Bowater to install reel optimizing system in MS paper mill

Malvern, PA—Bowater Inc., a pulp and paper manufacturing company, is installing a Reel Optimizing System from Vishay Intertechnology Inc. in its Grenada, MS, paper mill, which produces mechanical pulp, graphic paper, and newsprint.

By Control Engineering Staff September 5, 2007

Malvern, PA — Bowater Inc. , a pulp and paper manufacturing company, is installing a Reel Optimizing System from Vishay Intertechnology Inc. in its Grenada, MS, paper mill, which produces mechanical pulp, graphic paper, and newsprint. The system is planned for fall 2007 delivery, and it will use strain gage-based load cells and transducer-based measurement and control technology to improve paper density, remove wrinkles, and reduce web breaks in the production of high-quality newsprint.

( Read more Control Engineering applications about paper mills. )

The Reel Optimizing System from Vishay is designed to provide online measurement and control of all force and movement on each side of the machine to help eliminate problems caused by friction, non-parallelism, and general wear and tear. Each system controls the nip force during shifting phases and corrects for angle changes when lowering reels. Parallelism, acceleration, and speed are controlled during the lowering process to minimize pope speed and variations in web tension. When shifting, the forces between the primary and secondary arms are added to ensure that the required linear force is maintained.

Measurement data from the system is presented online as current data and is stored for later analysis in servicing and quality and product research. Lists of set values for different qualities can be pre-programmed and adjusted within selected areas by an operator and roll thickness and density are calculated by measuring the revolutions of the pope roller and the reel spool. Measurements of length and diameter are also recorded.

The mill will be a show site for three years so that other companies interested in the Reel Optimizing System technology can learn about it while seeing it in operation.

—Edited by Lisa Sutor , Control Engineering Daily News Desk


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