Slitting and rewinding

30 July 2004




Parkland winning at home and away

Parkland says it beat off "intense international competition" to win a large machine order from 3M. The Bury based company is building a customized version of its SM150 Series II slitter rewinder scheduled for delivery to 3M's Hillington plant near Glasgow in October. It will give 3M increased capacity for slitting a wide range of performance label products, from 25-500 micron thick, and will include features specifically developed to improve productivity by reducing downtime between change-overs.

The 400m/min machine has automatic knife setting and digital laser core positioning designed to speed up and simplify change-over from one run to the next. It also includes automatic tension control throughout, with readout and gap/lay-on rewind assemblies with automatic pressure control for consistent accuracy. An integrated turret rewind unload system reduces the manual handling of finished reels and speeds up the change-over.

"The machine is based on a proven design that meets 3M's criteria of versatility, accuracy and productivity," explains Parkland's Douglas Uttley. "We have been given responsibility for the complete project, starting with design and manufacture through to installation, commissioning and on-site training."

A recent order from Germany for a duplex gap winding version of the SM100 cantilevered slitter rewinder highlights the increasing demand for customized versions of the company's standard machines. "As with most customers, the emphasis was on productivity and accuracy," he says. "The fact that we are starting with proven technology and tried and tested designs gives us a head start in developing versions for special applications – in this instance accurate narrow width film slitting."

The machine has a removable slitting section for off-line knife setting, which is said to reduce machine downtime significantly. It also incorporates a PLC control system that allows production controllers to carry out monitoring and remote setting of the machine's process parameters. In addition, all web path rollers are driven to ensure accurate tension control throughout the length of the machine, claims Parkland. Delivery is scheduled for October and as with an increasing number of orders, the company is handling the complete project from design to installation and operator training.

Three-tier rewind designed for medical materials

Independent Machine Co has developed another in a series of precision custom slitters with three-tier rewind for slitting high quality medical diagnostic media into narrow widths. The 12in wide machine is capable of several slitting and rewinding options, including slitting as narrow as 0.032in and rewinding onto cores or dedicated reels, announces the company.

The cantilevered unwind includes automatic edge guide and programmable constant tension. Adds Independent: "The exclusive IMC interchangeable slitting assembly is equipped with a wide range of shear tooling with slit accuracy to within 0.0005in." Entry and exit S wrap pull roll sections are driven by the main speed reference drive through individual clutches to provide three-zone tension isolation and adjustable 'draw' control during slitting.

The three-tier rewind has cantilevered shafts, each capable of both centre and differential winding. The rewind section is driven by a follower drive and each rewind shaft is driven through individual, adjustable electric clutches with separate torque adjustment. An E/P system at each rewind tier is used for programmable axial loading to ensure precise differential winding. The slitter rewinder is driven by a dual AC flux vector system with a speed range to 500ft/min. Other features include Allen-Bradley PLC, A-B Panelview touchscreen with recipe storage, vacuum edge trim removal, end of roll detection and static dissipation.

Latest Elite Cameron goes to Chicago

One of the world's largest suppliers of friction and transmission products to the automotive industry, Borg Warner, of Chicago, USA, has taken delivery of one of the latest Elite Cameron winders from TS Converting.

Designed to replace the popular 6000 series of machines, the new model 7500 can be supplied up to 4,500mm wide and uses an overhead web path for cleanliness and improved inspection, explains TS. Unlike its predecessors, the automatic finished reel ejection eliminates the need for shaft handling and overhead cranes, says the company. The narrow machines can be supplied to push the reels onto an unload post and the wider units are fitted with retracting shaft supports and reel support trays. At speeds of 2,000m/min, the equipment can process large rewind diameters of thin substrate very effectively, it claims.

"This machine has a high level of automation, which we have developed over many years to reduce machine downtime," says Tim Self, director of TS Converting. "The 7500 can complete a job change in seconds, with links to an automatic core cutter, knife setting, label printer and reel hand- ling system."

Replacing a 25-year-old Cameron 350 two-drum winder that has provided many years of reliable service, the new machine at Borg Warner was purchased to run base paper and the high tech product grades such as saturated and coated papers. The rewind can run in centre surface or in pure centre mode for the filmic or delicate coated prod- ucts. Patented differential rewind shafts provide compensation for material with poor, cross web caliper variation which will not run using conventional surface winding principles.

A series of optical sensors are set to detect coloured tape flags that log different material defects in the unwinding web. The machine slows and stops in time for the sub standard material to be cut on the splice table and rewound on to a scrap rewind for recycling before proceeding with the quality product.

Since the reorganization of the business TS confirms that it has a large forward order book in both the USA and UK with several Deacro Centre Winders destined for Europe.

Just what the doctor ordered down under

Many printing companies are gradually warming to the idea of using doctor rewinders for salvage work, instead of using the more costly slitter rewinder to edit out faulty print, reports Aldus. However, editing faulty material at the end of the manufacturing process is often extremely expensive and wasteful.

Since a client in Melbourne purchased a reversible wide web rewinder to edit printed material prior to lamination some years ago the company has built several of these full width editing machines for clients in Australia and Asia. All, it says, have commented on the rapid payback on the original investment and on-going cost savings.

Latest machine of this design was recently built in Sydney for a new flexible packaging operation in Manila, the Philippines to complement a European-wide web flexo press, narrow web label press, laminator and gravure equipment. The fully reversible machine has a 1,300mm web width with a self loading rewind/unwind suitable for 800mm diameter rolls. The rewinder has a multimotor drive and dual linear dancer roll tension control system and can run a wide range of material and web widths, from 20 micron films to heavy laminated labelstock all at speeds up to 300m/min.

Cutting down on waste

Gidue's MR semi automatic double unwinder allows the operator to change reels at a speed of 30 to 40m/min without stopping the press. Primary objective is to provide an economic non stop solution that significantly reduce waste on the press, says the company. The MR includes two unwinders that can be brake or servomotor driven, a dancer operated tension control and a 'marriage roller' splicing system.

A second development for flexible packaging, the ATR is a fully automatic turret rewinder that includes a dancer operated tension controller, a slitting unit, banana roller, a blade cutting device and a double spindle rewinder on a rotating turret. Each spindle is servo driven. Reel changes at 200m/min are achieved with reel diameters of up to 1,000mm possible. The dancer operated tension control feature allows cutting of very thin filmic materials as well as cartonboard up to 450g/m2.

Federico d'Annunzio, managing director comments: "Both the MR and ATR have been successfully installed on a Gidue E-Combat servo driven eight colour UV flexo press." Sited in South Africa, the press prints up to 530mm wide and is designed for the production of PVC shrinkable sleeves and 30 micron BOPP. The press was specifically manufactured without additional converting equipment for dedicated, non stop, high speed roll-to-roll production.



Contacts

Parkland Tel: +44 (0)161 762 9737 Independent Machine Co Tel: +1 973 882 0060 TS Converting Tel: +44 (0) 1823 283411 Aldus Tel: +61 02 98090363 Gidue Tel: +39 02 9668181




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Aldus
TS Converting
Gidue
Independent Machine Co
Parkland

A customized Parkland SM100 cantilevered slitter rewinder destined for Germany A customized Parkland SM100 cantilevered slitter rewinder destined for Germany
Elite Cameron 7500 rewinder for Borg Warner Elite Cameron 7500 rewinder for Borg Warner


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