Mechatronics boosts wet-wipes production

Green Bay, Wis.-based Paper Converting Machine Co. (PCMC), a builder of wet-wipes converting machines, used a mechatronic approach for the first time when it decided to increase the machines’ throughput. Wet wipes are nonwoven fabrics made by mixing fibers into liquid slurries, making the resultant paste into flat sheets using rollers, drying the sheet, and forming the sheet into long rolls of material. Converting machines fold the material into long ribbons of the familiar web shapes (which pop-up when a consumer pulls a wipe from its container). The machine cuts the ribbon into individual lengths for packaging. To boost throughput, PCMC wanted faster rotary saws that would let operators adjust lengths with the push of a button. To reach this goal, the company used design software and automation technology from Rockwell Automation Inc., Milwaukee.

A mechatronic approach in the case of the new Mako saws made sense because it combines mechanical, electrical, and control engineering, providing a collaborative, interdisciplinary way to lower design and development costs while bringing products to market faster.

Early in the design process, PCMC modeled the new application by linking SolidWorks models with controls in Rockwell Software’s RSLogix 5000 program using Allen-Bradley Motion Analyzer software. Motion Analyzer helps users size and select an optimized motion system by evaluating a variety of gear ratios, inertias, and mechanical alternatives. SolidWorks and Motion Analyzer working together let designers quickly simulate a variety of motor-drive combinations to select the one best suited for the job.