FMS Origins 

FMS was founded in 1993, following a buyout from the FAG Kugelfischer Company. Since that time, a dedicated team has been establishing its own company history in the web tension and web guiding industry through market-leading developments and sucessful international expansion

Today, FMS is the company of choice for manufacturers and users of web processing equipment around the globe. Success has been achieved in a wide cross-section of industries, processes, and materials

FMS: Capabilities 

Wherever running web products are manufactured, processed or finished, two factors are critical for quality production of the finished product: constant tension and the consistent lateral position of the web in the process

FMS closed loop control systems for web tension and web guiding continually maintain all the relevant parameters to ensure precise compliance with the reference values. At the same time, these values are made available for comprehensive recording for quality assurance purposes.

FMS: Innovations 

The FMS name stands for quality, reliability, expertise and innovations in web tension control and web guiding worldwide. With its range of products, FMS covers many different applications in all production processes

Our range of products is continually optimized and supplemented in order to take advantage of all the possibilities of new technologies. However, the fundamental characteristics of FMS technology remain its operating simplicity and reliability even under challenging operating conditions

FMS applications  ●  Web tension  control / web guiding

Advantages

•   Increased production speed
• Reduced downtimes
• Minimized waste
• Improved amortization periods
• Enhanced documentable quality

Materials: Paper, Film, Foil (synthetic / aluminium), Tape and labels , Plastics and rubber  Corrugated products

Processes

•   Coating and laminating
•   Tape and label processing
•   Slitting
•   Unwinding and winding Nip force measuring
•   Printing

1 Force sensor for tension measurement in a coating plant for special papers.

2/ Force sensor for tension control of an unwinding reel in an aluminium tape cutting plant.

3/ Tension value transmission utilizing a Profibus®   connection in a flexo printing machine

4/ Tension control of an unwinding station using a digital closed loop tension controller.

5/ Web guiding in a label printing machine prior to material processing

6/ Control of two material webs by a chase and follow system with two motorized sensor adjustments and a steering frame in a plastic foil coating plant.

FMS: Three  phases  of process  integration

Phase  1:  Unwinding  

FMS unwind control:

Through the pre-defined braking of the unwinder, tension is created in order to feed the material to the process under a controlled condition. FMS force sensors measure the material tension and transfer a signal to the FMS tension controller as a feedback value. The FMS tension controller compares the feedback value with the pre-set reference value and passes a resulting control output to a clutch, brake, or drive on the unwind.

Phase  2:  Intermediate  drive  processing     

FMS intermediate drive control:

The material tension between two drives (printing stations, coating / drying, etc.) can also be controlled during the process.

Controlling these tension zones ensures that the material will be fed to the downstream process at a constant web tension. Ideally, all intermediate drives will be individually controlled by FMS tension control systems

Web  guiding  

FMS unwind  control:

Often, rolls of material with uneven edges have to be processed. In order for this initial condition not to have an effect on the processing quality, the roll must be appropriately positioned and adjusted.

This is achieved with an FMS-winderGLIDE by moving the complete unwind stand to ensure accurate positioning of the material to be processed.

FMS pre-process control:

Prior to the process (printing stations, etc.), the exact positioning of the web is critical to the product’s processed quality.

To ensure position, an FMS-webMASTER is installed prior to the process. Using web guide sensors, the position of the web is detected and then precisely guided to the required reference position.

Phase  3:  W inding  -   Cuộn

FMS winding  control:

Whether a finished product roll is to be sold, or created in an intermediate application before additional processing is required, a well wound roll is the result of high quality process control. With winders, the quality of the wound roll is a direct result of stable material tension during the winding process. In this example, the material tension is detected utilizing FMS force sensors, and an FMS tension controller calculates the output control value for the drive

After a long processing free span (drying sections, etc.), the web position must be brought back to its original location. Utilizing an FMS web-DIRECTOR, the material web will not only be brought back to the required location, but the position will be maintained.

FMS winding control:

Straight edge winding is necessary to avoid waste during further rolled material processing. To achieve aligned rolls, the winding base is appropriately positioned with an FMS-winderGLIDE,  thus ensuring accurate winding of the processed material and the highest winding quality.

