REPORT ON CONSTRUCTION OF NYLON SEALING AND CUTTING

MACHINE
 TABLE OF CONTENT

Table of Contents
Abstract

CHAPTER ONE Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study
1.2 Statement of the Problem
1.3 Aim and Objectives
1.4 Scope of the Study
1.5 Significance of study
1.6 Limitation
1.7 Organization of the Study
1.8 Definition of Terms
CHAPTER TWO
2.1 Concept of Nylon
2.2 Core Components of Nylon Cutting Machine
2.3 Heat Seal Process
CHAPTER THREE
3.1 System Analysis
3.2 Current Manual Procedure
3.3 Design Methodology
3.4 System Design and Subassemblies

CHAPTER FOUR
4.1 System Implementation
4.2 Operation of the machine
4.3 Testing and result
4.3.1 Resistance of the heating element
4.3.2 Output power of the machine table 1
4.3.3 Determination of the input power of the machine
4.4 Discussion
CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 Conclusion
5.2 Recommendation
REFERENCE
 ABSTRACT

The ease of cutting and sealing a nylon material especially during mass
production of nylon bags using automated machine has necessitated the need to
automate the process. Manual cutting and sealing of nylon films do not only waste
time, it also increases cost of production as more than required people are employed
to a job that can be automated. This project deals with the construction of an
automatic sealing and cutting machine which will aid production of nylons. This
nylon sealing and cutting machine has an added advantage of making 800 sealed bags
per hour. The constructional machines were sourced locally. The machine can cut
and seal nylon materials at an affordable cost. The constructional size is 31 cm x
7.5cm x 12.4 and comprises the following component; the sealing and cutting
filament, the transformer with 1000 turns of wire for the secondary and about 1200
turns for the primary, the micro switch, tephlon tape and aluminum sheet casing. In
the fabrication of the machine, aluminum sheet were marked and cut to size. The
aluminum is placed to protect it from external stress and damage. The filament
element and the micro switch converts electrical energy to heat energy The
constructed machine showed high performance and efficiency with reasonable degree
of accuracy.
 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Automatic nylon sealing and cutting machine is a machine that is used

simultaneously to seal and cut nylon films into different sizes depending on the
required dimension. Nylon is a type of synthetic rubber widely used often as
transference sheets for water proof packaging. Traders in the market require nylon
bags in packaging commodities for their customer. The same material can be made in
various shapes as long as packaging of goods is concerned. There is obvious need for
diversification of the Nigeria economy. We can start by producing some simple
machine so that scare of foreign exchange can be conserved for more need and
essential goods. It will also enable Nigerians manufacture to expand their industries
there by making price of products relatively cheaper compared with the imported ones
and at fordable to majority of Nigerians. Developed countries like Japan started by
producing simple machine using the abundant local raw material for the manufacture
of goods can also be exported in order to earn foreign exchange rather than exporting
the raw material (Gent et al, 2017).

There is great need to improve on the technological advancement in the country

since, she is blessed with abundant material and human resources who need to be
tapped for useful purposed. In plastic industry the machine that are required to
process than into usable products can still be manufactured locally. This is the more
behind the production of this simple machine (Automatic nylon sealing and cutting
machine) that will enable the already processed nylon products to be used in many
useful ways. Such as parceling and packaging of goods foodstuffs and over in kitchen
as a substitute for moi-moi foil. This shows that the machine is one that is
indispensable in the food processing and confectionery industries.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Manual cutting of nylon bags do not only waste time, it also increases cost of
production as more than required people are employed to a job that can be automated.
Currently sealing machines only have the ability to seal. They do not have the
capacity to cut. This has made the process semi automated as human labour is still
employed to cut what has been sealed. Some machines have been developed to cut
that which has been sealed but this gives rise to using two machines at a time. This
project tends to curb the problem by constructing a sealing and cutting machine which
seals nylon and automatically cuts it.

1.3Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of this project is to design and construct an international standard

machine that will automatically and simultaneously seal and cut sheets of nylon bags
into a required form. To achieve the stated aim, the following specific objectives were
laid out:

i. Make the cutting and sealing process fully automated

ii. Inculcate slicing ability in the machine
iii. Make the machine safe enough to avoid machine incurred hazards

1.4 Significance of the Study

No doubt, the implementation of this project will go a long way in aiding nylon
development processes. This automated process curbs time wastage, raw material
mismanagements caused by the manual process.
 Also, with the cost involved in importing goods from abroad, the design and
fabrication of the machine locally will increase the technological knowhow of the
nation. The machine will be available to trades who don’t have money to purchase
imported ones. The project is also necessary because it is a test of practical
knowledge of student. It also helps prepare student to face the practical problem that
they may meet in the field. It is also expected that through such projects student will
get more acquainted with material identification and selection. It helps in building
more knowledge in student about machine development.

1.5 Scope and Limitation of the Study

This project revolves around the construction of a nylon cutting and sealing
machine. This machine feeds the nylon films to the conversion machine in which the
film gets folded, punched and sealed. The folding and sealing process is called
splicing. The splicing process was judiciously designed to give the desired shape of
the nylon before sealing ends.

There were some problems encountered during the progress of the project
work. The voltage fluctuation, which is sometimes below the required input voltage
of 240v, reduces the heating of the wire and movement of the electric motor. At low
voltages, some nylon materials were seen to cut but not sealed. At a very high
voltage, the sealing areas of some nylons, although they were sealed, have rough
edges due to high temperature. At a steady temperature, everything works fine.

