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transport system. Since 1996 <strong>Voith</strong> has<br />
used high-speed plate type conveyors instead<br />
of the walking beam formerly used,<br />
which, due to its complexity, was prone<br />
to breakdowns, wear and tear. Another<br />
important argument for using plate type<br />
conveyors is that they enable precise roll<br />
positioning in front of each workstation<br />
for winding, pressing, and labelling. This<br />
ensures high wrapping quality even with<br />
the fastest operating cycles (Fig. 6).<br />
As shown by the Huatai PM 10 roll wrapping<br />
line, <strong>Voith</strong>'s One Platform Concept<br />
developed for paper machines does not<br />
end at the Sirius or a standard reel, but<br />
also includes the entire roll handling<br />
zone. Moreover, by changing only one<br />
module, in this case the dispenser station<br />
Fig. 6: Wrapped rolls.<br />
Fig. 7: Let's roll!<br />
<strong>17</strong>/04<br />
with feeding system, the Twister concept<br />
has been enriched with a new option.<br />
This ideally meets specialized customer<br />
needs while benefiting from the experience<br />
gained on numerous Twister installations.<br />
After mainly dealing with the mechanical<br />
aspects so far, it is time to take a look at<br />
the control system. Normally, the wrapping<br />
line is connected to the mill computer,<br />
which keeps control of each roll from<br />
beginning to end via its wrapping and<br />
shipping data. An automation module,<br />
therefore, had to be developed for this<br />
specific application. This comprises the<br />
Rolltronic, a powerful visualization and<br />
communications software module individually<br />
adjustable to communicate with<br />
any kind of mill computer system. However,<br />
the special possibilities in China as<br />
mentioned above enable operation of the<br />
roll transport and wrapping line without a<br />
mill computer.<br />
For Huatai the Rolltronic software was<br />
extended with a special module to take<br />
over the tasks of a mill computer. This<br />
module generates, manages and prints<br />
out the roll barcodes, and to this purpose<br />
is directly interfaced to the two <strong>Voith</strong><br />
VariFlex winders for automatically uploading<br />
the cut roll dimensions. After<br />
weighing, each roll is then labelled with<br />
all relevant data after wrapping.<br />
The Rolltronic module saves all the roll<br />
data, both before and after wrapping, in<br />
respective databases and prints out the<br />
shift log and production records. In the<br />
same way as the mechanical plantcustomizing,<br />
adjustment to specific customer<br />
needs merely required a change of<br />
module in a very well-proven software.<br />
Thanks to systematic application of the<br />
<strong>Voith</strong> One Platform concept to the Huatai<br />
PM 10 Twister installation, and smooth<br />
commissioning teamwork between the<br />
customer and <strong>Voith</strong>, the maximum capacity<br />
of more than 120 rolls per hour was<br />
already attained at startup. In fact the<br />
normal 2 or 3-stage performance optimization<br />
phase was not necessary at all.<br />
We are therefore particularly proud of the<br />
praise we received from Tian Zhiding,<br />
Vice General Manager Huatai, during the<br />
official acceptance: “This fully automated<br />
roll wrapping line meets all our requirements.<br />
It is an excellent reference for<br />
<strong>Voith</strong>.”<br />
The rolls are wrapped so well that they<br />
arrive at the printers in perfect condition<br />
– obviously – even after the toughest<br />
journey (Fig. 7).<br />
PS: In Huatai I got the impression that<br />
the robots felt very happy with their<br />
professional treatment by the friendly<br />
operators!<br />
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