Voith’s New NipVision Analyzes Nip Conditions with PM Running

Voith Paper, Germany, has launched NipVision, an online and real-time measurement tool using the latest roll cover technology. It is the first system to measure nip pressure, profile, and the cover temperature while the paper machine is running.

The new tool allows actual conditions in a pressed nip to be analyzed. The NipVision glass fiber sensors are very small, non-aging, flexible, and chemically resistant. They lie inside the cover, so that the roll application and dimensions remain unchanged. The sensors are so sensitive that they can detect the presence of paper in the nip.

NipVision is the only system that can measure temperature within the cover while the paper machine is running. This is a real benefit to the customer, Voith emphasizes, given that a large number of damages result from temperature-related issues. Until now, the source of poor profiles and sheet quality, increased sheet breaks, and sudden roll cover damages have often been linked to a given press nip but, without any proof. With the help of NipVision, such problems can be detected and prevented.

Information from the sensors is transmitted to a computer that plots the profile across the width of the machine and over time. With specific software, the conditions in the nip are shown simultaneously and synchronously. The system is powered through induction, allowing NipVision to constantly transmit information, 24 hr a day, while the paper machine is running.

TAPPI
http://tappi.org/