1.6 Definition of Terms

 Nylon: Nylon is a type of plastic made into thin sheets or bags and used
especially to keep food fresh or to keep things dry.
 Slicing: Splicing is the process of fixing two ends of film together and cutting
away the waste ends. This process is necessary for producing reels of film with
the requested size.
 Teflon tape Teflon tape Thread seal tape (also known as PTFE tape, Teflon
tape, or plumber's tape) is a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film tape
commonly used in plumbing for sealing pipe threads.
 CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 CONCEPT OF NYLON

Nylon belongs to the family of plastic called thermoplastic, which has the
properties of softening under elevated temperature. This makes it capable of being
molded and removed of course. This is the property that makes the material to sealed
and cut under a given temperature below it’s melting point thereby supporting the
operation of the machine other properties of nylon which makes it useful and suitable
for packaging purposes are its flexibility, cleapness, its resistance to corrosion, poor
electrical condition etc. The household plastics material called nylon is made from the
gas ethylene, a by-product to the petroleum industry. Nylon consists of a long chain
of ethylene molecules, which occur during a polymerization process of simple
molecules of ethylene called polymer. The long chains of ethylene molecules consist
of about 1200 carbon atoms in length the hydrogen atom being attracted to individual
carbon atoms.

Polymer can be divided into two groups namely

 thermoplastic
 thermosetting

Thermoplastic materials can be softened, allowed to harden and then resoftened

indefinitely by the application of heat provided the temperature is not so high as to
cause decompositions. This type of material can be formed into different shapes by
the application of heat. Thermosetting materials undergo a chemical change when
they are subjected to heat, the change cannot be reversed by the application of further
heating. A typical thermosetting material is the bake like nylon is easily stretched and
is not rigid because the linear molecular chain are independent of each other and so
the material has a relatively low melting point and low energy needed to break bonds
between chains. Nylon is a crystalline polymer with melting point of 138oc and glass
transition temperature of 120oc is the temperature at which a polymer changes from
rigid to a flexible material it from 95% crystallinity.

We have two main types of nylon namely the low density nylon which consist
of molecules containing many side braches and is usually about 50% crystalline, they
are mainly used for film packaging, examples are nylon bags squeeze bottles, baleen
tubing and wire insulation. High density nylon is approximately 90% crystalline
because it consist principally of linear molecules that is unbranched molecules. They
are used for piping, toys, filaments for fabrics.

2.2 CORE COMPONENTS OF NYLON CUTTING MACHING

2.2.1 Body Framework:

Plastic fiber is used to fabricate this but analysis shows that this process
involved is more difficult than when wood of good quality employed. However,
wood is still not satisfactory enough because it cannot often the required rigidity. For
a considerate period of time when compared with steel. This is due to the weaker
type of joints involved when wood in used. Therefore , mild steel square pipe is to be
considered best for the body frame work.

2.2.2 Power Transmission Belt

Although there are a number of other power transmission systems like roller
chain, gear wheel etc V-salt is considered most appropriate for the design of this
machine. Belt selection involves either choosing a proper belt to transmit a required
power or determination of power that may be transmitted by a given belt. In this case,
the first case is adopted since the horsepower required is known.
 i. Pulleys: The machine is made of two power transmission systems, one is
responsible for the reciprocating motion of the sealing and cutting unit, the
other is responsible for the feeding of the polyphones. Both systems have
arrangement of pulleys. For the reciprocating motion, there are two pulleys: the
driver and the driver. The former is attached to the spindle of the electric
motor. It is made up of cast iron.
ii. Springs: Two springs are used to suspend the heating unit from the body of
the machine. It helps the unit to make smooth return.
iii. Bearings: Bearing aid motion, the driver pulley of the reciprocating motion. It
rotates on a ball bearing chosen to carry radios load.
iv. Conveyor Belt: It is driven by a set of rollers, one of which is connected to an
electric motor through the belt and pulley by which power is transmitted to the
rollers.
v. Roller: Plastic roller which rotates with central steel spindle are employed.

2.2.3 Transformer

A transformer is an electrical device used in stepping up and down of voltage

transmitted. The transformer consist of two electrical circuits inter – linked by a
magnetic core. One of the electrical winding is the primary coil on which the input
voltage is applied while the output voltage is received. The primary current is self –
regulated to meet power demand of the load connected to the secondary terminal –
energy can normally be transformed from primary to the secondary
electromagnetically.

Magnetic flux setup is the primary coils consist of two components. One passes
completely round the magnet circuit, this linking secondary coil the second part is a
smaller component of the flux that links only the primary coil it the secondary current
flow and in tram create a secondary leakage flu.
The flux contribution to impedance of the transformer. If leakage flux is small,
coupling between primary and secondary is said to be close. The transmission of
power from primary to secondary coil is via the magnet flux. The flux is proportional
to compare turn in either coil.

2.2.4 Electrical Energy and Temperative

In industry and home it is essential that electrical energy be transmitted safely

and efficiently from the supply to the load. This is made possible by connecting the
source of electrical energy to the load by means of a cable. Electrical energy is not
manufacture in the source but is coverts electrical energy to heat energy a principle
applied in the polyphone sealing and cutting machine.

Heating effect of current is as a result of the movement of electricity being endurance

to the molecules of the medium through current is passing. Lesistor provide great
hindrance to the passage of electricity and heat is generated. When ever an electric
current flows through a load or conductor, it must overcome resistance. To achieve
this, electrical energy is used and work is done. Consequently, the electrical energy
used must appear in another form such as heat energy.

The laws relating to the conversion of electrical energy to heat energy were
discovered by the British physicist, Jams Proscott Joule. Consider a conductor
carrying current as current passes through it. Electrical energy is converted into
atomic vibrating energy and the conductor becomes hotter than the surrounding air.
The conductor experience a temperature rise . The temperature attained by a body
depends upon the amount of atomic vibration which in turn depend upon the heat
given to the body. The difference between the conductor temperature and the
temperature of the surrounding determines the rate which the dissipate heat. As the
temperature of the element increases, so does its resistance increases the heating
effects.
 Non metals such as insulators ,carbon and electrolytes decreases their
resistance as the temperature rises in value. Certain alloys such as constantan,
maganum, and nichrome have virtually constant resistance at all temperature. They
have considerably less - temperature co-efficient of resistance. For example, the
value for magnium is of 0.00005 and for constant is 0,00001, compared with the
value for most pure metal of the order 0.004. These two alloys are slight change of
temperature has no appreciable effect on the resistance.

