Never Boring
Like other components, slitters and rewinders evolve according to market demands.
February 2007 by Chris Mc Loone
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Shorter runs—they are the reality for many package printers today. This reality can impact your slitters/rewinders by way of greater wear and tear, more frequent tool changes, and so on, but these are not the only packaging trends that affect the slitters/rewinders market. The myriad substrates available to converters alone impacts slitter/rewinder performance and construction. Thank the emergence of flexible packaging for the increased substrate requirements. All these factors will impact your business in terms of what equipment you buy—a typical rewinder versus a turret rewinder, for example—what you will do to increase the lifespan of such equipment, as well as what other types of web handling equipment you purchase.
Lifetime and wear and tear
According to Brian Ivens, manager, marketing and sales, ARPECO, a quality product designed for hard work over an extended period of time is a good start toward extending the life of your slitter/rewinder. Next, and everyone who contributed to this article agrees, ensure that the equipment is properly adjusted and maintained periodically. “Train operators on proper adjustment and use of the machine to eliminate undue wear,” says Ivens. “Utilize knowledgeable maintenance staff or factory-trained technicians to change wearing parts and make machine adjustments.” Doing so, says Ivens, will ensure proper performance and provide longevity to the life of the machine. Patrick Boshell, marketing manager for Rotoflex International, Inc., concurs. “Regular maintenance and operator training is important to maximize machine productivity. Simply put, “maintenance, PM, and maintenance, like every piece of equipment, if you take care of it, it will be reliable for an extended time,” says Wolfgang Ripper, Matik.
Ulrich Jorgens, product manager, Atlas/Titan slitters/rewinders, Bobst Group North America, adds that “a preventive maintenance program increases the lifetime substantially, but qualified opeators have the biggest impact.”
As far as wear and tear, slitters by their nature tend to wear out, simply by virtue of the job that they do. “Slitters and rewinders are meant to run at high speeds and typically cycle often, which [creates] wear and tear on acting parts such as clutches, brakes, nip rollers, motor drive systems, etc.,” says Ivens. “The trend [toward] shorter runs can cause the number of cycles to increase, but with periodic maintenance, slitters/rewinders will not suffer excessive wear and tear as a result of shorter runs.”
Lifetime and wear and tear
According to Brian Ivens, manager, marketing and sales, ARPECO, a quality product designed for hard work over an extended period of time is a good start toward extending the life of your slitter/rewinder. Next, and everyone who contributed to this article agrees, ensure that the equipment is properly adjusted and maintained periodically. “Train operators on proper adjustment and use of the machine to eliminate undue wear,” says Ivens. “Utilize knowledgeable maintenance staff or factory-trained technicians to change wearing parts and make machine adjustments.” Doing so, says Ivens, will ensure proper performance and provide longevity to the life of the machine. Patrick Boshell, marketing manager for Rotoflex International, Inc., concurs. “Regular maintenance and operator training is important to maximize machine productivity. Simply put, “maintenance, PM, and maintenance, like every piece of equipment, if you take care of it, it will be reliable for an extended time,” says Wolfgang Ripper, Matik.
Ulrich Jorgens, product manager, Atlas/Titan slitters/rewinders, Bobst Group North America, adds that “a preventive maintenance program increases the lifetime substantially, but qualified opeators have the biggest impact.”
As far as wear and tear, slitters by their nature tend to wear out, simply by virtue of the job that they do. “Slitters and rewinders are meant to run at high speeds and typically cycle often, which [creates] wear and tear on acting parts such as clutches, brakes, nip rollers, motor drive systems, etc.,” says Ivens. “The trend [toward] shorter runs can cause the number of cycles to increase, but with periodic maintenance, slitters/rewinders will not suffer excessive wear and tear as a result of shorter runs.”
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