Wire drive roll cover Q.drive impresses with doubled life cycle and reduced cost.
LEIPA Georg Leinfelder GmbH in Germany, produces white covered test liner on PM 3 in a weight range of 125-200 g/m² at a width of 4,500 mm and operating speed of 1,000 m/min. The company noticed extreme wear in the Fourdrinier wire drive roll and the need of frequent roll replacement and associated new coatings. After a running for only six months the standard rubber was already so worn that a new cover was needed. Due to the complex replacement technology in this position, increased time and consequently high cost went hand-in-hand with a roll replacement, as the Fourdrinier also needed to be replaced. To extend the service life, SchäferRolls recommended changing to a roll cover material with significantly better transfer of the drive energy, a reduction of shrinkage and roll cover wear resulting from this.
The results speak for themselves: After running for 243 days there were no measurable signs of wear or abrasion, particularly in the previously critical edge areas. Andy Redenz, Master MTA at LEIPA in Schwedt confirmed: “The cover on the roll was checked again on 2 February 2021 after 243 days of running. Apart from some discoloration, no areas have shrunk or become worn on the operator or drive-side screen edges. The cover still looks good.” (Fig. 1). Consequently, the desired running time of 12 months can be reached along with further operation after grinding.
The costs are also convincing: Just over EUR 20,000 have been saved by using the new Q.drive roll cover material (Fig. 2) and as a result of this all of the replacement rolls have already been changed to Q.drive.
