Equipment
Contact Web Cleaning Systems

Most Polymag® Tek machines can handle web speeds up to 800 feet per minute. For webs moving faster than 800fpm, there are some design considerations that we can adjust to handle the faster speeds. We use low drag bearings on all of our rollers. We can increase the roll OD and modify the web path to ensure consistent contact and effective cleaning.

Many customers are using a slit product, or are slitting themselves. The highest amount of contamination is generally on the edges of the slit product.

To combat the higher levels of contamination in these particular areas, Polymag® Tek has developed The Extender™ self-oscillating tape roll assembly. This assembly moves the adhesive tape roll back and forth in the transverse direction to spread where the concentrated areas of contamination are located. This leads to longer adhesive tape life.

Additionally, if a customer is looking for a web cleaner on a slitter, we have designs that can accommodate the adjustable web width and slitting locations. If the web is being split into multiple webs or rewinds, we can install a cleaner close to the knifes before the web is split apart, or locate cleaners on each slit section.

Paperboard in general terms is a very dirty substrate. Clay coated or recycled paperboard is even more so. Because of the high levels of contamination, traditional web cleaners that use a Contact Cleaning Roll and Adhesive Tape combination is not very cost effective. The adhesive tape loads up with contamination fast, leading to a high consumables cost.

Polymag® Tek’s solution to this problem is our Oscillating Water Wash Web Cleaners. NN-OWC/NR-OWC. These cleaners use a pair of contact cleaning rolls that are rotated between cleaning the web and being washed with a robotic cleaning head. Contamination is collected on a wet sponge backed cloth. Our Water Wash systems are the only cleaners on the market that can cost effectively clean paperboard products.

Many customer use an intermittent process where the web is indexed for punching, die cutting, sealing or pouch making. Polymag® Tek has taken this into consideration by actively seeking to reduce the tension loss on the web. We accomplish this by using a “gravity nip” in most of our machines.

In the gravity nip, the top roller sits in a slot and is not loaded against the web. The only force against the web is the weight of the contact cleaning roll and adhesive tape. The tension loss for these systems is less than 0.04 PLI, making these machines ideal for intermittent processes.

Laminating usually requires two cleaners or cleaning stations. Most customers want to clean the bottom of the top web and the top of the bottom web so that no contaminants are trapped in between layers. We work with these customers to design cleaners that meet their needs and prevent trapped defects.

Pouch making is similar to the laminating process. The critical aspect of cleaning is to ensure the “contact surfaces” on the inside of the pouch are clean and clear of defects. This usually requires two cleaning stations.