Web-fed Inkjet Printer Tension Control via Tiltable Dancer Roll
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Solution Overview
Problem
In the manufacturing of decorative panels using web-fed inkjet printers, thin web-substrates often wrinkle during feeding, leading to poorly printed decoration layers and delamination issues in the final panels.
Innovation Solution
A method is implemented to control and maintain the tension of the web-substrate within the web-fed inkjet printer, using a dancer unit with a dancer roll that tilts to adjust tension, preventing wrinkles and ensuring consistent substrate feeding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a thin web-substrate is used for printing decoration layers, then the substrate flexibility and ease of handling are improved, but wrinkles are formed during feeding and printing quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a dancer unit with a tiltable dancer roll that dynamically adjusts tension during substrate feeding. The dancer unit can tilt to accommodate tension variations, maintaining consistent substrate tension without restricting the flexibility benefits of thin substrates. This dynamic adjustment mechanism resolves the contradiction by allowing the substrate to remain flexible while preventing wrinkles during the printing process.
2Ease of manufacture
If web-substrate is pre-treated off-line before printing, then the substrate is made print-ready with coating or ink receiver layers, but tension differences are introduced within and between rolls
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the dancer unit continuously monitors and responds to tension variations in the substrate. The tiltable dancer roll adjusts in real-time to compensate for tension differences introduced during off-line pre-treatment, ensuring uniform substrate tension enters the printing zone. This feedback control allows the system to maintain printing quality despite pre-treatment-induced tension variations.
3Productivity
If the web-fed inkjet printer operates at high speed for productivity, then production efficiency is improved, but substrate tension control becomes more difficult and wrinkles increase
Solution Approach 1:
The dancer unit provides dynamic tension compensation that operates effectively at high printing speeds. The tiltable dancer roll can rapidly adjust to tension changes, maintaining substrate stability even during high-speed web feeding. This dynamic mechanism enables the system to achieve both high productivity and precise substrate feeding accuracy simultaneously.
Data Source
AI summary
Manufacturing decorative panels by using a web-fed inkjet printer. During the feeding of the to-be-printed substrate, the tension of the substrate is controlled by a dancer unit (720) which includes a dancer roll (200), having a connector (120) on both side ends of said roll, and wherein both connectors (120) are connected to a pair of parallel guiders (110) for floating said roll along a floating path (210); and wherein the step of controlling comprises the step of moving one guider (110) of said pair of guiders (110) parallel to said floating path (210) whereby the dancer roll (200) is tilted.