Menges Roller, a designer and manufacturer of industrial rollers for the nonwovens and geosynthetic material industries, has extended the size capacity and technical capabilities of its rubber division with the purchase of a new machine. 

The new computer-controlled machine gives Menges the ability to handle rollers up to 10 meters long (approx. 33 feet). The machine utilizes the very latest computer interface and CNC technology to form precision groove patterns into rollcovers made from rubber, silicone, urethane and other synthetic compounds. Very precise outside diameter modifications can also be made with this machine, including the formation of parabolic crowns and reverse crowns, in increments as small as a thousandth of an inch.

For rubber covered rollers, proper diameter specifications and surface finishes are critical, potentially having a big impact on a plant’s output and quality.

Matthew Menges, president of Menges Roller explained the investment. “We’re serving manufacturers with wider and wider web widths. That’s the nature of today’s plants, and this 10 meter capacity allows us to serve those customers,” he says. “Plus this machine’s technology delivers unbelievable accuracy and repeatability. Nonwovens and sheeted goods plants need precision-engineered rollers that perform at a very high level, and that’s what Menges Roller will continue to offer.”

Menges’s new machine will be relied upon to form precise groove patterns, such as diamond patterns (often applied to rollers with “air pocket release functions”), chevron and herringbone grooves (for push/pull rolls), and spiral serrations (for wrinkle removing rollers). Precision grooves, serrations and crowns can greatly improve a roller’s material handling characteristics, enhancing the efficiency of a plant’s overall operation.