Tissue Converting Equipment Automation  

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Most tissue converting equipment in operation today was not designed for current production demands. Systems were built around fixed mechanical relationships, narrow operating envelopes, and lower target production rates. As production requirements change, these systems get pushed beyond their original design intent, and performance limitations begin to surface. 

AMS designs, manufactures, and implements automation and drive system upgrades for tissue converting production lines that effectively remove these constraints. 

Our work spans mandrel rewinders, surface winders, and complete converting lines, with a focus on drive systems and motion controls that enhance tension regulation and section-to-section coordination. Tissue machine automation in converting environments requires stable operation at high speeds, tight control of web tension, and repeatable performance across continuous multi-shift operation. Our drive and automation systems support all three. 

We design around the machine’s mechanical behavior, the product requirements, and the operating conditions on the floor. 

Engineering Considerations in Tissue Converting

Tissue converting performance comes down to three things: tension, speed, and section-to-section coordination. 

Starting with the unwind stands, embosser or laminator, and rewind sections, the web faces disturbances whenever sections fall out of sync. Maintaining stability requires precise draw control and consistent tension management through acceleration, deceleration, and transfer events. The acceptable tension range is narrow, and deviations quickly result in web breaks and lost production. 

Legacy machines typically rely on a mechanical line shaft with multiple belt and pulley arrangements to maintain coordination between sections. Although stable within a narrow operating range, these systems are especially sensitive to process variations, making it difficult to maintain consistent production throughput day in and day out.

What Machine Sectionalization Changes

AMS replaces these line shaft arrangements with sectionalized drive systems consisting of independently controlled servo axes. 

As a result, each section now operates with its own motor and feedback loop, with coordination managed through motion control algorithms. This enables: 

  • Precise draw control between sections
  • Dynamic adjustment of speed ratios
  • Repeatable product recipes for product changeover
  • Improved winding profile control
  • Reduced drivetrain slip and more consistent tension regulation

Speed cycling lets the machine run faster between transfers than during them, increasing throughput without destabilizing the system. 

A foundational element in this effort is a dynamic analysis of the mechanical systems and drivetrains associated with each section. We perform a thorough analysis of the motor-load system, including inertia matching and determination of torque requirements for normal operation and E-Stop conditions. We do this before finalizing the drive and control system specification. An improperly matched mechanical system will not perform through control system updates alone. Aligning mechanical and control system characteristics is what stable, high-performance operation requires. 

Scope of Tissue Converting Work

AMS works across the full tissue converting process, integrating mechanical, drive, and control system improvements. 

Engagements are typically driven by a specific limitation: maximum speed constraints, chronic tension instability, obsolescence in drive or PLC platforms, updated safety standards, or inconsistent product quality. In each case, we isolate the root cause and implement system-level solutions. 

Core areas of work include:

Winder and rewinder drive Systems

Sectionalized architectures for mandrel and surface winders, including coordinated motion control, draw regulation, and speed synchronization. Speed cycling increases throughput while maintaining transfer reliability covering bath tissue, household towel, and commercial towel products.

Multi-section tension control

Integrated control of unwind, embosser or laminator, and rewind sections. We maintain tension stability through coordinated feedback and control strategies tuned to the machine and product.

HMI and diagnostics

Operator interfaces designed for real-time visibility into machine state, fault conditions, and performance metrics. We build alarm structures and diagnostic routines so on-site personnel can troubleshoot quickly. 

Legacy control system modernization

For older equipment, migration of end-of-life PLCs and drives on Perini, PCMC, and similar OEM equipment. Enhancements include servo-based core insertion, rider roll control, and variable perforation capability.

Functional machine safety

We design safety systems to ISO 13849, including safety PLC implementation, safe motion functions, and integration with physical guarding systems.

Because AMS is not tied to a specific OEM or machine architecture, we apply consistent solutions across legacy and newer tissue converting equipment, regardless of manufacturer. 

Controls and Platform Integration

Control system architecture plays a critical role in system performance, maintainability, and future scalability. 