2.3 HEAT SEAL PROCESS

Heat sealing is bonding two polymer surfaces while applying heat and pressure
for a certain period of time. In heat sealing the surfaces are forced into intimate
contact while they are in at least a partially molten state (Theller, 2017). There are
several methods of heat sealing. The main differences between the common types of
seal methods are in how they supply the energy and/or pressure to the sealant in the
seal area. In impulse-sealing, heat is supplied by sending an electrical impulse into a
resistant wire or ribbon. In dielectric sealing which is specified for polar sealants,
energy is provided by an alternating electrical field which heats up polar sealants. In
laser sealing energy is provided by laser radiation and the sealing area absorbs heat
from the laser light. In ultrasonic sealing energy is provided by friction of the sealants
due to ultrasonic vibrations. Cold sealing is when the seal is achieved without heat
and only by adding mechanical pressure. It is the alternative for heat sensitive
products (Selke et al., 2016). Conductance sealers, also named as conductive sealer or
heated bar sealer, are the most common type of heat sealers in commercial usages.
This system typically consist of two metal jaws, one or both of which are electrically
heated. (See Figure 2-1) Two films are brought into intimate contact by heated jaws
and thus are bonded. The bar sealing is the subject of this study which uses the least
expensive equipment compared to others, and it is the most preferred technique.
 Figure 2-1 Schematics of heated bar sealing of two films

In bar sealing, the design of jaw surface affects the seal integrity and strength.
Although the simple and ideal seal jaw might be flat, in practice there is a risk of
damage in sealed area when there are folds or tucks in the films. The integrity of seal
would thus be endangered. In some applications, the flat type seal bar is frequently
used, but other different types are also common. Patterned, serrated, crimp or
embossed seal bars give the seals extra strength (Selke et al., 2016; Theller, 2017). In
the case of non-uniform film thickness, flat bars cause weaker seal than jaws designed
with serrations. Serrated jaws can improve seal appearance. They are generally used
to ensure that the two films are adequately stretched to have intimate contact (Theller,
1989). Figure2-2 illustrates the vertical and horizontal serrations in the jaw surface.
The flat form of jaw was thus used in this study for simplicity and to prevent the
complications in seal cross section and seal surface in jaw pattern. In order to prevent
sticking, the molten seal material to the jaws, seal bars are normally covered by a
layer of poly (tetrafluoroethylene) (Teflon®) or other types of non-stick coatings. It
can prevent damage to the seal and jaw and buildup of residual material at the jaws
surface (Troughton, 2018).
Figure 2-2 Cross section and top view of serrated seal jaws (Selke et al., 2016)

Stehling and Meka (2014) described the molecular mechanisms involved in the
heat sealing of a single-layer film of semicrystalline polymers. As illustrated in Figure
2-3, both films are brought in contact and heated through the jaws. The crystals melt,
and the pressure increases the molecular contact and the wetting of the two surfaces.
If the contact time is sufficient, the polymer chains of the two surfaces diffuse
through the interface and create entanglements. The seal interface is strengthened by
molecular chain interpenetration across the interface. Only after the polymer fully
melts, enough penetration occur to ensure maximum seal strength (Stehling and
Meka, 2014). Finally, cooling and crystallization strengthen the assembly.
Figure 2-3 Molecular mechanisms involved in the heat sealing of two single-layer
films (Stehling and Meka, 2014)

2.3.1 Heat seal properties

There are different properties by which seal performance is examined. The

strength of the heat seal is often determined by the required force to pull apart the two
films which have been sealed together. The standard procedures have been developed
to measure these properties at two different stages: while polymers are still molten
and hot, called hot tack, and after polymer reaches ambient temperature, called seal
strength. These procedures enable comparisons between the seal performance of
different materials and/or different sealing methods. In this section, the main seal
characteristics will be briefly summarized in order to build the theoretical base needed
for studying heat sealing of semicrystalline polymers. We first introduce general
parameters that are useful to interpret the adhesion test we used in our study.

2.3.1.1 Seal strength

Seal strength is the required force to separate the two sealed adherents.
Measurement of seal strength between thin films is generally done using T-peel tests.
As illustrated in Figure 2-4, the two legs of a test specimen are pulled at a certain rate
and a force/width versus extension curve is obtained. Seal strength is defined as the
average force per unit width of seal required to separate progressively two adhered
specimens in T-peel test. (F02 Committee, 2000) At a certain extension, failure of the
joint occurs. Depending on the strength of bonded specimens, the seal might show
different types of failure. The elongation of the test piece at failure is referred to as
seal elongation, and the area under the curve is referred to as seal energy.

Figure 2-4 Schematic of the T-peel test and obtained force-displacement curve (Meka
and Stehling, 2014)

2.3.1.2 Hot tack

Hot tack is the ability of the seal joint to withstand forces while it is still molten
and soft. Operationally, it is defined as the strength of a hot seal measured
immediately or at a specified delay time after completion of the sealing cycle, and
before the temperature of the seal reaches ambient. (F02 Committee, 2018) The hot
tack strength is very low compared to the heat seal strength because the latter is
measured after the material is completely solidified and cooled to ambient conditions.
Hot tack is a critical property in vertical form-fill-seal (VFFS) modern machinery
because the product weight exerts a force on the bottom seal while it is not solidified
yet. The product is generally dropped into the package without any delay. Figure 2-5
illustrates a schematic of VFFS machine as well as schematics of different hot tack
performance in response to the force applied by bearing the weight of the product. In
Figure 2-5a, a deformed seal area with possibility of seal distortion and leakage is
shown.

