Monster winders!

They wind film as fast as you can make it and juggle giant rolls automatically.

A new generation of winders has sprung up in the last two years in response to demands by cast and processors for faster models to keep pace with higher extrusion output rates. Film producers also want wider machines to produce bigger rolls, more automated systems to allow hands-off roll changing, and more precise tension control for making very thin and stretchable films.

Today's winders are expected to handle rolls of extensible film in diameters up to 60 in. and widths as great as 30 ft while maintaining high roll uniformity and quality. Ability to run smaller rolls at faster rates is in high demand, too. Many new winders offer sophisticated features and are highly automated, but some are designed to answer the need for simplicity, versatility, and economy.

These trends are evident in surface winders, used mainly for blown film, and in turret winders, used for blown and cast film. Surface and turret winders can produce wider and larger rolls at faster rates than ever before, but turret winders are still tops for speed and surface winders still make the biggest rolls.

Cast-film makers typically specialize in producing small rolls quickly. Stretch-film processors, especially, are pushing for higher winding speeds. In response, equipment makers have upped winder speeds in the last two years from former rates of 1200-1500 ft/min to the range of roughly 1500-2000 ft/min today. And two companies now have models that let you produce very large-diameter rolls on turret machines.

Blown-film producers - specially makers of thin-gauge HDPE - are also looking for greater speed and roll uniformity. The newer surface winders outrun previous units, which just a few years ago had typical top speeds around 400 ft/min but have since moved up to 600-1000 ft/min. (One supplier, Alpine, has offered 1000 ft/min for several years.)

In addition to speed, blown-film producers want options like reverse winding to allow coextruded films to be wound with a particular material as the inside or outside layer. Reverse winding has been difficult to accomplish on a surface winder, but two suppliers have licked the problem. More surface winders today also have gap-winding ability for processing tacky films such as EVAs and metallocene resins.

The ability to produce larger rolls at higher speeds is partly owing to new carbon-fiber composite winding shafts, which are stiffer and less prone to deflection than traditional steel or aluminum shafts. Composite shafts' ability to carry heavier loads also means that large rolls can now be wound on 3-in. instead of 6-in. cores, allowing longer runs between roll changes. Meanwhile, new ideas on roll-change technology and vibration damping reduce the chance of producing warped rolls at high speeds. Downstream, increased automation helps handle giant rolls once they're wound.

NEW WINDERS FOR CAST FILM

Battenfeld Gloucester Engineering Co. Inc., Gloucester, Mass. - New 1002-DS turret winder for cast or blown film uses overlapping dual turrets to reduce shaft vibration, allowing the winder to operate at 1920 ft/min, apparently the fastest on the market. Built primarily for extensible stretch films, the new winder handles gauges down to 9 microns, roll diam. to 16 in., and widths to 240 in. per shaft.

A new servo-driven indexing station moves finished rolls to the unload position in under 2 sec, helping reduce tail scrap during indexing and web cutover. New control software reduces the tension during indexing to prevent film stretch.

Battenfeld also now offers domestically a flexible winder that was developed for foreign markets. Model 1015/1016 is a two-spindle turret unit with a special dual infeed nip design that handles cast stretch or blown film. Rolls up to 152 in. wide and 42 in. diam. can be made at up to 1500 ft/min. Variable-speed turret indexing is standard, though shafts can be either swing-out or removable type. Load cells provide tension measurement. A dual-turret version is forthcoming.

Black Clawson Converting Machinery Corp., Fulton, N.Y. - New Tri-Star three-spindle, single-turret winder is a wide-roll, high-speed unit designed primarily for cast stretch films. Two lay-on rolls ensure proper film alignment by eliminating air between the film layers during roll changes. The second lay-on roll is speed-matched to the web and is positioned just above the first or primary lay-on roll during winding. During indexing and cutover, the auxiliary lay-on roll is temporarily connected to the turret by an arm and moves clockwise along with the finished roll. Indexing takes less than 1 sec. At cutover, the second lay-on roll disconnects from the turret and returns to its initial position above the primary lay-on roll.

The Tri-Star produces 14-in.-diam. rolls at speeds above 1800 ft/min and is available in two versions, one that can produce 104-in.-wide rolls, and a double-wide unit that can make a 208-in. roll on a 3-in. core. The winder has a fully automated unloading and recoring system that cycles without operator intervention in 45-50 sec.

The new Exceline turret winder is a simpler, economical, pre-engineered system for light films down to 0.8 mil, web widths to 72 in., roll diam. to 40 in., and winding speeds to 1000 ft/min. Digital DC drives and PLC software are standard.

Egan Davis-Standard Corp., Somerville, N.J. - Two new winders are Egan's answer to cast stretch-film processors' needs for wider rolls and faster changeovers. The model 1700 and more automated model 2100 wind rolls up to 12-in. diam. at 1800 ft/min. They can be configured for roll widths from 84 to 144 in. in 20-in. increments. The operator pushes a button to activate each step of the computer-controlled sequence on the model 1700. It is a two-shaft version, while the 2100 comes with four shafts. A new clamshell mechanism that clamps both ends of the shaft is said to reduce vibration during high-speed winding of wide rolls and allows thinner (3-in.) cores to be used. Bearings are mounted in the shaft rather than incorporated into the frame of the winder. The new clamping system is available for rolls over 100 in. wide.

