Papermakers benefit from Voith’s new OnQuality fiber orientation measurement and control

With the newly launched fiber orientation measurement and control of Voith's OnQuality product family, paper manufacturers can reliably control the fiber orientation angle. The new solution consists of the OnQ Fiber Orientation Sensor, which continuously measures fiber orientation in real time; the OnQ Profilmatic fiber orientation control system; and the OnQ ModuleStep and OnQ ModuleJet actuators.

"The benefits of the new fiber orientation measurement and control are numerous. With the new solution from Voith's quality control system portfolio, papermakers can control the required fiber orientation angle and thus influence and improve the tear length ratio. Due to the homogeneous orientation of the fibers, B quality can therefore be avoided, especially in the edge areas of the paper web," says Marc Stampfer, Global Product Manager QCS Scanners & Sensors at Voith Paper.

"In addition, curl can be reduced and the runnability of the machine and the grade change process improved. The cost savings achieved with this range up to several million euros per year for a modern packaging paper machine," adds Andreas Haux, Global Product Manager QCS Actuator Systems at Voith Paper.

Due to the precise control possibilities, major international packaging paper producers already rely on the application to ensure their product quality. After a short rebuild and commissioning phase, the investment pays for itself in most cases in less than a year. The integration of the quality control system is applicable for existing plants worldwide and independent of the manufacturer with little effort.

Functional principle of the new automation solution
The OnQ Fiber Orientation Sensor uses high-resolution macro photography, digital image processing and nanosecond flash illumination to distinguish the individual fibers and their orientation in the moving paper web. Surface measurement is possible on both one and two sides. The OnQ Profilmatic CD control system derives suitable set points of the OnQ ModuleStep actuators from the measured fiber orientation angles, which enable zonal, mechanical profiling of the headbox slice lip using stepper motors. In combination with the OnQ ModuleJet actuators, the dilution water can also be controlled, thus avoiding undesirable side effects on the basis weight.

OnQuality 4.0
Voith's OnQuality 4.0 is an intelligent and integrated concept that enables manufacturers to gain control over production processes and product quality. A broad portfolio of scanners and sensors ensures reliable and continuous measurement of various quality parameters. The intuitive apps of the cloud platform OnCumulus provide a wide range of analysis, reporting and visualization functions that are available at any time via different end devices and optimally complement the fiber orientation solution. In addition, the paper technology experts at Voith's OnPerformance.Lab provide support to further increase the efficiency and productivity of the plants with the help of remote consulting and optimization.

Automation is a focus of Voith's new "PAPER IS ON" campaign. The campaign highlights the focus topics of full-line supplier, efficiency, sustainability, cloud solutions and innovation, which impact the digital product portfolio.