Figure 2-5 Schematic of a vertical form fill seal machine (VFFS) (Mesnil et al.,
2000), and the schematic of weight bearing of seal in a VFFS process while it is still
molten and hot (a) a deformed seal (b) a good seal (c) a weak seal with poor hot tack

In horizontal form-fill-seal (HFFS) applications, hot tack is also important,

although the weight bearing burden is not present. In particular, sufficient hot tack
strength is required to resist ‘spring-back’ forces in gusseted areas where the films are
folded (Coles et al., 2016). High hot tack strength could avoid seal separation in
gusset area which results in leakage. Figure 2-6 shows the schematic of horizontal
form fill seal machine.
Figure 2-6 Horizontal form fill seal machine (HFFS) (Coles et al., 2016)

2.3.1.3 Failure mode

The failure of the joint is an important consideration in analyzing heat

seals. If part of the seal structure fails, the whole package’s integrity has failed.
Many times, the failure does not occur within the actual seal area. Therefore, any
thermo-mechanical factors which could cause weakening any of the regions
adjacent to the seal area must be precisely monitored. When two materials are
heat sealed together, three regions can be identified: the seal itself, the region
adjacent to the seal, and the unaffected film region far from the seal interface.
Based on observations on monolayer and multilayer films, several types of failure
have been reported in literature. The failure modes described in ASTM standard
of seal strength and hot tack will be discussed here as the reference.

Peeling or adhesive failure mode (Figure 2-7a) in which the heat-seal bond
peeled apart. The chains ends disentangle and withdraw from the opposite
 surface. This failure mode happens when the strength of the seal is poor.
Cohesive failure mode (Figure 2-7b) occurs when the joint is strong enough to
transfer the stress through the bulk of the seal layer. Delaminating failure mode
(Figure 2-7c) involves tensile break of the seal layer, which is thin and weak,
followed by the separation of seal from the support layer. Breakage failure mode
(Figure 2-7d) is due to the weakening of the seal at its edge as the material fused,
or the weakening of the laminate structures. Break or tear in film specimen
(Figure 2-7e) distant from the seal area might happen due to defects in structure
or edges of film. Elongation (Figure 2-7f) occurs when the seal is strong but the
other parts of the film are not strong enough to bear the stress and yield. Finally,
a combination of these failure modes may also occur (Figure 2-7g).

Figure 2-7 Failure modes of T-peel test for thermoplastic heat seal (F02
Committee, 2000, 2018)
2.3.2 Heat seal process parameters

Heat seal process parameters are the conditions of heat sealing.

Temperature, dwell time, and pressure are recognized as the most important seal
process variable.. The adjustment of these three parameters controls the final seal
properties.

2.3.2.1 Seal bar temperature

The strength of a heat seal is primarily determined by the maximum

temperature achieved at the interface during heat sealing. For every
semicrystalline polymer, the seal strength as a function of temperature was shown
to behave similar to the curve presented in Figure 2-8. Ideally the temperature at
the interface of the films should be considered as the controlling factor. However,
measuring the value of temperature at the interface is practically challenging, and
the required equipment for that is often unavailable and expensive. Therefore, the
seal curve is commonly plotted as a function of bar temperature.

The schematic plot of seal strength curve, SS (T), introduced by Stehling and Meka
(1994), can be approximately described by the following parameters illustrated in
Figure 2-8:

 Seal initiation temperature Tsi: the temperature at which measurable but

weak seal strength is achieved.
 Plateau initiation temperature Tpi: the temperature where the plateau region
begins.
 Final plateau temperature Tpf: the temperature where seal strength begins to
drop off rapidly and extensive seal distortion sets in.
 Plateau seal strength SSp: the ultimate seal strength value.
  The temperature in which the ultimate seal strength could be achieved is
thus a range from Tpi to Tpf which is referred to as temperature window of
plateau seal strength.

Figure 2-8 Schematic of general heat sealing curve, SS (T), seal strength as a
function of sealing temperature for semicrystalline polymers (Stehling and Meka,
1994)

2.3.2.2 Dwell time

Dwell time is the period of time that the two films are brought into intimate
contact by the heated bars. The heated bars are in direct contact with films so heat
could be transferred to the interface. The greater the heat flow rate, the shorter the
dwell time required. Thus, the heat flow rate determines the dwell time of the
process. Generally, the dwell time in modern flexible packaging industry is of the
order of fractions of a second, or in some cases 1-2 seconds. The optimum dwell
time ensures no excessive time is wasted, to keep up the production speed.
2.3.2.3 Pressure

Pressure is required to ensure the film surfaces are in intimate contact for
interfacial penetration to occur. Excessive pressure, however, may result in the
squeeze-out of the molten film from the seal area. For most heat seal materials,
pressure is less important than either temperature or dwell time (Hassan, 2017;
Stehling and Meka, 2014). Furthermore, in industrial production lines, higher
pressure may be required if the pressure control is not precise, the film thickness
is non- uniform, or the heated bars are poorly aligned (Selke et al., 2016).
 CHAPTER THREE

SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

This section shows the full design of the cutting and sealing machine. The
machine is made up two general sections; the splicing and the sealing stations.
The splicing station puts the bag in desired form then cuts it and passes it to the
sealing station. The sealing station seals along the spliced line. The components
and integration of the system are analyzed below.

3.1 SYSTEM ANALYSIS

Splicing is the process of fixing two ends of film together and cutting away
the waste ends. This process is necessary for producing reels of film with the
requested size. Reels can be combined to create a larger end product (longer film
on a single reel) and bad pieces of plastic or print errors can be removed by
cutting away a few meters of film. The joint of the two film ends needs to be at
the right location and should be small and neat such that the customer hardly
notices that it is there. Therefore, the joint should be an overlap seal instead of a
lip seal, see figure 3.1. The lip will always be noticeable in the film, while the
overlap seal is hardly visible when the waste ends are trimmed as short as
possible. The process of creating an overlap seal is however more complicated,
since both waste ends are located on opposite sides of the joined film. Some tests
that were done using a manual sealing bar, showed that using the sealing bar as a
cutting device (like on the machines in conversion) did not result in proper seals.
A strong seal could only be made in the form of a lip seal. When an overlap seal
was made, pulling away the waste ends resulted in tearing apart the seal.
Therefore, creating an overlap seal requires a separate cutting system for removal
of the waste ends.
 Figure 3.1: A film splice: overlap seal versus lip seal

