Omnia Advanced Materials has installed a Hogenkamp Top Former on their PM2 fourdrinier board machine in Beaver Falls, New York. The new top former replaced a conventional dandy roll to enhance the top surface smoothness of their specialty board grades. The Top Former is rail-mounted which allows the operator to slide the former up and down the fourdrinier depending on the location of the wet line.
A Digital Vacuum Control system was also installed to replace the canister-type valves on the vacuum boxes. Instead of pneumatic or electric valves, each vacuum box runs off a dedicated speed-controlled mini vacuum pump. The operator enters the desired vacuum level in the control panel and the VFD ramps the mini-vacs up or down. Once the set vacuum is reached, the mini-vacs back down to the lowest speed necessary to maintain the vacuum; thus using 80% less energy than a conventional centrifugal blower.
TAPPI
http://www.tappi.org/