When operators have to stop machines to splice material rolls, the downtime means lost productivity. PDC International has come up with a solution. PDC’s Zero-Downtime Dual Reel Unwind means the machine continues to run during a shrink sleeve roll change. These are available not only on PDC machines, but also as stand-alone units, running with all brands of sleeve applicators.

An operator can waste valuable line time each shift, pausing the machine, finding and splicing in a new roll of labels, before finally restarting the machine and production.  The PDC Dual Unwind with Accumulator brings that splicing and changeover time down to zero.

Sensors on the unwind reels will detect that one roll is getting low and alert the operator. Once the roll ends, the tail end of the roll is clamped near the splicing table, convenient for performing the splice with the new roll.  Material in the accumulator buffer is consumed while the operator splices in the next roll. By hitting reset, the material is unclamped and the accumulator refills, ready for the next roll change. PDC’s Articulating Splicing Table keeps the material in alignment assuring a rapid and precise material splice which will run cleanly through the applicator machine.

The remote, welded stainless steel stand holds two 24” unwind reels. The frame can be positioned parallel, or turned perpendicular to the machine with turn bars. The dual unwind reels can be mounted for the convenience of the operators, also allowing ease of replenishing pallets of label rolls.

Two versions of the Accumulator are available, both Single and Dual action. In the Single Action Stand, (46 ft. of material accumulation) the top bar is stationary and only the bottom bar raises and lowers during use. The larger and taller Dual Action Stand has both the top and bottom bars moving apart or closer. This provides a greater length (138 ft.) of material within the buffer, allowing for higher speed applications. Also available are versions built into the machine frame itself, that provide material buffer and splicing time for shorter neck bands or slower labeling speeds.

Standalone versions can operate with other brands of sleeving machines and feature a PLC and HMI,, a static eliminator blower and Ethernet connectivity for taking various signals from the unit.