3.2 CURRENT MANUAL PROCEDURE

Figure 3.2 shows the slitting process. The film is webbed through the
machine. After unwinding the reel with blank or already printed film, some
rollers and sensors make sure the film is located correctly and tension in the film
remains constant. On the other side of the machine, the film is rewinded and
optionally, knives can trim away sides of the film and/or slit the film in several
smaller reels. A splice is required when the operator notices a bad part in the film
or when the front reel is empty. The procedure for the manual splice is as
follows: first, the operator stops the machine and cuts the film at the ’splicing
location’. Then he removes the bad piece of film or loads the new reel. After the
piece of the film that is still in the rest of S1 (from now on called ’tail end’) and
the new piece of film (called ’head end’) are aligned, he can make the seal using
the movable sealing bar, see figure 3.3. Both films are located on the bar and
when pushing down the top bar, the sealing wire (a resistance wire) is heated for
a certain time to create the seal. Afterwards, he uses the knife again to cut away
both waste ends.

This manual procedure is inconvenient, because several movable tools are

required. It is also quite time-consuming (several minutes) and asks for a lot of
focus from the operator. Therefore, the design of a (semi-)automatic splicing
station is the task I was given. A quick and easy to make splice of constant
quality is the goal.
3.3 PROPOSED DESING METHODOLOGY

3.3.1 Tension Control for Side Reels

A cutting machine called C20 has been developed and currently in use.
This design is shown in figure 5.1. This machine feeds the film to the conversion
machine in which the film gets folded, punched and sealed. The bags in this
machine have a handle, formed by the film on the two side reels. It is critical for
further processing that these two reels are unwinded on the good location and
with the right tension, equal to the film tension of the main reel. This design
included a tension system for the main reel using a dancer roller, but not for the
side reels. It was my task to design this control system. The issue with this
tension is that the diameter of the reel differs during operation. Since the force in
the film needs to be constant (tension = force/area, area = constant), the torque
provided by the motor should be controlled. Two possibilities for this tension
control were examined.

3.3.1.1 Control methods

The first control solution uses the lever arm resting on the side reel which
is used to trigger an alarm that the side reel is almost empty. This arm can be
used to detect the radius of the reel (and hence the moment arm for the tension in
the film). The motor torque can then be adapted with an extra gain given by this
measurement. However, a torque measurement on the motor is still required. See
figure 3.2. The second control solution is similar to the one used for the main
reel, namely a dancer roller. This is a method already applied on many machines.
The film is webbed via a roller on a lever arm, see figure 3.3. The lever arm is
supported by a pneumatic cylinder. The motor applies a breaking moment on the
film, such that tension in the film exist when machine C20 pulls the film forward.
If the machine accelerates, the roller will move upwards because the tension
increases. The lever arm is attached to a potentiometer, which signal is used to
decrease the torque of the motor, thus leveling the tension again. This process
works vice versa when the machine decellerates or stops. The lever arm with the
so called ‘dancing’ roller will oscillate around its neutral point (setpoint). This
creates an easy control problem. A PID controller can keep the lever arm in its
setpoint in order to keep the tension in the film constant. This second method is
finally chosen in consultation with the supervisor.

Figure 3.2: C20 unwind station. figure adapted from: Internship report Tom
Eller, page 9
Figure 3.3: Tension control using radius detection with alarm lever arm

Figure 3.4: Unwinder of C20 with new dancer rollers for side reels. The dashed
line shows the old webbing for the film, the solid line the new situation. A Free
Body Diagram of the lever arm for piston force calculation is shown in the right
bottom corner.
 Figure 3.5: Movable sealing bar

3.4 SYSTEM DESIGN AND SUBASSEMBLIES

Now the designs of the stations are presented, this section describes some
of the subassemblies in more detail. First, the flying knife is explained. This
subassembly is used to trim the pieces of film to the right sizes. Second, the
moving clamp subassembly, which enables the creation of an overlap seal, is
discussed. Third, the sealing bars and vacuum clamp are treated. The sealing bars
create the actual seal and the vacuum clamp is used to ensure the correct
alignment of the film so that a proper splice can be made. A general remark for
the design of all components and (sub-) assemblies is that as much as possible
and desirable, standard items and profiles are used. So, metal frame parts etc. are
made of angle irons or (square) tubes. Only when another solution is not easier,
milled parts are used. Furthermore, standard bearings and cylinders are
incorporated in the designs.
3.4.1 Cutting Knife

Figure 3.6 shows the splicing station, viewed from the rear. All but the
cutting knife subassembly and both side frames are hidden to make the knife
visible. The cutting knife has a blade attached to a belt. This belt is supported by
a pulley driven by a servo motor, a tensioner pulley and three idle pulleys. On the
top, a nylon knife blade guide makes sure that the knife blade stays vertical and
stable. This belt driven system is used because of the large stroke that is required,
namely about 1.8m. An alternative would be a knife attached to a pneumatic
cylinder.

Figure 3.6: Flying knife subassembly, viewed from the back of the machine

Cylinders of this size are however very expensive. Since this flying knife system
was already used somewhere else in the factory, it was decided that the splicing
station would use this as well. Another reason for using this system is the ease of
control: when a servo motor and a few proximity sensors are used, the speed and
position of the knife are easy to control. The motor that is used is an ECMA-
C10604ES servo motor of 400W from supplier Delta Electronics. The motor will
be driven by an ASD-A2-0421 servo drive. The selection of these parts is based
on the knowledge and experience of Grant Thorburn, in collaboration with the
supplier. The complete frame size is designed to fit with a belt of type 1700H
with a length of 4318mm. The H describes the type of belt, namely a timing belt
with teeth of a half inch long.

