« AWEB drawing a crowd, AWEB-IWEB make peace | Main | Crossweb Tension/Bagginess Measurement? »
May 08, 2006
Have You Ever Handled Thin Webitronium?
This is a question I'm often asked by prospective clients for my services as a web handling specialist.
Have you ever worked with thin webitronium? (Yes, this is a ficticious material.) Have you ever handled nylon film? Have you ever worked with nickel-steel foil? Can you handle my complex laminate?
My answer is "I don't care what you call it, let's talk about the material properties:
elastic modulus (in x, y, and z directions),
thickness,
width,
speed,
roll sizes (core diameter, final diameter)
surface friction or adhesion,
expansion coefficients (thermal or moisture), roughness,
break strength,
yield strain-strength (in x, y, z directions),
conductivity,
etc.
Once these are defined, it doesn't matter what name you want to give a product. Call it Fred if you want to. Once I know this mechanical data, we can apply engineering and physics to solve your problem.
I hope this doesn't sound too theoretical. I'm also quite practical. I like to apply what works. One thing you get from bringing in someone from outside your industry is a solution that may already be proven elsewhere that can solve your problem. In that regard, I'm a honeybee that cross-pollenates technology from one industry to another (of course, the non-proprietary knowledge, only).
I look forward to handling Fred and preventing his wrinkles.
tjw
Posted by Tim Walker at May 8, 2006 07:24 AM
