Simplifying slitter concepts

Slitter terminology can be bewildering; part of the problem being that there's no industry standards for the terms used when describing various parts of the slitter and winding process. I've talked about this before so won't focus on it now, instead I'll ask you to point your clicks at this Slitter Glossary, instead I'm going to look at how we describe some of the more complex issues surrounding slitting and rewinding.

Some of terms used when describing slitter processes are conceptual, by which I mean they might describe the part of a process that isn't easily described with the written word. I had my suspicions and they were confirmed when we started work on the aforementioned Slitter Glossary. Because a lot of slitter terminology related to the movement of materials and their reactions to external pressures we have started using graphic overlays to denote movement, see below for a couple of examples.

So if you're looking for a slitter or salvage winder and want to be sure that your needs are fully understood come and speak to the experts https://www.universalconvertingequipment.com/

Driven unwind
A driven unwind describes a system whereby the shaft (or shaftless system) of a Slitter Rewinder that houses the master / jumbo roll is driven by a motor. A driven unwind is often used when a material is tension sensitive, when an unwinding roll is driven it minimises inertia of the parent.

Reversible running

Reversible running salvage slitterReversible running enables salvage / doctor rewinders to run in two directions, allowing print direction to be corrected without the need to unload and re-load the roll.

Comments

Slitter fixes, I love days like this!

Slitter downtime is something everyone wants to avoid - when a machine isn't running it isn't being productive, and therefore it isn't making money. Ensuring that slitter rewinders (and of course, all other converting machinery) run at peak efficiency is a two-way street, and one of the many things that makes me proud to work at Universal Converting Equipment is our ability to respond to customers' service needs fast, really fast. Late yesterday afternoon we took a call from the production manager at a UK facility who was tearing his hair out due to the failure of a third party machine. We immediately dispatched an engineer, and even although the failed machine wasn't one that we had built our expert was able to get the machine back up and running in well under an hour. This speed of response is by no means unusual for us, but the reason I wanted to mention it here on my blog is that I was fortunate enough to be the person who took the call from the very el...

Slitter words mean what now?

Slitting / cutting machines are complex beasts, and so I guess it is perfectly natural that a complex vocabulary is spawned by discussing the methods and mechanics of slitting. The corporate culture within companies that use converting machinery usually ensures that slitter operators and their management all speak the same language, but when a need arises for slitter users to speak to outside agencies (when buying or servicing machinery) then it can become a bit of a challenge making oneself understood. Introducing the Slitter Glossary. When new customers contact me about buying a new slitter (or upgrading / servicing an third-party machine) it is important to make sure I fully understand our customers' needs. I concentrate a large portion of my energies making the specification part of the buying process incredibly simple for our customers, and recently a part of that process has involved creating a glossary of slitter terms . The slitter glossary is a bit like a...

Web guiding - an introduction.

Web guiding is a term describing the method used to correct badly wound rolls or material and is used on slitters and salvage winders . A sensor looks at material (web) running through a machine and sends a signal to a device that moves parts of the machine to correct the badly wound roll. Putting it at its most basic web guiding systems allow you to load a roll with a bad edge profile (I.E. not flat) onto a machine rewind it so that it has a flat edge profile. Guider eyes (sensors) read the edge of the web, a line on the web or a 'broken' line printed on a roll of material. If the web guiding system 'sees' the web move left it will move the web to the right so that as it winds up on the rewind end of the slitter / doctor machine the edge of the final roll will be flat. Many older web guiders move the winding web using hydraulic or pneumatic (air) methods, but hydraulics can leak oil onto the web and pneumatics tend to have slow response times unsuitable to f...

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