Figure 3.7: Belt tensioning system

The splicing station is built using two side frames, made of 40x40x4m
square tube profiles. The small vertical tubes on the front side provide support for
the front roller at the correct height. Between these side frames, the other
subassemblies are fixed. The flying knife uses a 40x4 mm angle iron as
supporting bar. The knife blade guide and idle pulleys are fixed between the two
side frames. On the left frame side, a proximity sensor is located to provide a
’end-of-stroke’ signal. On the right frame side, a tensioning system is used to
ensure the tension of the belt. Figure 3.7 shows a detailed view of this
subassembly. The technical drawing of this subassembly can be found in the
appendix. The following parts are of importance: two Bright Mild Steel
blocks for the tensioner and its base and a shaft for the pulley with the use of 2
bolts, the pulley can be moved to put tension on the belt. A bearing selection is
done using the geometrical requirements/restrictions, resulting in the choice for
the 6000-2Z bearing.

A pneumatic cylinder (Festo ADVC-20-25-A-P-A) is included as well

(also on the left frame side) for the moving clamp. The piston rod is attached to
the bracket on the ‘cart’ of the moving clamp. Furthermore, figure 3.7 clearly
shows the locator pin, fixed to the frame beam and used to locate the whole
splicing station when it is lowered by the main lifting cylinders onto the
supporting frames.

For safety purposes, the whole flying knife subassembly should be

surrounded by covers. This prevents the operator from being able to hurt himself
with the sharp knife which moves at high speeds. The left and right cover boxes,
clearly shown (transparent to enable to view inside) in figure 3.4, are made of
1mm thick sheet metal. The clamping bar of the moving clamp and the sealing
bar (with top cover, see figure 4.4) form the top part of the cover. Finally, on the
bottom side of the splicing station, a 1mm thick sheet metal cover is mounted as
well (see figure 3.6). In the control system of the splicing station, safety checks
will be included as well. For example, the knife should have passed the ‘end-of-
stroke’ proximity sensor and the motor should have stopped (and power to it cut),
before the clamping and sealing bar can move upwards to give access for feeding
a piece of film or repairing something.

3.4.2 Moving Clamp

Figure 4.3 shows a zoomed view of the right side of the moving clamp
subassembly. Its use and the design of the various parts is explained in this
section. In order to create an overlap seal (see section 3.1), the head end of the
film must be placed on top of the tail end. When a single cutting system (the
flying knife) is used, this head end must be moved: after aligning (which is also
the final position of the film), the film must be retracted exactly the amount of
overlap that is required. Subsequently, the film can be cut and afterwards, the
film must be put back on top of the tail end. This procedure is done using the
moving clamp. The movement back and forward is done with two pneumatic
cylinders, on both sides of the assembly. See figure 4.2. The piston rod is
attached to the angle iron which is bolted to the ‘cart’, the block in between the
linear bearing and the flange mounted bearing. The movement is guided by two
linear bearings of type MHT15, rail length 100mm. The stroke of the pistons, i.e.
the amount of overlap, can be adjusted using the bolts on the front of the frame
beams (labeled ‘stroke adjuster’).

Figure 3.8: Moving clamp subassembly

On the whole assembly that moves, the clamping bar is visible. It is the
same subassembly as the back clamp (number 1 in figure 3.5) on top of the align
plate (2), see also figure 3.4. The bar itself is a 76x38mm aluminium tube of
length 1790mm; also used for the sealing bar which is shown in more detail in
the next section. This tube is chosen after visiting a local aluminium profile
supplier and selecting a few possible options. Subsequently, an analysis of the
bending stiffness was made to compare this tube with for example a 100x10
aluminium bar. Taking into account the way the bar is assembled to the other
parts, providing some constraints to the size and shape, this tube was finally
selected. The pneumatic cylinder is selected from supplier Festo. This cylinder is
of the type ADVC-20-25- A-P-A, which means that the cylinder diameter is
20mm and the stroke 25mm. The other options show that the piston rod has a
male thread (A) and the type of cussioning (P) and that slots for a proximity
sensor are included in the design (A). This last option enables the mounting of
sensors, used for safety checks in the control scheme. The clamp is mounted on a
1800x100mm plate, labeled ‘ramp’. This plate is bolted onto an angle iron with a
shaft welded in the corner, supported by some ribs. This ?12 shaft is supported on
both sides by a flange mounted bearing of type UCP201. The purpose of this
construction is to lift (using the ‘lift cylinder’ of type Festo ADVC-20-25-I-P-A,
‘I’ means female thread end) the edge of the head end of the film about 15mm
such that the head end is really placed on top of the tail end. The cylinder pushes
against a piece of angle iron bolted to the inside of the cart (not visible in figure
3.8). The size of this angle iron is calculated such that the maximum stroke of the
cylinder provides the required height and still allows the clamp to move back and
forth under the top knife cover. The bar should namely remain under this knife
cover during the full operation for safety issues.

Thus, in summary: after aligning the head end with the tail end, the clamp
is closed. Then the moving clamp is retracted after which the film is cut and the
waste plastic removed. Subsequently, the ramp is lifted and the moving clamp is
moved to its default location again. Finally, the ramp is lowered and an overlap is
created.

3.4.3 Sealing Bars and Vacuum Clamp

In the center of the splicing station, the sealing bars are located (numbers 3
and 4 in figure 3.5). Next to the bottom sealing bar, a vacuum clamp is
positioned. Both these systems, shown in figure 3.9 will be discussed in this
section. A support beam connecting the left and right frames is used to hold both
the bottom and top sealing bars. All items are bolted together for ease of
assembling and maintenance. For the top sealing bar, the same aluminium tube is
used as for the back clamp and moving clamp. The same pneumatic cylinders
have been used as well. The top knife cover is an aluminium 50x2mm strip,
protecting the flying knife from the top even when the moving clamp is retracted.
The bottom sealing bar is also the vacuum clamp, discussed later in this section.
The bar is 1200mm long, which is currently the maximum width of films
processed on the slitting machine

Figure 3.9: Subassembly of sealing bars and vacuum clamp

The sealing of two pieces of film is done by pushing both film pieces together
between two resistance wires of 5mm wide and about 0.3mm thick. These wires
are heated by putting an electric current through them. Therefore, electrical
insulations are used in mounting these wires. In figure 3.9, it can be seen that the
bottom sealing wire lies on a rubber strip. The top sealing wire lies on a insulator
strip. The rubber makes sure that the sealing wires are pushed against each other
over the full length. The wires are mounted using the sealing wire tensioners.
These are clamps mounted on a guiding block. A spring is used to keep the
tension on the wire. A technical assembly drawing of the top sealing bar is
included in the appendix.

