Articles

Optimizing the performance of paper machine clothing

You want to maximize your paper production, for the least cost. But your machine just won’t cooperate. It’s too unpredictable. Expensive, unforeseen stops lead to countless production meetings, and long nights in the mill.

Maybe you feel like the machine controls your life. Maybe you feel too dependent on your paper machine clothing suppliers. That’s how Frank felt. Until he found a better way.

With Feltest’s handheld measuring tools, Frank quickly collects daily data on the performance of his felts and fabrics. He now spots problems in advance, making unplanned downtime a thing of the past. Best of all, Frank shares that data with his suppliers, so they can now optimize fabrics and felts for his machine.

From the Caliper Gauge to the Caliper Profiler

The roots of Feltest go back to 1992. Press felt designer Niek Lensvelt wanted to know how the compaction of felts changed over time, so that he could improve the performance of his felts. There was no instrument on the market that could measure on a running paper machine with the desired accuracy and repeatability, so he designed one himself: the original Caliper Gauge, the predecessor of today’s Caliper Profiler.

Read more about our history and team, or see the Caliper Profiler.

What papermakers tell us about the Capto

The Capto felt clamp makes the operator’s task of hanging on to a fabric during fabric changes a lot easier. Here is how mills describe it:

• “With the Capto, the operators no longer have blisters on their fingers after a felt installation.” — David G. (GB)
• “Capto: in my experience, it is one of the most appropriate tools to dress the paper machine. Feltest, thank you for introducing these tools to the market.” — Juan Manuel L. (MX)
• “Since using the Feltest Capto, our PM fabric installation has become much easier and safer. I would wholeheartedly recommend this to any other papermakers looking for a fabric clamping solution.” — David G. (GB)

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