The Cascades Containerboard Packaging mill in Kingsey Falls, Canada was looking to replace their existing sheet break detector, which was having so many operational issues, it wasn’t being used. This can pose a risk to production and the machine. For instance, if you catch a break in time and cut the sheet before it heads to the dryer, you’ll minimize lost production. But if you don’t, the broken sheet can get stuck turning around a dryer, leading to crumbles, debris and eventual shutdown to clean the machine.
Knowing they wanted to go with a different supplier to replace the faulty device, the mill evaluated and tested several sheet break suppliers before selecting ABB’s KPM Sheet Break Detector - KB model. Despite having a higher cost than some options, the KB proved to be a huge improvement. “In more than ten years of operation, we’ve had no false alarms,” said Marc Payeur, Technical Advisor, Control and Process, Cascades. “It runs like a shadow to the process.”
Notably, the mill also produces two colors, white and brown, and has not had any detection issues with either color. While the mill planned to replace more of its detectors with KB, budget limitations had this item fall down the priority list. So in 2020, when the opportunity arose to replace three more, Marc Payeur had the positive problem of not remembering the location of the first detector.
“We had such little interaction with it because it didn’t require any maintenance, we had to doublecheck the placement location. You know it’s really good when you can say that!” said Marc Payeur.
In 2018, Cascades Tissue Group in Kingsey Falls was having issues with their existing sheet break detector, particularly around temperature. Based on the experience at the containerboard mill, the KB2 was implemented. This time, the mill engineered the detector to work on the backside of the machine to ensure optimum performance.
There is neon light installed on the frontside of the machine, which was creating a signal disturbance. ABB quickly caught how the adjustment would affect detection and recalibrated the device. “After calibration, we’ve had no issues with sheet break detection at the mill,” said Marc Payeur.