Examples of shaft alignment in the pulp and paper industry

Aligning shafts in the pulp and paper industry results in fewer machine stoppages and, therefore, greater machine availability, increasing efficiency, achieving higher productivity, reducing energy and operating costs and, consequently, offering enormous potential for saving money.

Rotating machines are more vulnerable to misalignment. Correctly aligned and regularly checked machines save a lot of operating and maintenance costs. Conventional methods for shaft alignment, such as the bevel rule, feeler gauge or dial indicator, are very time-consuming.

With the technology of laser alignment in industrial companies You can ensure greater precision and easy handling during shaft alignment in the pulp and paper industry.

In several respects, the alignment of rotating machine shafts contributes to significant cost savings, such as:

• Reduced power consumption.
• Less wear on bearings.
• Gaskets, shafts, and couplings.
• Avoid high temperatures in bearings and couplings.
• Reduces vibrations in shafts and foundation bolts.
• Significant reduction in damage to axles and foundation bolts.

Shaft alignment in the pulp and paper industry

Paper manufacturing is a highly complex, dynamic process. Paper machines must be precisely adjusted to the requirements of the paper type. Regardless of whether the paper machines run slowly or quickly, or whether they are wide or narrow, machine operators always have the same interest: the manufacturing process must be as efficient and cost-effective as possible.

During production, the paper undergoes various procedural steps:

• Screening section.
• Pressing section.
• Drying section.
• Straightening unit.
• Coating machine.
• Calandria.
• Roll cutter.

The shaft alignment actions that can be carried out in the pulp and paper sector are:

The cylinders in the pressing section, calender or coater are often driven by cardan shafts. After servicing or replacing a motor in the press, the alignment of the motor and cylinder shafts must be checked. Although cardan shafts compensate for parallel displacement, angular displacement must be within the manufacturer's specific tolerance, otherwise the cross joints will wear out too quickly. An unplanned shutdown costs a lot of production time, in addition to the high costs of losing the cardan shaft.

In addition to cardan shaft alignment, roller parallelism alignment systems are also used. Similarly, laser systems are used to measure and optimise the geometry of the machine and component, for example:

• Rotary shaft alignment.
• Flatness.
• Rectitude.

Shaft alignment in the rotary printing sector

Printing machines are often found at the end of the production chain. It is not uncommon for them to contribute significantly to the visual perception of the final product, which is why special attention is paid to quality in the printing process.

Winder drives can be implemented in printing machines using cardan shafts, in which the drive motors are often located on separate foundations. Due to the loads incurred when inserting tonne-weight web rolls, the winders change their position relative to their drives over time. Repeatedly checking the alignment of the drive sections can prevent wear on cardan shafts and thus avoid unplanned downtime.

When printing with solvents, it is necessary to recover the solvents from the exhaust air. For this reason, the alignment of drive shafts and driven shafts in the motor and pump units in the solvent recovery area must be regularly checked and corrected using laser-optical measurement technology.

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