This SurfaStart 1000 model is designed to meet the needs of the mid-speed and mid-width markets for coated paper, film and non-woven products. Rolls of material up to 3m wide at speeds up to 300m/min can be slit and wound into high quality rolls up to 1.5m diameter.

The SurfaStart 1000 incorporates a patented stationary knife transfer system, a bump-less primary to secondary winding position transitioning system, and programmable tension and nip control for winding rolls directly off the process line. The slitter mandrel, spreader roll, core accelerator, drum, primary arm indexing, and transfer knife positions are all servo controlled to ensure accurate speed and control of all essential winder components.

At the end of last year, AB Graphic International introduced the Flytec F2010, a stand-alone printing and converting system that permits inkjet printing, slitting and rewinding in one work-step. Based on AB’s proven Flytec 2000 system, it is equipped with an accumulator and an intelligent menu-driven handling process. All finishing and controlling work can be carried out in a single work-step thanks to new design features.

The F2010 can be supplied for rewind web widths of 330 or 410mm and performs 100% print inspection through an integrated fleyeVision camera that also allows the production of pharmaceutical or safety labels.

More recently, AB sold two 430mm wide Omega VSR inspection rewinders to the Stratus Group in France. Part of a €10 million investment programme that will enable Stratus to increase production efficiency and reduce lead times, the machines are specified to inspect and rewind a wide range of substrates. They include clear-on-clear missing label detection, servo-driven web tension control for thin and delicate substrates, and razor and shear knife slitting.

The VSR can also be supplied in 330 and 530mm widths. Options include motorised roll lift, razor and crush slitting, missing label, splice or flag detection and 100% print face inspection through a PC-based camera system.

Looking to increase speed and improve quality, Smith & Nephew Extruded Films has replaced existing differential shafts on a slitter and rewinder at its Gilberdyke, UK, plant with Svecom type 650/PLS differential shafts. The company reports increases in throughput of some 20% and improved quality and repeatability of the processed material.

The shafts were supplied by Svecom UK and Ireland agent Jarshire as the major part of an installation that also included a new PLC and operator interface. The main advantages claimed for the Svecom system are: the shafts’ reliability and long life; speed of loading and unloading the cores; fully rewound reels; and the availability of running cores with different internal diameters on the same carrier shaft.

Atlas Converting Equipment is to supply six Atlas film slitters and three Titan secondary slitter rewinders for three new BOPP film production lines for Brazilian company Videolar. Atlas will provide three 8.3m wide CW984 primary film slitters, three 2,850mm CW800 secondary film slitters and three 2,050mm wide Titan SR8 twin-shaft cantilever models for narrower width slitting.

A leader in primary BOPP film slitter technology, Atlas has installed more than 200 machines exceeding 6m in width worldwide. The CW800 film slitter for both plain and metallised film is the most successful secondary slitter in the range. It uses the same technology as the larger Atlas primary film slitters with a maximum speed of 1,000 m/min and 1,200mm unwind/rewind diameters. There are now more than 100 CW800 slitters working with metallising, CPP and BOPP film lines worldwide.

The ‘highly versatile’ Titan SR8 is the most successful model in the Titan range, with more than 250 machines installed worldwide. The machines supplied to Videolar will feature digital knife positioning and automated slit reel unloading systems.

US-based subsidiary Atlas Converting North America has re-located to new premises in Charlotte, North Carolina, following the company’s separation from the Bobst Group last October. The Charlotte operation will provide sales and service support for all Atlas and Titan customers throughout the USA, Canada, Mexico and Central America.

Swiss manufacturer Faes and the Chinese Ascent Automatic Equipment Co are to jointly offer slitting and rewinding machines for foils and films in China. The machines will be sold under the Faes brand names. The partnership will enable Faes to develop a pole position in the future market of China.

“As a slitting machine is part of a process, understanding the whole process is vital when specifying new equipment if it is to complement the existing operation and look to the future,” says Simon King, Managing Director of Alpha Converting. “Even companies with experience in buying slitter rewinders can face a daunting task when looking for new equipment – and, as no two projects are ever identical, rarely is an off-the-shelf machine truly suitable. Our success is built on tailoring a standard design to suit individual requirements.”

Alpha’s range of centre and centre surface machines will slit and rewind a wide range of materials, from thin films to heavy board and non-wovens. Rapid job change on the AlphaTwin and AlphaShaft models, which feature a patented automatic knife setting system, are claimed to reposition both sets of knives in 75sec.


An integrated fleyeVision camera allows AB Graphics’ Flytec 2010 to produce pharmaceutical or safety labels. Flytec 2010 Said to take operator efficiency to ‘a whole new level’ – the vacuum splice table option for Rotocontrol machines. Rotocontrol Alpha’s patented automatic knife setting system is claimed to reposition both sets of knives in 75sec. Alpha The CW800 secondary film slitter from Atlas. CW800 Automation features on Bimec’s TCA/84-E duplex turret slitter. Bimec Soma’s new automatic rewind tension control system enables a wider range of flexible packaging materials to be handled. Soma

External weblinks
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AB Graphic
Alpha
Ashe
Atlas
Bimec
Davis-Standard
Webtec
Faes
Goebel
Jarshire (for Svecom)
Rotocontrol
Soma

Bimec Bimec
Alpha Alpha
Flytec 2010 Flytec 2010
CW800 CW800
Soma Soma
Rotocontrol Rotocontrol


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