Film Break at Clamp

Context

A film break that generates Alarm 113 Filmbreak at Clamp is when the film break happens during the first revolution of the wrap cycle, where the clamp still has control of the leading tail of the film. If a film break occurs during the first revolution of the wrap cycle, the assumption is made that the film either pulled out of or broke close to the clamp.

Problem

The film is out of the clamp.
The film is broken before the first revolution.

Possible causes of a film break at clamp:

Bladder inflation not sufficient to maintain a grip on the leading film tail
1. Low air pressure
2. Leak in a bladder
Film not being properly inserted between in the clamp at the end of the previous wrap cycle
1. Misalignment of the film insertion blade
2. Damaged/loose insertion blade
3. Cutter head not fully vertical preventing the insertion blade from inserting the film into the bladers of the clamp head
4. Film clamp pivot bushing is worn to the point where the head has too much play in it preventing the film insertion blade from consistently inserting the film into the clamp head.
5. Clamp head torsion spring is broken or worn to the point that the clamp head is not perpendicular, causing the film insertion blade to either miss the bladers or not insert far enough into the bladders to get the film gripped.
6. Film clamp arm is misaligned
  1. Clamp arm set collar slipped resulting in the arm’s home position to be out of alignment with the film insertion blade
  2. Clamp arm is bent/damaged
The film is being pulled out of the clamp
1. MPS VFD preset P043 Minimum Herz not set correctly (reference schematics for correct settings).
2. MPS VFD malfunctioning
Film quality issues
1. Imperfections in the film create a weakness in the film that causes a break as the film is being delivered to the load.

Solution

re-thread the film carriage
1. open carriage door
2. swing out roller will pivot
3. make sure to go behind the metal idle roller
4. lay over all pre-stretch rollers (no weaving)
5. close the film carriage door
re-attach of film tail to the clamp
- Vacuum Clamp: place on the suction.
- Jaw Clamp: place between the jaws.
- Bladder Clamp (Load Seeking Clamp®): place film tail between the bladders.
Make sure clamp is in the home position, the film is attached to the clamp, and restart the machine.

If Chronic Film Breaks Occur, Look for:

Worn film clamp bladder
Air pressure to low
Air pressure to high
Bad film roll
Bad S1 Encoder
Bad MPS VFD
Bad Bearing on one of the rollers in the film carriage
Cuts/sharp edges on the rollers in the film carriage
Bad solenoid in the automation unit

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