North American Mfg.

In an industry that has little time to waste, web guides are critical in determining how long job setups will take. And, with costs always on the minds of business owners, web guides can help keep waste to a minimum. Without these systems, a job can still be completed. But, the important questions is, “Do you want to finish it before the next guy, and at a lower cost?” Here’s how three converters learned to love web guiding systems. Look ma, no hands! Cardinal Health—a global company serving the health care industry with pre-packaged medical products—recently purchased a custom fill, form, and seal machine

Web handling is a broad category of products that can range from slitters/rewinders, web guides, register, tension controls, and web inspection. Web guiding and tension control are two factors that help converters control waste as well as the web’s “wobble” as it comes off the roll. In the case of tension control, sensor selection is a major factor. Using low-cost sensors that require constant recalibration is no longer acceptable to converters. Tension Control Issues Although some converters may be intimidated by the tension control concept, the waste reduction and improvement in product quality are more than worth the investment. “Tension control is perhaps