We have extensive experience with:

  • Rockwell Automation / Allen-Bradley platforms, including PowerFlex drives, Kinetix servo systems, and ControlLogix, GuardLogix, and CompactLogix PLCs 
  • Siemens platforms, including SINAMICS drive systems and S7 PLC families 

In addition, we implement mixed-platform systems where required. This includes: 

  • Common DC bus regenerative drive systems across multiple vendors 
  • Cross-platform communication over EtherNet/IP and other industrial protocols 
  • Integration between Siemens, Rockwell, and GE control environments 
  • Platform migrations and phased upgrades 

This matters particularly in facilities where equipment has evolved over time and standardization must be balanced with operational continuity.

Performance in Practice

A hardwound towel converting line upgrade illustrates the impact of a fully integrated approach. 

Initially, the original scope focused on a drive system replacement. Following analysis, we sectionalized the machine and implemented coordinated motion control across the unwind, embosser/calendar, core handling, and mandrel rewind sections, then added speed cycling. 

The system now operates at 2,500 feet per minute between transfers and 2,000 feet per minute during transfer events. Throughput increased by 20–30%, with improved tension stability, consistent roll finish diameter, and significantly reduced operator intervention. 

Ultimately, those gains came from aligning mechanical dynamics, drive performance, and control strategy with the process, not from any one piece of the system in isolation. 

Beyond throughput, we design these systems for maintainability. Because of this, good alarm handling, clear code organization, and diagnostic structures help your team troubleshoot in-house and reduce reliance on outside support.

Tissue Converting Within Paper Converting

While tissue converting sits within the broader paper converting category, it has higher sensitivity to tension variation and greater dependence on coordinated tissue machine automation and coordinated motion control. 

Common Questions About Tissue Converting Automation

A few things customers and engineers typically ask before starting a conversation with us.

Tissue converting automation centers on the drive and control systems that coordinate machine sections. Specifically, the goal is keeping the unwind, embosser/laminator, and rewind sections in sync through every speed change, product changeover, and transfer event. When those sections stay coordinated, the result is stable tension management and consistent winding performance across continuous multi-shift operation. In older machines, that often starts with replacing a mechanical line shaft arrangement with sectionalized servo drives. For newer equipment, it might mean modernizing a controls platform that’s aging out or adding capabilities the original equipment never had.

A mechanical line shaft connects machine sections through belts, pulleys, and a shared shaft to maintain the speed relationship between them. That works within a narrow operating range, but it’s sensitive to process variation and limits how much control you have over tension and winding profile. Instead, sectionalization replaces that arrangement with independently controlled servo axes, one per section. From there, motion control software handles the coordination. Each section now runs its own feedback loop, giving you precise draw control, dynamic speed ratio adjustment, repeatable product changeover recipes, and better winding profile control. In addition, this architecture supports speed cycling. As a result, running faster between transfers than during them becomes one of the most reliable ways to increase throughput on a rewinder without touching the machine itself.

Usually it’s one of four things: a drive or PLC platform that’s no longer supported and parts are getting hard to find; chronic tension instability that the operations team has been managing around for years; a throughput ceiling the machine keeps hitting; or a safety system that hasn’t kept pace with ISO 13849. Typically, projects start with a drive system retrofit or sectionalization scope, although the scope often expands once we’ve done a proper site assessment and understand the full picture. Because each facility is different, we don’t scope the work until we’ve seen the machine.

We work on mandrel-style and surface winders from multiple manufacturers, including Perini and PCMC equipment. Unlike OEM suppliers, we’re not tied to any single machine architecture. As a result, we apply consistent solutions across legacy and newer converting equipment, regardless of manufacturer. We can also add capabilities the original machine never had: servo core insertion, rider roll control, and variable perforation, without replacing it.

The most consistent results are throughput gains from speed cycling, more stable tension and winding profile, and less operator intervention. For example, on a hardwound towel line we sectionalized and implemented speed cycling on, throughput increased 20 to 30 percent, tension stability improved, and roll finish diameter became more consistent. Beyond throughput, predictable maintenance is another outcome. When the controls follow a clear logic and the diagnostics point directly to the problem, the maintenance team can troubleshoot without calling us. That’s intentional — we build the system so your team can own it.

Work With Applied Motion Systems

The most effective projects start with a clearly defined constraint, speed limitations, instability, or obsolescence, and a line that has already been pushed to its practical limits.
We design and implement systems that address those constraints at the mechanical and control system levels, with a focus on long-term stability and performance under continuous operation. Whether you are evaluating targeted upgrades to tissue converting equipment or tissue machine automation systems, AMS can support both.

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