US-20260125836-A1 - A sleeve for a drum

US20260125836A1US 20260125836 A1US20260125836 A1US 20260125836A1US-20260125836-A1

Abstract

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sleeve for a drum for use in forming, pressing or moulding a fibrous web, wherein the sleeve comprises at least two parts and each part has a form of an open-ended cylinder with two edges, configured to be arranged concentrically on the drum. At least one edge of each part has a peripheral locking form, and adjacent edges of adjacent parts have corresponding cooperating peripheral locking forms adapted to lock the parts to each other.

Inventors

Charlie Blackwell
Gian Luca Polosa
Justin Boncher
Tero Haaparanta
Pasi Pirhonen
Joni Naski

Assignees

SUOMINEN OYJ

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20231004

Claims (17)

1 . A sleeve for a drum for use in forming, pressing or moulding a fibrous web, wherein: the sleeve comprises at least two parts, each part having a form of an open-ended cylinder with two edges, configured to be arranged concentrically on the drum, at least one edge of each part has a peripheral locking form, and wherein adjacent edges of adjacent parts of the at least two parts have corresponding cooperating peripheral locking forms adapted to lock the adjacent parts to each other.
2 . The sleeve according to claim 1 , wherein parts forming ends of the sleeve have outer edges where a part of points of the outer edges fall on a same plane, which plane is perpendicular to a rotational axis of the sleeve.
3 . The sleeve according to claim 1 , wherein parts forming ends of the sleeve have outer edges where all points of the outer edges fall on a same plane, which plane is perpendicular to a rotational axis of the sleeve.
4 . The sleeve according to claim 2 , wherein the sleeve comprises three parts: a first part having a first outer edge and a second edge with a peripheral locking form, a second part having a first outer edge and a second edge with a peripheral locking form, and a third part arranged between the first and the second parts, having peripheral locking forms at both its edges, for locking the parts together.
5 . The sleeve according to claim 4 , wherein the sleeve comprises several third parts arranged adjacent to one another.
6 . The sleeve according to claim 1 , wherein the peripheral locking forms are selected from a group consisting of sinusoidal forms, zigzag-forms, and wave forms.
7 . The sleeve according to claim 1 , wherein one peripheral locking form comprises at least two protrusions and the adjacent peripheral locking form comprises corresponding recesses.
8 . The sleeve according to claim 1 , wherein one peripheral locking form is a female form and the adjacent peripheral locking form is a corresponding male form.
9 . The sleeve according to claim 1 , wherein a part of the peripheral locking forms are zigzag-forms.
10 . The sleeve according to claim 1 , wherein all peripheral locking forms are zigzag-forms.
11 . The sleeve according to claim 1 , wherein the parts of the sleeve are manufactured by additive manufacturing.
12 . The sleeve according to claim 11 , wherein the additive manufacturing is stereolithography.
13 . The sleeve according to claim 1 , wherein the sleeve parts are patterned.
14 . The sleeve according to claim 13 , wherein a circular locking form is part of the pattern.
15 . The sleeve according to claim 1 , wherein wall thickness of the sleeve parts is at least 1 mm.
16 . A method for securing a sleeve to a drum for use in forming, pressing or moulding a fibrous web, the method comprising: providing the sleeve according to claim 1 ; arranging the at least two parts of the sleeve concentrically on the drum; and locking the adjacent parts of the sleeve to each other by the corresponding cooperating peripheral locking forms of the adjacent parts.
17 . A roll for use in forming, pressing or moulding a fibrous web, comprising: a drum comprising a backplate, a sleeve according to claim 1 , arranged concentrically on the drum, a compression collar for compressing the sleeve on the drum between the backplate and the collar, the collar comprising: an inner part configured to be attached to an end of the drum, an outer part, and a slip part between the inner part and the outer part, which slip part is configured to be engaged with the sleeve, wherein: the inner part, the slip part and the outer part are assembled together in succession along an assembly axis, and the slip part is configured to translate between the inner part and the outer part along the assembly axis.

Description

FIELD The present invention relates to a sleeve for a drum for use in forming, pressing or moulding a fibrous web, as well as to a use of such sleeve. The present invention further relates to a roll for use in forming, pressing or moulding a fibrous web. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTS The surface structure of various webs, e.g. tissue paper and nonwoven fabrics, may be modified during production to obtain a pattern of raised or compressed portions. The obtained pattern may also include apertures in the web. Patterning can be done both for aesthetic reasons and in order to provide desired performance enhancements in the product. The process of imposing patterns on a web is often referred to as embossing. The pattern may be imposed by a number of methods, involving wires or rolls having protrusions, valleys and orifices corresponding to the pattern which is to be imprinted on the web surface. Heat and pressure may be used. In the production of nonwoven fabric, hydroentangling is a widely employed method in which arrays of nozzles are arranged perpendicularly to the web in order to direct distinct sprays of water against the moving web surface. The force of the water sprays mix and entangle the fibres of which the web is constituted, and thus bonding of the web is achieved. Simultaneously, if the roll or wire surface carrying the moving web has a pattern, a corresponding pattern is formed in the web. In order to vary the patterns, a number of rolls or wires having the corresponding structure must be kept available. In the case of rollers, they must be discarded or refurbished when their surface structure wears out. A solution to this problem has been to replace monolithic embossing rollers with rotatable support structures to which replaceable sleeves are torsionally coupled. This approach is commonly used in the field of printing, but the field of embossing presents different technical challenges. Additive manufacturing is a term used for describing a set of technologies for creating three-dimensional objects by successive addition of material layers. A type of additive manufacturing is 3D printing, of which a number of varieties exist. Stereolitography is a 3D printing technology for the production of objects by a layer-by-layer process using photopolymerisation. A light-emitting device under computer control selectively illuminates portions within a container containing a photopolymerising resin, causing small amounts of resin to cure and adhere to sections of the object being manufactured. In an inverted stereolitography process, the manufactured object is progressively lifted out of the resin bath, with successive layers of hardened resin being added to the underside of the object. In the non-inverted version, the object is formed within the resin bath by adding material to its top, which requires a volume of uncured resin corresponding to the size of the product. Other 3D printing methods include Digital Light Processing (DLP), Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Selective Laser Melting (SLM), Electron Beam Melting (EBM) and Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM). 3D printing a sleeve for a drum would require large spaces, as for example the width of a drum for a nonwoven machine is typically 2-6 m. Thus, it would be desirable to be able to make the sleeve from smaller parts arranged next to one another. Smaller parts would also make it easier to change the sleeves, as smaller space next to the machine would be required, as well as less personnel and lighter equipment. Most advantageously, such parts could even be changed by a single person, without any need for lifts or other equipment. However, the line speeds of nonwoven machines and hence the rotation speeds of drums are such that if a sleeve were made of parts, the parts would rotate at different speeds, leading to defects in the patterning as well as probable problems of distortion of the parts. Such distortion could then easily lead to breakage of the parts, leading to production losses and additional costs. An aim of the present invention is thus to provide a sleeve for a drum for use in forming, pressing or moulding a fibrous web, that can be manufactured by 3D printing in a cost effective manner. Such sleeves would be easier to transport, assemble and dismount, as well as replace, in particularly partly replace. A further aim is to provide a sleeve where distortion is minimised and a uniform pattern for the fibrous web is obtained. It is a still further aim to provide a sleeve wherein changes of environmental conditions do not affect the function of the sleeve. The sleeve should also take into account the fact that especially during acceleration and deceleration, the forces affecting the segments of the sleeve vary. Ends of the sleeve are subject to more torque than the middle part, since the ends are attached to the drum, while the middle part is not. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is defined by the features of the