Voith Paper Automation developed a new sensor called OnV FlocSpotter that is able to mwasure formation directly in a wire section. formation is crucial to quality in the paper manufacturing process. It is decisive for the uniformity of the paper structure. If it fluctuates, it will leave an impact on other quality parameters. Accordingly, sufficient stiffness and good printability are only achieved with good formation.
However, until now formation measurement was problematic, especially in the production of board and packaging grades. Certainly, measurement could be done before the reel with commercially available sensors, but there the product was already multi-layered. The paper maker thus has no data on the individual layers, for instance, the uppermost layer, the top layer, whose quality is decisive for printing results later.
In order to shed light on this problem, Voith Paper Automation developed a new sensor formation called OnV FlocSpotter that make much earlier measurement possible, i.e., directly in the wire section. With multi-layer machines, formation of each individual layer can thus be inspected separately on the wire fabric before it is joined together with the other layers. The paper maker can therefore achieve maximum control over the sheet formation process and get the information necessary to intervene in the process and regulate it at the earliest possible point. This can be achieved by adjusting the various corresponding stock and machine parameters (e.g., consistency, dosage of the retention agent or speed difference between jet and wire).
