AKRON—Duncan, S.C.-based Erhardt+Leimer Inc. exhibited its newest versions of its rubber guiding and handling systems at the International Tire Exhibition & Conference in Akron Sept. 11-13.
"We handle rubber reel-to-reel, in a continuous flow," said Maulik Desai, sales division manager for Erhardt+Leimer. "We guide it, we inspect it."
Among the equipment Erhardt+Leimer displayed at ITEC was its CCP camera for surface inspection and "missing skin" detection.
During calendering, blisters can develop, ruining the surface, according to Desai. The CCP camera can detect blisters, allowing customers to stop the calendering process and correct the problem before the batch is ruined, he said.
Erhardt+Leimer also exhibited the EL-Thickness calender, a non-contact thickness measurement system with point laser triangulation and eddy current sensor, according to company literature.
"It measures the distance between the sensor and the rolls, and also the senor and the rubber, and you do the math," Desai said.
The other products Erhardt+Leimer exhibited at ITEC included:
- The ELGuider + WBM, a highly accurate web guiding tool with a compact, brushless actuating drive; and
- The EL-Bob edge detection algorithm for the detection of web edges, laminated strips, noses and grooves.
Erhardt+Leimer Inc. is the U.S. division of Erhardt+Leimer GmbH, a 90-year-old company based in Stadtbergen, Germany.