Page 39 - MetalForming July 2009

production line. In textile production, the machine performing the final wringing operation is called a stenter and the rolls within it are called padder rolls. The wringing operation takes place just before the fabric feeds through a long, heated chamber for the final removal of excess fluid before packaging. Con- ventional padder rolls are polymer based, which do a fine job of wringing the fluid from the fabric, unless the fabric enters the rolls in a bunch. When this happens an impression or deboss mark is made in the face of the rolls, allowing excess fluid to pass until the roll materials ‘memory’ may or may not allow it to fully return to a smooth, flat state. Humidity sensors control line speed, so when excess fluid is carried through the stenter into the drying tunnel by the fabric, the line slows to allow more drying time.
Eliminating this ‘memory effect’ at
FKM was a problem and the focus of an effort to replace the padder rolls with a nonwoven alternative less prone to debossing. While the nonwoven mate- rial solved the problem of maintaining its shape to reduce the intermittent pas- sage of extra fluid, it created an addi- tional, unanticipated benefit. The over- all wringing was far more effective, reducing the residual moisture content during normal operation from 70 to 52 percent. This unintended effect translated into far less time in the final drying tunnel. The result: less drying time and a faster line speed.
So why is this an example of a green story? It all boils down to energy con- sumption and customer savings. Faster line speed and increased line through- put results in less BTUs consumed per pound of fabric produced. After months of validation with customers, FKM
became convinced it had something tangible to share with prospective cus- tomers about energy savings. This gave FKM a genuine green benefit to pro- mote that didn’t overshadow the main value proposition of cost savings and an overall improvement to the textile mill’s production process.
While quality, cost and reliability are essential, being a responsible, environ- mentally conscious manufacturer is on the minds of your customers, so addressing this buying influence is important. As you promote, you need to ensure that your message isn’t perceived as being disingenuous, which at best will be ignored or at worse can tarnish your company’s image. Tying in genuine green benefits is an excellent way to differentiate your company, but only if the benefits are tangible, relevant and demonstrate real value. MF
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