Preventive + Maintenance = Quality

Deciding whether or not to implement a PM program for your slitter or splicer is really simple: Do you want quality or not?

March 2009 by Chris Mc Loone

multipage

Slitters and splicers play key roles during the printing or finishing of printed packaging, and it is imperative to keep them in good working order. To do so, many printers turn to preventive maintenance (PM) programs—structured maintenance schedules for specific parts of a piece of equipment. “A good PM program is absolutely necessary for any equipment in which the continued operation is critical to meeting customers’ demands for the products produced and/or converted on this equipment,” says R. Duane Smith, product manager, specialty winding, Davis-Standard, LLC, Converting Systems (www.davis-standard.com).

Adam Wiecko, Rotoflex service coordinator, Mark Andy Canada, Inc. (www.rotoflex.com), adds, “It is important to consider involving the manufacturer in the development of any PM program. They are the ones who know the machine and know it best.”

Wiecko continues, “Damage can absolutely spread if maintenance issues are allowed to fester.” For example, he notes that failure to maintain a clutch will result in replacing an entire unit, and failing to replace bearings could mean a ruined shaft. “It is critically important to keep equipment updated and running smoothly to achieve optimal performance,” he asserts.

What wears out?

Knives are the parts that wear out the most in slitting systems, according to everyone who spoke with packagePRINTING. But these aren’t the only parts that need to be addressed. 

Knives wear at varying intervals, with the top blade needing to be replaced before the lower knives. The interval, according to Smith, depends on the material being slit and the speed and percent of running time of operation. “This could be as short as one day or as long as one month,” he says. “The bottom slitter blades also need to be replaced on a routine basis, which is always much longer. This would typically be every three months to yearly.”

Brian Ivens, Arpeco (www.arpeco.com), offers, “The components that most often need replacing are the slitting knives, but I am sure that this is self-evident. After that, items related to the web transport are next, specifically nip rollers and nip roll gears.” Nip rollers, he says, wear depending on material type and width, and nip roll gears can be damaged during frequent, high-speed stops and starts, as well as during material wrapups. He adds, that in older machines, other parts such as brake and clutch friction discs and pads wear out. In general though, Ivens suggests that when it comes to maintenance, “converters should consider all areas of the machine that can affect web transport and processing accuracy.”