Enhanced Resilio roll provides truly revolutionary squeezing power

22 Dec '10

6 min read

Since those figures were produced, however, RHL specialists have been investigating ways of improving squeezing performance still further. And intensive laboratory trials have shown that a dual-layer system offers multiple possibilities for this.

Basically, it was found that the hardness and resilience of the sub-layer and top layer could be enhanced, to take the de-watering effect to a new, previously unimaginable level. The standard Resilio concept was based on a sub-layer of 97 Shore A and a top layer of 65 Shore A, giving a combined hardness of around 72 Shore A at the surface and a consequent de-watering effect that was a 30-40% improvement on the traditional 'hard rubber' roll.

New trials by RHL increased the hardness of the sub-layer from 97 Shore A to around 100 Shore A – or, using the Shore Durometer scale, up to 80 Shore D. The resilience of the compound at this hardness was also optimised. This means that the soft top layer is pressed in the nip against the fabric and ultimately against the hard sub-layer. The harder and more resilient the sub-layer, the more efficiently the top layer and fabric layer are pressed against the sub-layer, leading to a further increase in the hydro-extraction effect.

RHL then looked at improving the resilience of the top layer. The original top layer had a resilience reading of 34%, but tests carried out with a specially-developed compound named 'Super-Dynamic' – with a resilience of 48% – showed that this compound was more efficient. It worked better by being pushed into the contours of the fabric and conforming more readily to its contours, which meant that the top layer was pressed more efficiently into the interspaces between the warp and the weft, where the water droplets gather.

Says Anthony Ashton: “Suddenly we had results of even greater significance, with de-watering that was twice that of hard rubber rolls. In other words, it meant we could now claim to be able to halve our customers' energy costs.”

Figure 1 shows examples of some of the de-watering results obtained in RHL's tests, comparing the latest Resilio roll against the market leader, processing various knitted fabric types. The residual moisture level is shown as a percentage for each fabric. Since many companies do not use the 'market leader' roll, comparisons will often be even more significant, with the Resilio producing results that are twice as efficient in terms of residual moisture.

For users, the actual technology behind the new Resilio roll is simple and straightforward. The rolls can be incorporated into a new machine, or an existing installation, without problems and existing shafts can easily be used to take a Resilio covering. That makes Resilio's cost-saving capabilities available to every textile processor and machine manufacturer, with a payback time of only one or two months for the complete Resilio cover.

So impressive are the benefits of the latest Resilio roll that potential customers may take some persuading that the claims made for the system are genuinely achievable in practice, Mr Ashton says: “Probably the greatest task we at RHL now have to undertake is to convince the textile processing industry that Resilio rolls are truly as good as we testify, but the performance benefits will be apparent immediately they are installed and running, and the proof will be in the reality of the savings our customers will enjoy.”

Richard Hough Ltd. (RHL)

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