Cutting Control in Profile Extrusion

Control of the cutting system in the production of rubber profiles

Application description:

Rubber profiles are manufactured using the extrusion process. The profiles are cooled with water at the end of the process and then drawn off with a belt conveyor and then cut.

In order to obtain stable and correct piece lengths and roll lengths, the length measurement has to overcome several challenges before the rubber profiles are cut:

A wide variety of profile surfaces and structures
Moisture and water on the profiles
Elasticity of the profiles
Thermal influences and shrinkage due to cooling

Conventional measurement with measuring wheels or by means of the pull-off caterpillar tracks leads to significant scatter in the final lengths. Deviations for piece lengths of 3 m to 10 m are in the range of 3 cm to 10 cm. This is generally compensated for by length allowances. However, end customers are increasingly asking the profile manufacturer to dispose of the remaining lengths, which means additional costs for transport and disposal in addition to the costs for length additions.

System Solution:

The use of µSPEED sensor technology offers non-contact length measurement directly on the profile surface, is slip-free, maintenance-free and highly accurate with values generally around 0.1% measuring accuracy for short lengths and 0.05% for roll lengths, even with damp surfaces and demanding profile structures. The non-contact method enables measurement at a position where the profiles are less stretched. The precise length measurement in conjunction with correction values for material shrinkage enable significantly more accurate end customer lengths.

System Information:

µSPEED with Accessories

ELOVIS offers the following for this area of application: