Benefits and challenges of designing and using accumulators in various web-handling operations

Accumulators benefit many web processes. Zero-speed splicers offer a 99.99% success rate. Accumulators smooth out processes that are required to index. They provide time for a winder operator to start a new roll. Benefits come with challenges. If the accumulator is poorly designed, maintained or controlled, various web-handling problems will occur. This article will describe the mechanics of accumulators and how span tensions change during a splice. Control methods will be reviewed, and troubleshooting techniques will be offered. Recommendations to address the most common problems will be presented, and best practices to improve daily performance are provided.