Roll unwinding cradle
An apparatus for unwinding a roll of material includes an unwinding roller, an idle roller, and a motor. The unwinding roller is for supporting the roll of material. The idle roller is spaced apart from the unwinding roller so that the roll of material can be supported on the idle roller and the unwinding roller. The motor is in mechanical communication with the unwinding roller and is configured to axially rotate the unwinding roller.
1. A system for unwinding a roll of plastic or paper material, the system comprising:
an unwinding roller for supporting the roll of material;
an idle roller spaced apart from the unwinding roller so that the roll of material can be supported on the idle roller and the unwinding roller;
a first motor in mechanical communication with the unwinding roller and configured to axially rotate the unwinding roller;
a pull roller operable to rotate to pull material from the roll of material;
a second motor in mechanical communication with the pull roller and configured to cause the pull roller to rotate;
a pinch roller operable to rotate with the pull roller;
a biasing element configured to maintain pressure between the pinch roller and the pull roller; and
a controller configured to send control signals representative of a desired rotational speed to the first motor, and send control signals representative of a desired torque to the second motor so that a constant linear speed of the material is achieved.
2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a sensor configured to sense a metric representative of a remainder of the material on the roll of material.
3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the sensor is configured to send a signal representative of the remainder of the material on the roll of material, and the controller is configured to receive the signal representative of the remainder of the material on the roll of material.
4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising—
a track extending in a direction parallel to the axis of the unwinding roller;
linear bearings movably coupled to the track; and
a platform supporting the idle roller and the unwinding roller and connected to the linear bearings.
5. The system of claim 4 , further comprising a linear actuator configured to shift the platform along the track.