Model 2100 also features a new integrated roll-handling system that automatically ejects finished rolls, loads new cores, inflates/deflates air shafts, and manipulates the chucks. The shaft swings out from the machine and is removed by a robotic assembly. New cores are fed onto the shaft by a ramp system. A guard prevents an operator from entering the turret area during operation. The automated process reportedly trims average roll-change time from 2 rain down to approx. 52 sec.

Jagenberg Inc., Kampf Machinery Div., Enfieid, Conn. - New winder for biaxially oriented films is an unusual dual-turret machine in which the shaft in the winding position oscillates up to 3 in. from side to side in order to improve roll flatness. In that position the shaft has no mechanical ties between the two turret disks. The core chucks shift within their assemblies while the winder frame and turret disks remain stationary. On previous models the entire turret oscillated, but this limited compatibility with automated roll-handling equipment. This reportedly permits winding rolls up to 47 in. diam. and 30 ft wide. The new unit winds at up to 1200 ft/min and handles film gauges from 1 to 250 microns. Kampf uses a brief static charge to connect the web edge to a new roll during changeover.

Another new winder comes from the Stahlkontor subsidiary of Kampf. The Ecomat winder for cast and blown film is designed as a modular turret unit that can also be used as an unwind stand. It can handle rolls up to 61 in. diam. at a top speed of 1150 if/min. Automatic roll handling is optional.

Merritt Davis Corp., Hamden, Conn. - A new two-shaft turret winder for specialty cast film and extrusion coating provides roll widths from 24 to 72 in. and diam. from 20 to 24 in. Film of 1 to 10 mils can be wound at up to 600 ft/min. Shaft-speed matching and a flying knife are said to speed roll changes.

Reifenhauser Inc., Lawrence, Mass. - Self-unloading, two-shaft Midex system allows automatic changes of roll diameter (see PT, April '95, p. 79). Individually driven shafts can alternate between surface and gap winding (1-20 mm range). The driven shafts are servo controlled. Rolls up to 109 in. wide and 31 in. diam. can be made on the winder, which handles film gauges from 0.4 to 10 mils. Winding speed can be adjusted between 33 and 1150 ft/min. An optional automatic roll-removal system facilitates changeovers in 1.25 min.

Tex America Inc., Charlotte, N.C. - New alternating, dual-station, high-speed surface/center/gap winder from SML Lenzing in Austria has a new anti-vibration system that reportedly permits smooth operation at speeds up to 1500 ft/min. It produces rolls of 40 in. diam. up to 13 ft wide.

To reduce vibration, the system has 16-in.-thick side walls filled with polymer concrete. They act as a secondary foundation. Anchoring rods within the concrete transfer the winder's vibration to the side walls.

The dual winding station has a special winding track and shaft movement, which allow the idle shaft to bypass the shaft currently winding and return to the start position near the lay-on roll without disturbing the web. Each winding station has a drive system and slides on its own horizontal guide rail. A servo positioning drive controls shaft movement.

The system also has an unusual tapeless transfer system. At changeover, the new shaft, after reaching web speed, engages a belt feeding system, which acts as a second roller. After the web is cut, a nozzle bar blows the edge of the web into the gap between the belt system and the shaft. The belt system is retracted after two web layers have been wound.

Windmoeller & Hoelscher Corp., Lincoln, R.I. - New Filmatic M series is a versatile surface/center/gap winder for tacky film. It runs at up to 1150 ft/min. Automatic roll removal and shaft extraction is standard.

NEW WINDERS FOR BLOWN FILM

Addex Inc., Boston - A novel surface/center-assist and gap winder with a special lay-on and cutover capability also can do reverse winding. Developed by Reinhold in Germany, the machine's winding shaft remains fixed, and the contact roll moves in a carriage along a track to maintain tension as the roll increases in diameter. The Addex Reinhold Winder has load-cell tension control and a vacuum lay-on drum that conceals the cutting knife. Vacuum pulls the web onto the drum during winding. The knife emerges from a slit in the vacuum drum to cut the web and then retracts. The location of the knife on the back side of the drum allows reverse winding - unlike all surface winders but one from Reifenhauser (see below). A separate drive accelerates the new core to web speed then signals for the cutover. Vacuum and tension controls and knife cutover are tied to the position of the vacuum drum during winding.

Processors can automate the line with a robotic ann that facilitates tapeless transfer by spraying glue onto a new core prior to winding. Rolls up to 60 in. diam. or 124 in. wide can be wound at up to 600 ft/min.

Addex is also developing a new surface winder that will be simpler in design, made to handle LLDPE and HDPE films. The new Plexo line will operate at 350 ft/min and employ flying-knife cutover. It will handle roll widths of 140 in. and diam. of 40 in.