The vacuum clamp is included in the design to prevent the tail end of the
film from moving while the head end is aligned and cut. The clamp is made of
two bars of bright mild steel. A technical drawing of these parts is included in the
appendix. The bottom bar has six separated ‘chambers’ in which a vacuum can be
‘stored’. The vacuum is generated by six Festo VN-14-L-T4-PQ2-VA5- RO1
vacuum generators, one for each chamber. This name again has some keywords,
of which 14 means nozzle size 1.4mm, L means low vacuum but high suction
rate and T4 the shape of the generator. Then two specifiers of the pneumatic
connections (VA5 is a male G1/4 thread) and the last states that a silencer is
included (the longer tubes pointing backwards). The vacuum generators are
screwed directly into the bottom vacuum bar. This saves making extra connecting
parts and volume to be vacuumized.

The top bar is screwed onto the bottom bar with an insulating material in
between, to prevent the vacuum from dropping. Small holes and a narrow slot on
the top side make the vacuum ‘connection’ with the film on top. The four center
chambers are all of the same size and in total 900 mm wide. This is the width of a
product that is often processed on machine S1, besidesthe 1200mm wide film.
Both outside chambers are 150mm wide to provide vacuum clamping to
the full width. When the smaller film is processed, these chambers will not be
used. The use of more chambers opposite to using one large vacuum chamber is
that no vacuum is lost this way by uncovered parts of the clamp. Furthermore, the
vacuum generation is better since all chambers have their own generator. Even if
one of them would fail, the major part of the film is clamped. This chapter
described three of the subassemblies that show the working principle of the
splicing station nicely. The major components and design choices have been
explained and the final designs showed in detail.

3.4.4Design of the Dancer Rollers

Figure 5.3 shows the parts for the tension control system. The fixed roller
(1) on top of the sideframe is required for the webbing of the film to the correct
location. (2) corresponds with the lever arm and dancing roller. Part (3) is the
pneumatic cylinder and (4) is the flange mounted bearing with which the dancing
roller is mounted to the sideframe. The bearing is not loaded significantly, and is
mainly chosen for its geometry. Part (5) is the potentiometer, used to measure the
position of the lever arm. The subassembly is designed to fit with the rest of the
machine as designed by Tom Eller.

The required force of the pneumatic cylinder can be calculated with a static
analysis of the lever arm. The Free Body Diagram in figure 5.3 shows the forces
that exert a moment around the hinge point of the bearing (4). The required force
of the piston is highest when the film is perpendicular to the lever arm and the
piston under an angle. Assuming a required film tension of 5 MPa (Eller,
p.11) and a film of 0.140m wide and 50 ∗10-6m thick, the moment equilibrium

In order to account for uncertainties in fabrication or wider or thicker films, a

safety factor of 2.5 will be used. This yields a required piston force of 393N. It is
found that the pneumatic cylinder of supplier Festo DSNU-32 with theoretical
force of 406N is suitable for this application. A stroke of 80mm is used, such that
the dancer rollers can compensate for 2 ∗(190=90) ∗80 ≈ 340mm film. This is
sufficient to stabilize the tension in the film. At the moment that this report is
written, the system is under construction in the workshop (see figure 5.4.
Commissioning will hopefully occur soon.
 Figure 3.10: Manufacturing the dancer roller

3.4.5 Folding station C20

During the first two weeks of the internship, the folding station of machine
C20 (with the new gusset folding attachment as designed by Tom Eller) was
redesigned. The lay-out of the total machine was going to change due to the new
unwind station. Therefore, the current folding station would be relocated and
hence required some redesign to match with its new location on top of the C20
sealing station. The consequences of repositioning the sealing and folding station
were investigated and small redesigns were made, for example the reassembling
of the control box of the sealing station and a new webbing scheme for the
machine. Figure 5.5 shows both the current and redesigned frame. At the end of
my internship, welding of the new frame was completed and further assembly
was about to occur.
Figure 3.11: Folding station of C20

3.4.6 Sealing station C20

The sealing station of machine C20, see figure 3.4(a), can be used to seal
the side strips of the handle to the main film. Therefore, 4 sealing blocks are
used. The two ’outer’ sealing blocks can be seen in the figure, the other two
(’inner’) are located behind the film. Alignment of these sealing blocks is
important for the quality of the seal. It is however hard for the operator to align
these sealing blocks, since two of them are hard to reach and not visible when the
film is webbed through the machine. As a solution for this problem, the
alignment frames are designed, in such a way that it can easily be fixed to the
current machine. The frame makes sure that the inner and outer sealing blocks are
perfectly aligned. An adjuster, located on the top of the frame, can be used to
move both left and right blocks simultaneously. This makes it very easy for the
machine operator to align the sealing blocks. Only the center of the gusset needs
to be located and after fixing the adjuster at that position, the width of the gusset
is easily set.
Figure 3.11: Sealing station of C20

CHAPTER FOUR

SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION

4.1 SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION

This section presents the final design of the machine. Furthermore, some
general design considerations of some of the subassemblies are explained in more
detail. Figure 4.1 shows the final design. Comparing this model with machine S1
as shown in figure 3.2, it can be seen that the grey side panels are the part of S1
on which the new machine will be mounted, i.e. the ’splicing location’.

