Roll-2-Roll Technologies LLC, the Oklahoma-based developer of fiber-optic web guiding sensors and controllers, today announced the Open Web Guide, an interactive online tool that designs the complete mechanical structure of a displacement web guide in less than 90 seconds. The tool is offered at no cost, but it is not yet public, and access is limited. Engineers who join the waiting list now will be first in line for an account. Before access opens, Roll-2-Roll Technologies LLC will demonstrate the tool live at an online event for a small group of converters and machine builders.

 

The hard part of building a web guide, solved in 90 seconds

 

A web guide is, at its core, two rollers on a frame that swings about a pivot. Most plants can cut the plates and turn the rollers in-house. The design is what holds them back: where the pivot sits, how the rails and bearings are laid out, how the web path loads each bearing, and how much thrust the actuator needs when tension spikes. Until now, that knowledge has stayed with a small number of web handling specialists.

 

With the Open Web Guide, the user enters the roller dimensions, span, wrap angle, web tension and mounting arrangement. In under 90 seconds, the tool:

• lays out the frame, rails and bearings

• checks the clearances

• calculates the load on every bearing and the thrust the actuator needs

• delivers a 3D CAD model, dimensioned drawings and a parts list ready for the shop

 

“The hard part of building a web guide has always been the mechanical design, not the fabrication,” said Aravind Seshadri, President, Roll-2-Roll Technologies. “We built a tool that gives any engineer a complete, buildable design of the mechanics, at no cost. Our part is the sensor and the controls that make it guide. When more people can build a sound web guide, more lines run straighter, with less waste.”