The Voith VariFlex is a fully automated winder suitable for handling almost any paper grade, from heavy board to thin telephone book paper, corrugated base board or newsprint. The VariFlex winder is based on two-drum winder technology. There are different covers for the winder drums tailored to the respective paper grades. This helps make the winder suitable for a wide range of applications.

In Izmit, Turkish papermaker Kartonsan produces multi-ply board in the basis weight range 200 to 450g/m². In 2013, the company decided to install a Voith VariFlex with a working width of 3.7 metres. The new winder was installed a year ago during a major upgrade of the entire BM 2 board machine. Since the rebuild, the operating speed of the board machine has been around 400 m/min and the operating speed of the VariFlex about 2,000 m/min. The winder was commissioned at the end of July 2014 and signed off by the customer just three weeks later. The board manufacturer was equally satisfied with Voith’s project execution and the performance of the winder: "We are very happy about the fast installation and smooth startup by Voith,” stresses Ümit Dinçol, Production Services Manager at Kartonsan.

VariFlex for higher productivity Another VariFlex winder went on stream in December last year. This winder was installed at a paper mill in France which produces corrugating medium in the basis weight range 70 to 150 g/m². The paper mill has an annual production capacity of 330,000 metric tons of corrugating medium. Before the rebuild 30 employees had been operating two older winders over three shifts. Therefore the purpose of installing the Voith VariFlex was to reduce operating costs and increase productivity with state-of-the-art technology. Both goals have been achieved with the new Voith winder. Another advantage of the new VariFlex is that occupational safety is now state-of-the-art.

Winders delivered and installed ready-to-use Vibrations that can occur at certain operating points are a known risk when processing corrugating medium on winder drum rolls. To prevent them from happening at all, the French VariFlex has been fitted with hydro-pneumatic vibration damping. In addition, it features a fully automatic core feed and core cutter as well as a “flying splice” unwinder that ensures a smooth connection of the web with the full reel spool. The VariFlex has been designed for a speed of 2,500 m/min and has a working width of 7 metres. Its production capacity is 1,150 metric tons per day. This enabled the mill replace the two old machines, save space, reduce operating costs and improve its competitiveness. Voith delivered the VariFlex to France as a turnkey product including a guided parent roll magazine, a pulper, the roll transport system, complete installation and of course the heart of winder technology, the drives.

Voith also supplied winder drives to Kartonsan. The drives are a crucial element in the commissioning process, as there are often massive problems if machine and drive technology are from different manufacturers. A smooth startup and optimum quality winding can only be ensured if both drive technology and machine come from one supplier.//