Figure 4.1: Final design of the cutting and sealing machine

A full reel of film (diameter 750mm) is included for comparison. The main
dimensions of the splicing station (excluding the mounting frames) are
2200x600x225mm.
Films up to a width of 1790mm (maximum width allowable in S1) can be used in
the splicing station. However, since the machine is mainly used for a single
customer, the splicing station is designed for film widths up to 1200 mm. The
design is made such that this can be up scaled with minimal effort and extra parts.
 Figure 4.2: Schematic overview of the machine

In order to explain the working principle more clearly, a schematic

overview of the machine is shown in figure 4.2. The following procedure is used
for creating the splice:

1. At the moment a splice is required, the slitting machine S1 is stopped. The

film is aligned at the correct location for the splice and the ‘back clamp’
(1) is closed to fix the tail end.
2. The so-called ‘flying knife’ (6) is used to cut the waste of the tail end. The
operator removes this material.
3. The operator loads the new reel or removes the bad piece of material in the
current reel. The head end is aligned on the ‘align plate’ (2) with the tail
end and fixed using the ‘moving clamp’ (7).
4. In order to create an overlap seal while using only one flying knife, the
head end of the film needs to be moved. Therefore, the moving clamp is
retracted (moved to the right in figure 3.5).
5. The flying knife cuts the head end of the film. The operator removes the
waste.
6. When the moving clamp returns to its original location, an overlap of the
two films is created. In order to prevent the tail end from moving, a
‘vacuum clamp’ (4) is used. This fixes the tail end close to the cut-location.
Furthermore, the moving clamp is lifted such that the head end is really put
on top of the tail end.
 7. The ‘sealing bar’ is lowered to clamp both films and the ‘sealing wires’
(two wires, one on the vacuum clamp and one on the sealing bar) are
heated to seal the two pieces of film together.
8. All clamps are released and slitting operation can continue. The webbing
of the film is over the two rollers on both front and back end of the splicing
station. With all clamps up, the film does not touch any of the machine
parts besides of course the two rollers.

Figure 3.6: Constructed machine in lifted position

4.2 TESTING OF THE MACHINE

4.2.1 General Testing

 The operation of the machine entails both mechanical and electrical means.
The design was made in since a way that the machine should be automatic in
operation automatic in the scene that polyphone should be automatically ked into
the machine cut and sealed at the same time. The parts of the machine comprising
the roller and conveyor belt are constructed to be keeping the polyphone at short
interval. The intermitted feed is made possible through transmit rotary motion
from the electric motor to the roller around which the polyphone is wound and to
that which moves the conveyor belt all at the same rate and time interval.

With all the required material assemble and connected on the wooden table
like construction a suitable wattage element of 250watts is selected with the
voltage of 100v to prevent sagging or consistent breaking of the heating element
while operating. It was observed the insulator prevented over heating of the
polyphone during cutting and sealing. Perfect sealing and cutting of polyphone
was achieved depending on the operator of the machine.

4.2.2 Resistance of the Heating Element

The resistance of the wire used in the construction of the machine by using the
formulary below.

R= el

Where e is the resistivity of the wire. L is the length of the wire, a is the cross
sectional area of the wire

A = πr2 Where π = 22/7, r is the radius of the wire r = 5 x 10-11,

e = 5.51 x 10-8, L = 0.04m

A = πr2

= 22/7 x (5 x 10-6)2
 A = 2.5 x 10-11

R = el

= 5.51 x 10-8 x 0.04

2.5 x 10-11

= 2.204 x 10-9

2.5 x 10-11

= 88.16

Using the resistance to determined the output power of the heat element
with varied output voltages. The formula used is shown below.

W = V2

W = 1002

88.16

= 113.43

Other variables of the output power are shown below.

Table 1: Output power of the machine

Regulator Output Output Output power
(control) current voltage of the (watts)
(ampere) transformer

8 1.13 100 11.3.43

7 1.11 98 108.94

6 1.07 95 102.37

5 1.03 91 93.93

4 0.97 86 83.89

3 0.93 82 76.27

2 0.86 76 65.51

1 0.79 70 55.58

The expression below is used in determining the output current

W = Iv

I = W/v

I = 113.43

100

I = 1.13A

4.2.3 Determination of Input Power

 To calculate the input power of the machine the expression shown below is
used

P = Iv When I = Input current at various

Voltages. V = Input voltage

Table II: Input Power of the machine

Regulator Input current Input voltage Input power

(control) (ampere) of the (watts)
transformer

8 2.5 100 250

7 2.45 98 240.1

6 2.38 95 226.1

5 2.28 91 207.48

4 2.15 86 184.9

3 2.0 80 160

2 1.83 73 133.59

1 1.75 70 122.5

4.3 DISCUSSION

In graph 1 which is the power output against input power the slope
multiplied by 100% given the efficiency of the machine.

The slope = 113 – 55

 250-122.5

= 28

127.5

= 0.45

Therefore the efficiency is 0.45 x 100 = 45%

CHAPTER FIVE
 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOCMMENDATION

5.1 CONCLUSION

The design and fabrication of nylon Automatic cutting and sealing

machine have been successfully accomplished. It was observed that the machine
performs its required objective of sealing and cutting nylon material
automatically.

5.2 RECOMMENDATION

Small scale machine like the locally built automatic nylon sealing and
cutting machine is necessary to reduce foreign exchange for the procurement of
sophisticated machineries. The current foreign exchange problems have made it
almost impossible for small scale ushers to imports.

This problem is solved by the use of possible locally available raw

materials or an accessory to construct a machine that compares favorably well
with the so called imported ones in term of durability, efficiency and is
affordable. In condemning our locally produced materials. The economy will
benefit greatly if this technical revolution is given a change to grow. In
improving on this project sufficient fund must be budgeted for operation.
Maintenance or the whole purpose of the design will be defeated and a lot of
money spent on the project wasted.
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Troughton, M.J., 2018. Handbook of Plastics Joining: A Practical Guide.

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