Advantages of Automated Unwinders and Slitter Rewinders

The flexible packaging market has an impressive annual growth rate of 4.4 percent with a global end-use market size of $85 to $90 billion! Applications in food packaging, medical packaging, industrial products, pressure-sensitive labels and tapes, and unsupported films have kept converters busy. This consistent growth has required film processors to continually evaluate equipment capabilities in order to meet supply demands while achieving profitability. In this blog, we’ll give an overview of automation options for slitter rewinders and the advantages.

It’s important to note the drivers behind using automated equipment. Greater capacity, application diversification, new structures for existing applications, and cost and material savings are all essential in a competitive marketplace. Automation technologies in slitting and rewinding focus on safety, ergonomic friendliness, speed and finished roll quality. This yields faster web speeds, minimized setup time for new jobs, reduced time for roll unloading between finished sets, streamlined roll packaging solutions, and helps avoid unnecessary downtime.

Following are automation options and the benefits of each:

Auto web cut/transfer

• • Flying razor web cut-off (or optional shear or score)
  • Cuts before turreting to keep tails short and maintain web alignment/tension on outside wraps

Auto core cutting/placement

• • Auto cuts cores and positions them directly onto rewind shafts

Auto web taping

• • Options for inside or outside web taping
  • Label application to tail-tie rolls
  • End-of-roll warning tapers

Auto knife positioning

• • Integrated to slitter controls
  • Auto calibration capabilities
  • Auto knife position verification

Digital knife positioning

• • Knife positions can be saved in a file recipe database
  • A digital tape measure displays the required knife position

Automated set-up

• • Auto centering of unwind roll
  • Web guide positioning
  • Rewind tooling (no set-up)
  • Dual durometer lay-on capability

Auto roll unloading

• • Auto roll pushes off of rewind shafts for precision
  • Several receiving stations available per application
  • Scissor table auto unloads rolls to an ergonomic height (core horizontal orientation)
  • Smart positioning control to promote faster cycles
  • Rolls are unloaded directly onto a conveyor (core vertical orientation)

Auto roll packaging

• • Processes of labeling, weighing, wrapping/bagging, and pallet wrapping/labeling done automatically for minimal operator involvement

Auto roll palletizing

• • Programmable robots to support ergonomic and safe pallet process
  • Roll upenders feature auto load sensing and calibration for consistency

Unwind turret automation

• • Load a new master roll while the slitter is running
  • Increase throughput
  • Fully automates the process from unwind through rewind

In addition, older machines can be upgraded to meet current safety standards by the addition of a safety PLC along with other safety improvements (safety fencing, safety mats, light curtains, etc.). Contact Davis-Standard to review the best safety improvements applicable to your particular needs. In controls, take advantage of Industry 4.0! The DS Activ-Check™ is an example offering tension monitoring with warning notifications, remote communication, and data acquisition by interfacing with third-party data systems.

The best news is, manual slitter rewinders can be upgraded to include these features! Our team is here to assist you! Want to inquire about an upgrade? Contact us today.

Stay safe and healthy!