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Handling of film, paper, non-woven and cable reels as well as rolls in printing, packaging and converting. Setting a reel onto the mandrel is the classic two-person task – and one of the cases in which a lifting aid pays for itself fastest.
Film, paper, non-wovens, labels and laminates are supplied and processed wound on cores. Cores with inside diameters of 76 and 152 millimetres – three and six inches – are widespread. The reel is heavy, round and sensitive in two places: on the circumference, where any pressure mark runs through many layers, and on the end faces, where a knock crushes the edges.
The load-bearing part is the core. That is why most lifting attachments for reels grip in the core.
The core gripper enters the core and expands there mechanically or pneumatically. It does not touch the material and suits different reel diameters as long as the core stays the same. A plain mandrel carries the horizontal reel from inside without expanding.
The circumferential gripper clasps the reel from outside with jaws or a belt. It is needed when the core is not accessible or absent, but requires wide, soft contact surfaces. For upright reels with a tight end face, vacuum grippers are an option as well.
Reels usually arrive standing on the pallet – axis vertical – and are loaded into the machine lying down. In between is a ninety-degree tilting movement during which the centre of gravity of the reel shifts.
If the upright reel is held in the core only, the entire wound weight hangs on the friction between the layers and the core. With loosely wound or slippery materials the winding can slip axially – it telescopes. A gripper that also supports the end face is then needed.
Loading the machine is a joining task: the core has little clearance on the winding shaft, and the shaft is often cantilevered and projects freely. The reel has to be pushed on in line.
What Entracon offers here is on the matching page.
See what we offer| Principle | Grips | Suitable for | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core gripper (expanding mandrel) | inside the core | upright and horizontal reels with a sturdy core | telescoping with loosely wound reels |
| Plain mandrel | inside the core, no expansion | horizontal reels | hand-over to the shaft required |
| Circumferential gripper | on the outside diameter | reels without an accessible core | pressure marks on the material |
| Vacuum | on the end face | upright reels with a tight, flat end face | not for porous or offset windings |
With a hand-guided device that grips the reel in the core, tilts it and holds it at shaft height, yes. By hand, at usual reel weights, it is a job for two people – in a bent posture and with a sensitive load.
Expanding mandrels cover a limited range of diameters. For three and six inches there are grippers with exchangeable adapters or stepped mandrels. Which cores occur at the workstation therefore belongs in every enquiry.
With the same device, provided the gripper also holds the empty core or the small remnant securely. This should be checked explicitly during sizing – the smallest diameter is often harder for the gripper than the largest.
One short conversation usually settles more than three quotations. Call or write — you will reach an engineer directly.
Start typing – for example “balancer”, “SAP” or “pipe stress”.
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