Alpine American, Natick, Mass. - Alpine's very first turret winders are the T series of two-spindle models with single or dual turrets. The U.S.-built winders handle rolls of 24-in. diam. and 80-in. layflats, although an Alpine spokesman says it is possible to produce layflats of up to 120 in. on this equipment. The new winder operates at up to 1000 ft/min, the same pace as Alpine's line of German-built surface winders. The winders are available with a cantilevered or removable shaft design.

There are separate drives on the trim and secondary nip. Individual servo control on each spindle is said to achieve precise control of tension and shaft speed during indexing and cutover. Line speed of the incoming web is calculated from a reading at the extruder nip, dancer position in the winder, and roll diameter. Roll size can be programmed by total footage, bag count, or roll diameter using PC-based touchscreen controls that monitor the winder.

A.R. Engineering Machine Inc., Mississauga, Ont. - A new surface winder with semi- or fully automatic controls reportedly costs about 30% less than similarly equipped models on the market. Previous winders from this company were all manually operated. The new model handles layflats to 134 in. (vs. a previous max. of 120 in. from this supplier). Rolls can be wound to 45 in. diam. at up to 600 ft/min. The winding drum has a diamond-grooved rubber cover, which channels air away from the underside of the web, aiding production of wrinkle-free film. Automatic roll takeoff can be accomplished with an optional hydraulic unloader. Other options include a secondary nip for additional tension control or a flying knife for automatic transfer.

Brampton Engineering Inc., Brampton, Ont. - A new stacked-turret winder produces 32-in.-diam. rolls of tacky or extensible films, yet is tailored to fit into the small footprint of older double-turret winders. The new Contact Pressure Control (CPC) series can handle film gauges from 0.4 to 12 mils, layflats to 120 in., and winding speeds to 750 ft/min. A single-turret version produces 40-in.-diam. rolls.

The CPC series employs a linear lay-on device that reportedly controls air entrainment better than a pivoting lay-on assembly, resulting in rolls of consistent hardness. Driven center and lay-on rolls give the unit gap-winding capability for tacky or sensitive films. The winder can have recipe storage and retrieval capabilities. The CPC indexes in about 8 sec - slower than other turret systems - to make it easier to maintain tension control, according to a company spokesman. Brampton is developing a dual-turret version, which will be installed in its lab next month. Its overlapping turret design keeps it compact.

Future Design USA Inc., Boston - A new economical, center-driven, phantom-axis turret winder makes rolls up to 30-in. diam. at widths of 30-80 in. and speeds up to 300 ft/min. Reverse winding is standard. It also has pneumatic lay-on assemblies and dancer controls. Programmable film-footage meter triggers an audio signal prior to roll completion and manual changeover.

Kiefel Inc., Wrentham, Mass. - The company's new "Lean" blown-film system comes with the new FWB surface winder. It can make 40-in.-diam. rolls on 3-in. cores with up to 63-in. layflat and max. speed of 545 ft/min. In level of sophistication, the FWB is a mid-range unit that fits between Kiefel's most sophisticated PA model and its more basic FW series. For economy, the FWBhas manual adjustment of the DC drive and secondary nip. Automatic tension control is not provided. The unit comes with automatic roll-changing capability.

Macro Engineering & Technology Inc., Mississauga, Ont. - A new vibration-damping system for its new two-spindle turret winder reportedly makes the unit suitable for BOPP films. It operates at 800 ft/min to make rolls up to 18 ft wide, and 54 in. diam.

Macro's new surface winders typically handle roll diam. to 50 in. and speeds to 600 ft/min. An optional driven shaft for center assist permits gap winding. PLC software maintains gaps as small as 1 mm. Tapered tension can be set by adjusting spindle speed.

Macro is developing an economical shaft-handling system for its surface winders that uses simple mechanical linkages to a hydropneumatic cylinder and electric actuators. The system hydraulically unloads the finished roll to a cradle.

Parkinson Machinery and Manufacturing Corp., Woonsocket, R.I. - New Mark II Positran HW winder for blown or cast film performs surface, center, and gap winding at speeds up to 200 ft/min. Parkinson's first "universal" winder can do shaftless winding of roll diam. of 6-14 in. on 3-in. cores and shafted roll diam. up to 50 in. Nonwovens can be wound to over 100 in. diam. The unit handles layflats to 120 in. A quick-changeover system allows the operator to switch from small to large rolls in 10 min.

Reifenhauser Inc., Lawrence, Mass. - UFA series winder produces 60-in.-diam. rolls up to 168 in. wide at 650 ft/min. A special feature is that it can do reverse winding to 40-in. diam. A center-assist option aids in tension control. Load cells in the winding drum monitor contact pressure. Tapered tension is maintained throughout the winding process.

Windmoeller & Hoelscher Corp., Lincoln, R.I. - New Filmatic series for blown or cast films produces rolls up to 40 in. diam. and 130 in. wide at speeds topping 1100 ft/min. Filmatic K unit for blown films handles nontacky films over 1 mil thick and runs at up to 500 ft/min. Automatic roll removal and shaft extraction is standard.