Synthetic Fiber Processing on Cantilevered Rolls
“The crew is very happy with the results so far.” This was the initial feedback Kadant Solutions received after a trial of the VeriLite™ roll cleaning system on a draw stand roll. The supervisor went on to say, “Adding a blade to every roll on every line is a forgone conclusion as the potential savings in downtime, about an hour per wrap, is enormous!”
Some call them draw stands or stretching stands while others call them spinner rolls or godet rolls. Regardless of the name, if you are a synthetic fiber producer, a few things are true:
- The fiber must be stretched to the desired denier.
- Process upsets associated with broken or loose fibers wrapping rolls must be dealt with.
- Rolls are manually cleaned before starting the next production run.
For years the industry standard for roll cleaning and wrap prevention was to use a bulky piece of equipment that allowed a pad or brush assembly to be loaded perpendicularly to the roll. Although effective at removing light haze buildup or polishing the roll, pads are typically less effective at preventing fiber wraps than blades. At best, pads serve as a collection point for stray fibers.
Kadant’s VeriLite roll cleaner assembly is a lightweight alternative to bulky apparatuses and is ideally suited for safely and reliably cleaning cantilevered rolls. The assembly accepts a variety of doctor or roll cleaning blade materials as well as Kadant’s patented EZ Kleen™ roll polisher pads. With the VeriLite roll cleaner assembly, fiber stretching operations are inherently safer because roll cleaning blades can be easily and quickly removed from the end.
