Reel & Roll Handling Leading the way with
rewinding technology Craig Thomson, sales manager at Martin Automatic highlights the company’s LRD and LRH models.
M
artin Automatic’s focus is on automating the roll changes at both unwind and rewind, to help printers and converters keep their production processes running more efficiently and more profitably.
For rewinding, Martin concentrates on non- stop inline winders. Inline winders are intended to minimize the waste associated with expensive substrates lost with manual roll changes, waste from poor winding control, waste from having to employ secondary offline processes, wasted productivity from having to shut down the line for roll changes or from having to run slower than desired because of limited or old technology. And, in the era of sustainability, reducing the use of inputs (versus re-using and re-cycling) is the most sustainable of approaches. Some recent trends in inline winding include the level of automation available, the refinement of drives and motors, advances in differential winding for slit ribbons, and advances in ergonomics and safety features. Martin Automatic’s extensive research into tension profile curves has enabled it to offer operators more tunable adjustments that can dramatically affect the quality of a wound roll. An educated operator can now wind difficult materials, at larger diameters, than older machines would allow.
An alternative to traditional shaftless or shafted winders is one that uses cantilevered spindles that remain within the machine. This design enables the rewinder to build full-width rolls, as well as winding multiple rolls onto individual cores, without the need to change chucks or shafts. Significantly, a cantilevered winder means that operators do not need to handle shafts and makes for a more ergonomic operation. Two examples from our product portfolio are the LRD and wider LRH automatic transfer rewinders. The LRD is popular in narrow- and mid-web processes for pressure sensitive label, pharma packaging, lottery ticket, shrink sleeve, wrap around label, flexible packaging, and toothpaste tube laminate webs, among others. It can wind from 8” (203mm) diameter rolls up to 40” (1016mm) diameter rolls on the same machine.
lottery ticket, flexible packaging, folding carton, and disposable cup and plate converters around the world. The current LRH design winds web widths from 26” (660 mm) to 56” (1422 mm) and roll diameters up to 72” (1828 mm), while its versatility extends beyond multiple substrate capability to traditional and extreme slitting applications.
The LRD transfer rewinder with inline slitting has an optional articulating arm that automatically removes finished rolls through the side of the unit.
A key feature of this model is its automatic roll doffing function: the LRD winder offloads finished rolls automatically, without any required input from an operator, via one of several standard doffing ramp designs (without the need for a cart), or with an articulating arm that delivers through the side of the unit.
Most LRD models are equipped with shear slitting packages to eliminate additional downstream steps. Typical inline slitting systems installed with the LRD model include shear slitters, to provide clean ribbon edges with minimal dust; driven adjustable bowed roller(s), for ribbon separation and stability; removable anvil shafts, for easy offline job setup; and web guiding, for precise control of the web into the slitting section. Some converters have a requirement for offline slitting, inspection and doctoring of rolls. For these, Martin also offers a control package to interface with the leading on-press inspection systems. In a typical integration, the LRD will send a signal to place a label or flag on the web. Upon an automatic roll transfer, the label will be on the outer wrap of the finished roll, where it can be scanned in an offline operation for information and easy identification of defect points in the roll. The LRH model for mid- and wide-web applications also incorporates winding, automatic roll change, and automatic unloading of finished rolls. This versatile platform has found favour with
A linear rail system captures the LRH cantilevered spindles during all modes of dynamic operation, supporting the spindles on both ends, and always ensuring rigid support for the building roll. Rather than index rotationally, like a traditional turret, the spindles traverse horizontally between the core load, transfer, and finished winding positions. Wider and higher tension models employ a servo-controlled ball screw system to ensure the spindles index smoothly and accurately between positions. Finished rolls are unloaded automatically by the integrated roll lift. The lift supports the roll as the spindle deflates and retracts, then lowers it to the floor, pallet, or material handling system. The empty spindle returns to the core load position, where the operator stands with the spindle in front of him or her and simply slides on the new cores. A typical inline slitting package on the LRH includes a web guide, shear slitters, adjustable bowed rollers, and pneumatically actuated bypass roller system for running the unslit web without having to re-web the winder. Lasers help the operator line up the cores accurately (Fig 3). In the case of scroll slit webs for disposable cups, a separate bowed roller section can create as much as 2” (50 mm) of separation to prevent the edges from overlapping.
Revolutionary for the flexibility they give converters, the LRD and LRH take the best of shafted and shaftless technology to create a new category of winder in one machine, unlike anything else on the market. By tapping into the same pure-form engineering as the company’s cantilevered unwind splicers, the LRD and LRH offer roll-to-roll printers and converters additional tools for efficient production.
Xwww.martinautomatic.com
22
February 2022
www.convertermag.com
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