Installation Instructions Spirabelt

FELTRI MARONE Spirabelt corrugator belts are designed and manufactured precisely to the dimensions specified on the order for your individual machine. They are supplied with a seam ready to be installed on your machine.

UNPACKING THE BELT

The belt is wrapped in several layers of protective shipping material. Carefully look at the wrappings on receipt to ensure no shipping damage. If any damage is noticed, notify the carrier immediately, and keep a log or report of the action to send to us.

When the wrapping is removed, look in the core for the lacing pin and any other articles or instructions the factory may have shipped with the belt to facilitate your installation. These are placed inside a bright yellow envelope placed right inside the inner wrapping.

BELT MARKINGS

The belt is clearly marked with the running direction stamped on the top in ink with a large arrow pointing to the direction of travel. In this area you will also find a large ink stamping identifying the board side of the belt and the belt manufaturing number.

NEW BELT LEADER

A piece of corrugator belt, approximately 30cm long, is supplied and attached to the belt through the lacing

This leader has a number of holes to attach ropes to pull the Spirabelt through the machine.

INSTALLATION

CASE 1: Installing the belt on a mcahine where the old belt has been removed.

1. Remove the old belt to enable the customer to clean the machine and check that the hot-plates are clean. Make sure the machine is cold first. Double-check that both rolls of the belt tensioner are completely at the minimum.
2. Feed a rope through the double-backer. Insert a metal bar to carry the Spirabelt leaving 30 cms protruding from both ends. Attach a sling to each end and pick the Spirabelt up using a fork-lift truck. Double-check to ensure the roll is mounted such that when it is unwound it rolls out correctly ie. Paperside down in proper running direction after seaming. Tie the rope to the lead on piece which is attached to the Spirabelt.
3. Slowly pull the fabric into the double-backer across the hotplate section. Once the fabric reaches the bottom belt, take the rope off the lead on piece.
4. Jog the machine to pull the fabric the rest of the way through. It is a good idea to have a couple of people standing at the side of the machine (on both operator and drive side) to make sure the fabric doesn´t get stuck on a belt lifter, side frame, etc. Once the fabric is half way around the drive pulley, stop the machine. Bring the other end of the spiral together on the drive pulley and insert the seaming pin. Normally if the fabric is the correct size and the tension rolls are fully in, you can pull the fabric together by hand. Use hand clamps on either end to get a grip on the spiral.

CASE 2: Installing the belt by attaching it to the old belt.

1. Place the Spirabelt in the position most convenient for you, cut the old belt and align the leader attached to Spirabelt to the old belt.
2. Mark on the old belt the position of the wholes in line with those present on the belt leader, attach the leader to the old belt by using short pieces of ropes applying good square knots.
3. Slowly start the machine and unroll the Spirabelt while collecting the old belt after the top drive drum
4. Proceed as per point 4 above

LACING CABLE

After installation, the cable is inserted with the help of the steel leader. Line the lacing up with the assistance of the factory alignment marks. Insert the steel pin leader into the lacing and pull the pin SLOWLY through the lacing until it is protruding approximately 10cm from the edge of the lacing. Back-thread the pin into the spiral hooks with the assistance of a pair of needlenose pliers.

Cut the cable pin on the other side again about 10cm from the edge and repeat the back-threading operation of the pin to lock the cable in place. After the pin is inserted, add silicone to fill the void left in the edgeseal for seaming.

START-UP AND TENSION

Tension the belt normally and jog the machine slowly to align the tracking paddle that should preferably be 10 cm wide. Make sure there is someone watching the edges of the belt while adjusting the tracking and stop the machine immediately if the edge rubs on the frame.

Do not run at full speed until the fabric is tracking properly.

CHECK THE POSITION OF THE PRESSURE SHOES

Spirabelt are thinner than standard woven or needled belts and sometimes it is necessary to adjust the pressure shoes to compensate for the loss in thickness.

Check with your maintenance personnel to make sure the pressure shoes can apply the normal pressure.

TRIAL PRODUCTION

Before you attempt to feed the paper it is suggested to prepare a piece of board 50-70 cm wide and 1.7/ 2.0 metre long with double sided tapes applied on both sides. Then release all brakes at the pre-heaters to have the bottom liner as free to flow as possible and feed it to the corrugator double backer.

If the Spirabelt does not manage to pull the liner then feed the piece of board already prepared with the double sided tape between belt and bottom liner. This will bring the paper to the bottom belt.Then feed the top liner to the bottom liner and start production.

HEAT AND MOISTURE

Spirabelt is extremely permeable and allows the release of steam and heat very quickly. Therefore the board dries much earlier in the hot section and if the board is too dry then there will be an excessive build up of unwanted static charges. Therefore at start up it is important to keep the steam pressure of the hot plates much lower than normal (example: from 5-6-6 bars down to 2-3-3 bars) depending on the type of production to be made.

Also reduce the number of shoes that apply pressure, in both hot and cold section, the high friction belt will guarantee a perfect pull of the board even without too much pressure of the shoes. As soon as the first production is made, adjust temperatures and pressures of the shoes to achieve a perfect board quality.

CONDITIONING OR RUN-IN

There is virtually no conditioning or run-in time as the belt is extremely stable and will not stretch at all. Only remember that this is a completely new set up of your machine and this requires some adjustments in the process.

Normally this requires new menus to be used for a specific production, with lower steam pressure at the hot section and less pressure of the shoes but it could also mean reducing the amount of starch applied (5-7 gsm of starch/m2 is normal). This signifies a great reduction of steam and electricity with considerable financial saving at the end of the month.

CLEANING, MAINTENANCE AND TIPS

Spirabelt corrugator belts do not require any cleaning at all as starch will not stick to it. Therefore the original permeability will be maintained during the whole production life. It is important to regularly check the guiding apparatus is working properly and that the edges are not damaged due to occasional rubbing against the side frames.

If this has happened, make sure the belt is properly aligned on the rollers and that the guiding system works properly. Then seal the edges with a hot iron to eliminate any monofilament yarns that could be protruding. These could get jammed somewhere and damage the fabric.