Workshop on Nipped Systems & Laminating

Published: September 05, 2012, By Timothy J. Walker

This blog has addressed “nips” within the past six months at least twice with postings devoted to nip uniformity and nipped driven rollers. It’s a topic that warrants much discussion.

Over the years in my monthly "Web Lines," I’ve devoted many a column to this subject. If you’re interested in putting together your own notebook on this subject, feel free to follow the "Search" I’ve already performed for you on the PFFC website by clicking here.

But if you really want to witness things for yourself and get your hands dirty, then I suggest you high-tail it to the Nipped Systems & Laminating Workshop that’s being staged by TJWalker+Assoc. in concert with the Optimation Media Conveyance Facility in Rochester, NY. For registration or questions, give a call at 651-686-5400 or visit: www.webhandling.com. Hotel accommodations have been arranged at the Holiday Inn ROC Airport for only $99/night.

One goal of this workshop is to show how to improve your nipped roller process and equipment through a better understanding of the underlying engineering principles and design considerations of nipped rollers.

Nipped rollers are the most common method to create high pressure in many value-added web processing operations, including coating, printing, laminating, winding, and embossing. Nipped rollers are also commonly used to prevent air lubrication in heating, cooling, corona treating, and tension control driven rollers.

In most cases, the goal of a nipped roller system is to provide uniform pressure across the web’s width, but diameter variations, hardness variations, misalignment, deflection, web thickness variations, and uneven loading can all lead to undesired pressure distributions and a variety of defects. Understanding the root causes of these defects and their common remedies can quickly improve your profitability.

If you have nip-related waste or process variations, including breaks, wrinkling, scratching, or roll defects, this workshop should easily pay for itself. No matter what nipped or laminating process you run, creating thousands of dollars of nip-related waste doesn’t take long.

For this as well as a full schedule of other planned workshops on a diversity of Web Handling subjects, visit: www.webhandling.com.