The reel drum for a paper packaging manufacturer was damaged beyond repair. An engineered solution was needed to address the cracked shell, the journals, and entire assembly. Our team proposed two repair options involving a rolled & welded shell or a cast shell. Each option was provided with material, process, cost, and timeline details. Our sales engineer worked closely with the customer to determine the most viable option. With a 10-day timeline, the new shell was installed with the repaired heads and parts, and delivered machine-ready within the outage schedule.

Project:

• Part: Reel drum
• Details: 174″ length, 42″ outside diameter
• Customer: Paper & Packaging Manufacturer

Challenges:

• Reel drum shell was cracked and damaged beyond repair.
• Limited shell material availability. Both cast shell and rolled shell options involve extended ETA.
• 10-day timeline to retrofit existing heads and parts to the new shell during the annual outage. Shell prep work was completed prior to the annual outage.

Engineered Solutions:

• Determine technical specifications and present re-shell options:
  A. Rolled & Welded Shell; B. Cast Shell.
• Procure shell material. Due to the critical timeline, the rolled & welded shell option was chosen as more viable.
• Verify and record critical dimensions of existing drum.
• Create CAD drawing and manufacturing print.
• Machine raw shell and shell ring in preparation for weld.
• Manufacture custom tooling required to hold plates square to ends.
• Machine each end of welded shell assembly.
• Machine holes in both shell rings according to print.
• Non-destructive testing of both heads/journals for cracks/defects.
• Machine head fit areas after heads are measured.
• Rebuild of roll assembly. Includes complete disassembly and assembly, inspection, cleaning, NDT, measurements, finish machining, installing existing roll heads with new head bolts to the new roll shell, assembly with mill supplied bearings, lip seals and mill specified lubrication.
• Finish grind and balance to mill specifications.
• QA and prep for shipping.
• Transportation services to and from customer site.

Results:

• All technical specifications achieved.
• Completed within outage schedule.
• Delivered machine-ready.