Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Doctor or Roll Cleaning Blades
Doctor, roll cleaning, and scraper blades don’t last forever!
A doctor or roll cleaning blade is used to clean rolls, removing stock accumulations, water, pitch, and filler buildup to remove the sheet and flake product. Eventually, the blade will wear and not clean the roll as effectively, so it’s important to perform routine maintenance and change blades regularly.
Blade change intervals depend on many factors such as application, sheet breaks, temperature, roll textures, and blade materials. While some machine applications will require more frequent maintenance and blade changes, here are some good rules of thumb to get the most out of your blades:
- Make inspecting blade and holder conditions a part of your maintenance routine
- Change blades any time the machine is down for cleaning
- Change the blade immediately any time there may be damage to the blade
- Use a blade change indicator at the beginning of each blade change
- Keep an inventory of commonly used blades to reduce downtime
Partnering with a doctor blade expert is key in choosing the best blade for an application because so many blade material options are available. Blade materials are selected based on the application parameters and requirements. Working with a blade expert can also help improve doctoring performance and blade life.
Additionally, proper maintenance of your doctor blade holder, doctor system, or roll cleaner can help optimize blade performance by ensuring loading and alignment are consistent across the roll surface.
Remember to follow your company’s safety procedures whenever working with Kadant blades and read all instructions completely before proceeding.
