R2R Operational Insights: Misalignment and Over-Tensioning

Thin webs are naturally susceptible to buckling when subjected to compressive stresses. One common manifestation of this is the formation of troughs—localized out-of-plane waves that appear within an open span of the web. These troughs may sometimes dissipate before reaching the next roller. However, when these deformations persist and travel over a roller into the downstream span, they are referred to as wrinkles.

Two primary factors typically contribute to this phenomenon:

• Excessive web tension
• Roller misalignment

MapleSim’s web handling simulation provides powerful tools to analyze these issues. It can calculate the critical misalignment angle that initiates trough formation in a given span. When over-tensioning is the dominant cause, the simulation can also estimate wrinkle characteristics such as amplitude and wavelength. These values can then be compared against industry-standard limits to assess the likelihood of wrinkle formation in the affected span.