corrugated

Dispensers and splicers

The unwinder and splicer are used for continuous paper web feeding in corrugated board production. While the unwinder ensures that the paper webs are reliably picked up, the splicer connects the paper roll beginnings and ends so that the machine can be kept running continuously. To avoid downtime and damage to the paper webs, this requires the utmost reliability of all components, even at high speeds. 


Preheater

To ensure that the single-sided paper web reaches the correct tension and can be glued well to the laminating web, it passes through the preheater. Here, the paper is warmed up using heated rollers and prepared for gluing. Components such as heating cylinder, swivelling axis or guide roller bearings are exposed to high speeds, high temperatures and moisture. Operating conditions such as these reduce the service life of the components and lead to premature failure if they are incorrectly lubricated.


Single Facer

In the single facer (single-sided machine), the paper web is given the decisive corrugated shape and runs through two steam-heated corrugating rollers heated to approx. 170 °C. The corrugated tips are then glued to a smooth paper web using pressure rollers.In order to obtain the single flute paperboard web, the flute tips are then coated with glue and glued to a smooth paper web with the help of pressure rollers.The components of the corrugator, such as roller bearings, gear wheels, chains etc., are exposed to high loads, high temperatures, steam and glue and have to deliver maximum performance at production speeds of up to 400 m/min.

For maximum operational reliability, LUBCON offers automatic lubrication systems, such as the EasyMatic centralised lubrication system, for reliable long-term lubrication of the high-temperature bearings in the corrugators. In combination with the special technologies of the high-temperature-resistant, PTFE-free special lithium soap greases for lubricating the corrugating roller bearings, the lubrication system demonstrably increases the service life of the bearings and reduces lubricant consumption.


Gluing unit

In the gluing unit, the single-sided corrugated board webs are coated with glue before they are glued together and/or to the outer web. The glue is taken up by an application roller and evenly distributed on the roller surface by a spreading roller.

When the corrugated board web is fed through, this thin layer of glue is transferred to the corrugated board tips. Uniform application and good bonding depend heavily on the reliability of the rollers and their bearings. For this reason, LUBCON has a range of temperature, media and oxidation-resistant roller bearing greases that optimally lubricate the bearings and protect them from contamination, friction and wear.


Heating and drawing section

In what is probably the longest part of the corrugator, the heating and drawing section, the glued single-sided corrugated board webs and the laminating web are brought together by loading systems, glued together and dried by being transported over steam-heated heating plates.Components such as roller bearings, chains, guides etc. are exposed to particularly high loads in this area of the corrugator.High ambient temperatures, the influence of moisture, high pressure loads as well as glue and fibre residues pose a challenge to the machine components and the lubricant.


Automatic cutting and creasing machine

Automatic cutting and creasing machines cut the corrugated board web to the correct size and provide it with folded edges so that it can then be processed into packaging board, for example.Precision and fast positioning of the creasing and cutting elements at high format changeover speeds are the main focus here.However, corrugated board is very abrasive and, in combination with starch, creates a chemically aggressive layer on the cutting surface. If this layer is not softened and removed, the starch and fibre deposits lead to an unclean cut. The results are premature blade changes and long, maintenance-related machine downtimes. 

LUBCON anti-wear and anti-corrosion lubricants are specifically designed for the cutting and creasing requirements of the corrugated board industry and offer maximum reliability with low lubricant consumption. Moist cutting blades moistened with cutting oils even enable cutting through highly adhesive material and prevent any starch and paper fibre deposits or build-up in the long term. The blades therefore retain their sharpness for much longer, ensure smooth cuts, reduce friction, prevent the material from burning and other material damage.


Cross cutter

The cross cutter of a corrugated board line uses long knife bars to cut the corrugated board web in the running direction to the customer-specific size.At machine speeds of up to 400 m/min, the cutter bars cut the corrugated board to size quickly and with high precision in just one cut.To ensure that the knives always remain sharp, they must be lubricated using an impregnated wick.This requires the selection of a lubricant with the correct oil viscosity.If the viscosity is too high, the peripheral speeds of the cutter bars will cause oil droplets to get onto the cardboard and can cause material damage or rejects.

The LUBCON range of lubricants for corrugated board production therefore includes high-performance cutting oils of various viscosity classes.They are specially selected by our application engineers for the speed of the cutter bars to prevent contamination of the corrugated board and to maintain the sharpness of the knives for much longer. 


Stacker

The final machine section of a corrugator is the stacker.This is where the glued, corrugated and cut corrugated cardboard sheets are conveyed to the stacker via conveyor belts, stacked and prepared for distribution.Many drives and chains, which can only function reliably and maintenance-free over a long period of time with the correct lubrication, ensure that the sheets are transported away quickly and stacked straight.High-performance lubricating oils from LUBCON, which are particularly resistant to ageing, keep the chains and drives of the stacker clean and free from deposits.The oils penetrate between the tightest metal pairings, protect them permanently against friction and wear and ensure a safe, smooth finishing process.