New Machine Extends Menges Roller’s Size Capacity, Capabilities

Menges Roller, Wauconda, Ill., USA, a designer and manufacturer of precision industrial rollers for the paper and paper converting industries, has extended the size capacity and technical capabilities of its Rubber Division with the purchase of a new machine. The new state-of-the-art machine gives Menges the ability to handle rollers up to 10 meters (approximately 33 ft.). The machine utilizes the very latest computer interface and CNC technology to form precision groove patterns into roll covers made from rubber, silicone, urethane, and other synthetic compounds. Very precise outside diameter modifications can also be made with this machine, including the formation of parabolic crowns and reverse crowns, in increments as small as a thousandth of an inch.

For rubber covered rollers, proper diameter specifications and surface finishes are critical, potentially having a big impact on a converting operation’s output and quality.

Matthew Menges, president of Menges Roller explained that "we’re serving converters with wider and wider web widths—that’s the nature of today’s converting business—and this 10 meter capacity allows us to serve those customers. Plus this machine’s technology delivers unbelievable accuracy and repeatability. Converting plants need precision engineered rollers that perform at a very high level, and that’s what Menges Roller will continue to offer."

Menges Roller’s Rubber Division offers dozens of roll cover compounds, from high-release silicones for corona treaters, to abrasion-resistant urethanes and standard roll cover compounds such as EPDM, hypalon, and nitrile. Many roll cover compounds are custom-formulated by Menges engineers to meet specific hardness, slip, and temperature profiles. 

Menges’s new machine will be used to form precise groove patterns, such as diamond patterns (often applied to rollers with "air pocket release functions"), chevron and herringbone grooves (for push/pull rolls), and spiral serrations (for wrinkle removing rollers). Precision grooves, serrations and crowns can improve a roller’s material handling characteristics, enhancing the efficiency of the overall converting operation.