Web machine Buying Guide

Designing For, Installing and Maintaining Web EquipmentDavid R. Roisum, Ph.D., Finishing Technologies, Inc.
With contributions from: Jim Berceau, Sean Craig, Tom Giles, Alexandra Haden, Al Hadlock and Andre Icso
Foreword by Craig Sheppard, Executive Director, AIMCAL 
  • Techniques to plan, shop and contract for, purchase, install and troubleshoot web machines
  • For web machine builders, buyers, designers, project engineers, plant managers
  • Film, foil, paper, heavy-duty materials, converting
Written by one of the world's leading web handling expert and experienced machine designer along with a team of specialists, this hands-on book offers a step-by-step approach to investing in, acquiring and starting up web machinery. It is designed to assist plant-based personnel in the costing and planning of major machinery investment with a rigorous analysis of what needs to be done to acquire or replace equipment with minimal expense and maximum long-term efficiency, no matter what types of webs are being handled. The book ranges over the entire spectrum of machine buying from dealing with salespeople to the technical details of machinery design, contract formulation, financing and maintenance. Numerous case studies illustrate strategies to follow—and avoid—in purchasing standard, as well as custom designed, web machines.

 From the FOREWORD (by Craig Sheppard, Executive Director, AIMCAL)"The book offers excellent and practical advice on how to:
  • Define equipment needs and goals
  • Research the options
  • Prepare specifications and requests for quotes
  • Negotiate contracts
  • Make decisions based on facts
  • Examine options such as standard, custom and one-off designs or rebuilds

 The guide…explains what must be done for acceptance trials, startup and documentation. Other sections of the book examine expectations for the machine's first year and explore ways to address problems…"

 TABLE OF CONTENTSForeword
Preface
About this Book and Machine Buying
SECTION I—JUSTIFICATIONWhy a Buyer's Guide
  • Doing Your Homework
  • Vive la Différence
  • Boom and Bust Cycles of Machinery
  • Caveat Emptor—Buyer Beware
  • Long Days and Short Nights
  • Success!

 
Getting Started—Where Are You Now?
  • Why New Machinery?
  • Production
  • Crewing a Machine
  • Support Services
  • Waste
  • What Everyone Should Know: Delay
  • Challenges of Waste and Delay Systems
  • What Everyone Should Know: Customer Complaints
  • Other Considerations
  • Safety
  • Assembling the Team
  • References

 
Economic Justification
  • Textbook Teachings
  • Costs
  • Benefits
  • Risks
  • Decision Making Metrics
  • Biases to Avoid
  • Reference

 SECTION II—SHOPPINGInitial Shopping
  • Buyer's Guides
  • Internet Searches
  • Word-of-mouth
  • Tradeshows
  • Inviting a Salesman into Your Plant
  • Segmented Suppliers
  • Some Machine Buyer's Guide Resources
  • Reference

 
What to Look for in a Supplier
  • Financial Health
  • Research and Development
  • Questions to Make a Salesman Squirm
  • References

 
Specifications
  • Go with the Flow
  • Specifications
  • Web Material
  • Troublesome Web Properties
  • Wound Roll Input and Output
  • Other
  • Essay on Process and Product Quality
  • Essay on Machine Quality
  • References

 
RFQ's, Proposals, Quotes and Orders
  • What is an RFQ?
  • Why an RFQ?
  • How Many Quotes?
  • How Much Does an RFQ Cost?
  • Things to Ask for in a RFQ
  • The Proposal
  • Types of Quotes
  • What a Quote Must Include
  • Payment Schedule
  • Change Orders
  • References

 
Decision Making
  • First Round Elimination
  • Cost/benefit
  • A Single Option is Not a Choice
  • My Way or the Highway
  • Go With Your Gut (feeling)
  • Culling Fatally Flawed Options
  • Fast, Good or Cheap—Pick Two
  • The Devil You Know
  • Weighted Factors
  • Anonymous Voting
  • Unequally Weighted Voting
  • Consensus
  • Sanity Check

 
The Role of Sales
  • Method #1—Go with a Standard Design, then Modify as Needed
  • Method #2—Get Everyone Together and Let's Build a Line!
  • What Type of Quote?
  • How Much Time Do You Have?
  • How Accurate Do You have to Be?
  • How Complex is the Process?
  • How Many Resources Do You Have?
  • When are You Planning to Buy?
  • Other Pathways to a Smooth Procedure

 
The Role of Purchasing
  • Non-disclosure Agreement
  • Insurance
  • Safety
  • List of Approved Vendors
  • Project Money
  • Signing Authority
  • Contracts

 
The Role of EngineeringAL HADLOCK and DAVID ROISUM
  • Sales Support
  • Proposal Generation and Application Engineering
  • Engineering
  • Purchased Parts, Machining and Assembly
  • Startup
  • Troubleshooting
  • Research and Development
  • Customization Cautions

