Voith strengthens best-in-class mechanical roll service with sophisticated sensor technology and digital upgrades

With a worldwide network of 22 Mechanical Roll Service Centers, unrivalled domain expertise and sophisticated digital solutions, Voith is uniquely positioned as a full-line supplier to provide best-in-class customized roll maintenance to papermakers around the globe.

Voith’s individualized and transparent service solutions ensure maximum machine availability as well as highly reliable and sustainable production lines. Moreover, the benefits of Voith’s approach to mechanical roll service (MRS) extend beyond efficiency and sustainability gains.

SealView unlocks data-driven decision-making
With SealView, for instance, papermakers now have accurate, reliable, and real-time information on the wear status of sealing strips inside suction rolls. The sophisticated sensor system can be installed on any type or brand of suction roll at Voith MRS Centers. Notably, the SealView system provides insight on the condition of the seal strips in suction rolls and predicts the remaining seal lifetime. SealView can be accessed by machine operators at the customer site as well as remotely by dedicated Voith Service Centers.

Such precise information supports data-driven decision-making, increases safe roll run times and allows the stress-free and timely scheduling of roll change and service with the Voith MRS Centers. As seal strips are only ordered in time for the scheduled maintenance, capital expenditure is also reduced. What’s more, as SealView is based on a pneumatic system, with this innovative solution there is less risk of malfunction during use under wet conditions.

HydroSeal radically cuts lubrication water consumption
When SealView is combined with HydroSeal, further cost and resource savings are achieved. Unlike conventional seal strips that rely on water showers to cut down on friction during rotation, HydroSeal works with an innovative integrated lubrication system to ensure a constant, even and uniform lubrication over the complete width of the suction roll. Along with significant savings in lubrication water requirements, HydroSeal also increases the efficiency of drive operation, which reduces energy costs. Furthermore, rewetting is reduced and a more homogenous moisture profile across machine direction can be achieved, when running in optimum conditions.

At one plant in the U.S., installing HydroSeal led to an 82 percent reduction in water consumption for the lubrication of sealing strips each year, which translates into cost savings of more than US$30,000 for fresh water and wastewater.

Digitalized roll maintenance and inventory management
A transparent and easy to use inventory management system is crucial for optimizing maintenance scheduling and visualizing run times. This is provided by Voith’s OnCare.pmPortal, the powerful asset management tool for fabrics, rolls, roll covers and doctor blades. With the OnCare.pmPortal module “ID Tagging” critical products are tagged to support better tracking and inventory management. Depending on the product and machine environment, either a barcode, QR code or RFID/NFC technology is used. In all cases, a simple scan with a mobile device quickly reveals all the relevant information necessary for optimized predictive maintenance, including product history and run time since installation.