Regularly monitoring key areas of your paper machine can significantly reduce the chance of catastrophic alignment issues occurring in the future.
Misalignment Does Not Happen Overnight
It typically takes a good deal of time before seeing the adverse effects of misalignment within your paper machine. Often by that time, what could have been small adjustments if caught early, become BIG issues that can require an extended down (or an emergency down!) to make a corrective action.
Paper mills can spend weeks and even months scheduling and planning their shutdowns, but can overlook day to day checking that could save time and money. Using a preventative maintenance strategy for alignment inspection of paper machine components is a highly suggested course of action.
Scheduled Preventative Inspections
Scheduling preventative inspections during regular maintenance downs can help to reduce future major alignment issues
There are key areas within the machine that benefit from regular inspections. All components should be checked regularly, but some have a higher priority than others.
First Priority – Forming Zone
Mill teams often use product performance as an indicator of proper roll alignment throughout the machine. Telltale misalignment symptoms to regularly look for in the forming zone include:
- Tradeline skew
- Uneven dewatering (inconsistent moisture profiles)
- Frequent wet end sheet breaks
Second Priority – Press Section
The very same product performance indicators used in the forming area also hold true in the press section. Often overlooked in the press section though, are the paper and felt carrying rolls that are adjacent to the press rolls. Press rolls are frequently replaced during scheduled downs. In order to gain access to the press rolls, paper and felt carrying rolls are moved. These rolls are typically reinstalled without regard to proper alignment.
Third Priority – Dry End
Product performance misalignment indicators in the dry end include:
- Diagonal wrinkling and baggy edges in any unsupported draw
- Tradeline skew
- Frequent sheet breaks in the size press area
These are just some of the more important areas within your paper machine that can benefit from regularly scheduled preventative inspections. It is very important to remember that when alignment issues are discovered early on, adjustments can often be made that will help to avoid major critical (and costly) alignment projects further down the line.
If you would like to discuss ways that you can include preventative inspections as part of your scheduled maintenance downs, please contact the OASIS Service Center nearest you. Also, be sure to subscribe to our blog for industry news, case studies and tooling and technology updates.