 SECTION III—NEGOTIATION AND CONTRACTSMoney
  • The Inverse Price Law
  • Buying on Price
  • The True Cost of Capital Equipment
  • The Cost of Complexity

 
The ContractALEXANDRA O. HADEN
  • A Verbal Agreement is Not Worth the Paper it is Written On
  • When to Consult an Outside Attorney, and What to Expect
  • Turf War: Sales Agreement or Purchase Agreement?
  • Essential Terms and Conditions to Include in Your Contract
  • Other Terms and Conditions
  • The Final Word on Contracts

 SECTION IV—Project ReviewDesign Considerations
  • The Designers
  • Apprenticeships and Mentorships
  • The School of Hard Knocks
  • Foundations
  • Framework
  • Rollers
  • Bearings
  • Pneumatics or Hydraulics for Force Control
  • Calibration Procedures
  • HMI—Human Machine Interface
  • Drives
  • References

 
Design Review
  • What to Look For
  • What to Do if Changes are Required

 
Plant Preparations
  • Access: From Shipping to Final Position
  • Clearance in Operation
  • Traffic: People and Materials
  • Foundation
  • How Close Do I Need to Align My Machine?
  • When Do I Need to Align My Machine?
  • Utilities: Air
  • Utilities: Water
  • Utilities: Power
  • Personnel
  • References

 
Acceptance Trials
  • Why Run an Acceptance Trial in the Shop?
  • Getting Started
  • Preparing for the Trial
  • What Is Acceptable?
  • Acceptance and Shipping

 SECTION V—The StartupMachine Installation
  • Receiving
  • Installation
  • Alignment
  • Wiring and Piping
  • Drive Startup
  • References

 
Startup
  • First Production
  • Startup Material
  • Startup Philosophy
  • Responsibilities of the Builder
  • Responsibilities of the Customer

 
Documentation
  • Engineering Library
  • Documents Provided by the Builder
  • Documentation Provided by the Customer
  • Waste and Delay Documentation
  • Delay Documentation
  • Customer Returns
  • References

 SECTION VI—The First YearOperators: Training and Turnover
  • The Operator
  • The Core Competency of Problem Solving
  • Experience
  • Sam Teaches Sally Teaches Simon
  • Formal Training Provided by the OEM
  • Formal Training Realities
  • Formal Training by Consultants and Trade Organizations
  • Training—Hidden Benefits
  • Training—What Not to Do
  • References

 
Grade Recipes, SOPs, and Rejection Criteria
  • Grade Recipes
  • SOPs
  • What Is a Defect?
  • The Customer
  • Rejection Criteria
  • The Value of Test Data
  • How is Rejection Criteria Normally Made?
  • Standards—The Old and the New
  • References

 SECTION VII—What IfIf the Startup Goes Badly
  • Getting Started—Performance Guarantees
  • Cooperation
  • Documentation
  • Waste and Delay Measurements and Predictions
  • The Worst Possible Outcome
  • Reference

 
Breech of Contract
  • Step 1—Hire a Consultant
  • Step 2—Hire a Contract Lawyer
  • Step 3—Try to Negotiate or Mediate First
  • Step 4—Prepare for the Worst
  • Step 5—Learn from Your Mistakes
  • Step 6—Move On
  • Special Case—The Builder Goes Out of Business
  • Reference

 SECTION VIII—Special ConsiderationsDrives and AutomationANDRE S. ICSO
  • Decision Criteria—What Are the Questions I Need to Ask?
  • What Are My Process Requirements?
  • What Type of Operation Do I Have?
  • Does My Current Equipment Do what I Need It To, Can It be Supported?
  • What Technology Options are Available for the Equipment?
  • How Do I Get Started, Where Do I Look?

 
Industry Peculiarities
  • Film
  • Foil
  • Nonwovens
  • Paper
  • Rubber
  • Textiles
  • Pilot Machinery
  • References

 
Component Suppliers: The Web Converter's Pit CrewSEAN CRAIG
  • The Four Characteristics of a World Class Supplier

 
Rebuilds
  • Motivations for Rebuilds
  • Making the Numbers Work
  • Where to Go for Upgrades
  • Mechanical Upgrades
  • Controls Upgrade
  • Installing a Rebuild

 
Custom EquipmentJIM BERCEAU
  • The Industry and the Market Place
  • Applications Expertise is Key
  • High Quality vs. Low Price
  • The Components of the Right Supplier

 
One-of-a-kind EquipmentTOM GILES
  • Getting Started
  • Custom Machine Supplier Qualities
  • Unique Challenges for One-of-a-kind Web Machines
  • Summing Up

 
Other Situations
  • Do-it-yourself Machine Building and Rebuilding
  • Used Machinery
  • Reinventing the Wheel
  • Pilot Plant Machinery
  • Multiple Suppliers
  • Parallel Startups
  • Raw Materials and Other Essentials of Manufacturing
  • Customers and Other Essentials of Business

 Glossary of Abbreviations and Special Terms
Books about Web Machinery
Index

Industry Partners