FMS: Managing  the tension

Force sensors (load cells):  Operational reliability and accuracy of measurement determines the productivity and quality of the processing. The type of processing, the material, and factors such as temperature, humidity and changing winding diameters lead to continuous variations of the tension in the processed material. FMS force sensors determine the material tension and send a signal proportional to the material tension to the FMS electronic units. The defining characteristics of the individually tested FMS force sensors are their capacity to withstand extreme overload conditions while maintaining the highest accuracy in the industry.This is accomplished through built-in mechanical stops that protect against overload and the utilization of four foil-type strain gauges installed in a full wheatstone bridge configuration in each sensor to ensure the highest performance

Electronic units: FMS tension measuring amplifiers and closed loop tension controllers process the signals from the force sensors and have been specifically developed for use in tension control applications.

The measuring amplifiers provide a feedback signal, while the tension controllers generate a feedback as well as an output value for a drive, brake, or clutch. These values can be outputted as standard analogue signals or be transmitted via BUS connection.

Continuous new product development is one of the main reasons FMS is the leading technology partner for tension measurement and control technology.

FM S tension  control  ● Force  sensors  (load  cells )

MS force sensors are designed to meet widest variety of application requirements in the converting industry. Different sensors are available for measuring material tensions from < 1N to over 100kN  in live and dead shaft, internal roller, pillow block, cantilever, nip pressure, and many other versions.

FMS force sensors offer many different mounting arrangements including single bolt, adjustable bracket, side frame, flange mount, and more. These different options are designed specifically for application flexibility.

FMS force sensors feature outstanding accuracy and the industry’s highest overload protection.  Built-in mechanical stops ensure that frequent calibration is not required and makes the sensors virtually indestructible.

FMS tension  control  ●  Tension  measuring amplifiers and controllers

FMS’s electronic units offer several different varieties of tension measuring amplifiers or closed loop tension controllers. There are both digital and analogue versions which are available in DIN rail, rack, panel, and housed  display  mounting arrangements. FMS also offers versions which are water proof and vibration resistant. In addition, all FMS electronic units are designed for ease of installation and operation.

FMS’s electronic units utilize state of the art hybrid technology, SMD circuit boards, and high end microprocessors for tension measurement and control. Each version is capable of providing both 0...10V / ±10V and 0...20mA / 4...20mA output  signals  and offers built-in  signal  filtering.

FMS’s electronic units also offer several different  integrated  interfaces  including RS232, PROFIBUS ®, DeviceNet™, CanOpen, etc. for both tension measuring amplifiers and tension controllers.

FMS: Following  the right  path

Web guiding:  Many processes require material webs whose positions are precisely guided. FMS web guides detect the position of the material with web guide sensors, calculate the deviation from the reference position, and maintain the material at the required position with a steering frame actuator. FMS’s wide range of web tension control and web guiding products offer many possible modular combinations to cover virtually all applications.

FMS web guiding  ●  Steering  frames

FMS steering frames and actuators are robustly designed to perform even in the most demanding web guiding applications. They satisfy any guiding application including material unwind and winding, lateral positioning of unwind and winding stands, and pre or post process guiding.

FMS steering frame actuators are equipped with lifetime lubricatel ball screws and either AC, servo, or stepper motors.

FMS steering frames and actuators are perfect for guiding ultra-narrowto very large material webs.

 FMS web guiding  ●  Sensors 

FMS web guide sensors are available in different styles to detect the position of any type of web material.

They are available in several sizes to accommodate a wide range of correction requirements.

FMS web guide sensors are offered with a basic manual adjustment or an automatic motorized traversing adjustment driven by the web guide controller

FMS web guiding  ●  Web guide  controllers 

FMS web guide controllers are offered in several styles including single and multi-channel versions for controlling multiple web guides. They are specifically designed for the industry’s increasing control requirements, faster machine speeds, and demand for ease of installation  and operation.

FMS web guide controllers utilize high end microprocessors and provide high flexibility to control AC, or stepper motors as well as hydraulic valves.

FMS web guide controllers of the 600 series are offered with several different  integrated  interfaces  including RS 232, PROFIBUS®,  CanOpen, etc

CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION