SKCProject
Mechanical
- Jun 3, 2010
- 4
I just started at a new office, and my boss has already hit me with an interesting problem. I work on at a plant where three lines continuously churn out giant rolls of PET film. Near the beginning of the stretching process, a thin tungsten wire is run very close to the surface of the casting drum to help press the film to the rolls. Every hour or so, the shift supervisors activate a small DC motor that pulls the wire across (slightly above) the drum from a full spool to an empty one so that a fresh length of wire is aiding in pressing the film.
My boss would like to implement a system that would continuously feed the wire across (one length of the drum over the course of a few hours) because it offers quite a few benefits. However, a problem that will occur if the wire is pulled continuously by our proposed system is that it will build up on one side of the spool and eventually cause the spool to fall over or will run past its edge.
One employee has suggested using something similar to a spin-reel setup in a fishing rod, using an oscillating line guide to prevent the wire from building up along one side of the spool. Another suggested manually altering the position of the spool once every 2 hours or so to avoid the wire buildup, but issues of human error and the extra effort are undesirable.
The idea that I am toying with would involve using something similar to a very small wobble plate that would oscillate the spool itself and thus ensure a more even distribution of wire along the spool. However, each spool is very thin, (2, 1.5" diameter discs with approximately 1/4" of spool thickness between them) and there is very limited space on the line with which to implement this system.
Are there small enough oscillating motors that could be implemented? Is there a better way to attack this problem? I'm open to anything, and all feedback is appreciated.
My boss would like to implement a system that would continuously feed the wire across (one length of the drum over the course of a few hours) because it offers quite a few benefits. However, a problem that will occur if the wire is pulled continuously by our proposed system is that it will build up on one side of the spool and eventually cause the spool to fall over or will run past its edge.
One employee has suggested using something similar to a spin-reel setup in a fishing rod, using an oscillating line guide to prevent the wire from building up along one side of the spool. Another suggested manually altering the position of the spool once every 2 hours or so to avoid the wire buildup, but issues of human error and the extra effort are undesirable.
The idea that I am toying with would involve using something similar to a very small wobble plate that would oscillate the spool itself and thus ensure a more even distribution of wire along the spool. However, each spool is very thin, (2, 1.5" diameter discs with approximately 1/4" of spool thickness between them) and there is very limited space on the line with which to implement this system.
Are there small enough oscillating motors that could be implemented? Is there a better way to attack this problem? I'm open to anything, and all feedback is appreciated.