This invention relates to a method for crimping a web of material for the tobacco industry, including the following steps: feeding a web of material for the tobacco industry along a feed path; crimping the web between two crimping rollers operatively coupled to make a plurality of longitudinal easy folding lines on the web; measuring a value of a thickness of the web before the step of crimping;
The step of crimping the web is adjusted as a function of the thickness value measured during the step of measuring.

There is provided a method of making rods having predetermined values of cross-sectional porosity, and a cross-sectional porosity distribution value for use as an aerosol-forming substrate in a heated aerosol-generating article, including providing a continuous sheet of aerosol-forming material having a specified width and a specified thickness; gathering the sheet transversely relative to a longitudinal axis thereof; circumscribing the gathered sheet with a wrapper to form a continuous rod; severing the rod into a plurality of discrete rods; determining values of cross-sectional porosity and cross-sectional porosity distribution for at least one of the discrete rods; and controlling one or more manufacturing parameters to ensure that the cross-sectional porosity and cross-sectional porosity distribution values of subsequent rods are within the predetermined values.

A filter element suitable for use in smoking articles may include: cellulose acetate fibers bonded together using polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) surrounding the cellulose acetate fibers, bonded together using PHA on surfaces of the cellulose acetate fibers, and/or bonded together using PHA. A process for producing the filter element suitable for use in the smoking articles may include: embedding a bundle of the cellulose acetate fibers with an aqueous suspension of the PHA to obtain a wet bundle of the cellulose acetate fibers covered by the aqueous suspension; shaping the wet bundle into a continuous elongated element; heating the elongated element to temperature greater than or equal to 140 C. and less than or equal to 180 C. to melt the PHA and to evaporate water from the elongated element; cooling the heated elongated element to obtain crystallization of the PHA; and/or cutting the elongated element into segments.

A machine for producing multi-segment rods for use in tobacco industry, the machine comprising: at least one feeding module for placing segments in a train, one after the other, on a collecting transporter for transporting the segments along a predefined transporting path in a direction towards a garniture transporter; a transferring module for transferring the segments from the collecting transporter onto the garniture transporter; the garniture transporter for transporting segments on a wrapper; a garniture device for wrapping the wrapper around the train of the segments to form a continuous rod; a cutting head for cutting the continuous rod into multi-segment rods; and a shifting mechanism for dislocating the collecting transporter with respect to the predefined transporting path to a cleaning position, wherein the segments while being transported on the collecting transporter are not in contact with any of the feeding modules.

A method for reducing stress of a garniture belt in a tobacco industry machine for manufacturing rods from a continuous rod comprising a filling material wrapped by a wrapper, the continuous rod being formed on the garniture belt being driven in a garniture channel of a garniture device, wherein the garniture device comprises a filling material receiving section, a rod diameter setting section and a rod stabilizing section, wherein the machine comprises at least one feeding unit for feeding the filling material onto the wrapper being transported on the garniture belt, a glue feeding unit, a cutting head for cutting the continuous rod into the rods, the method comprising adjusting a resistance of motion of the garniture belt by: reducing the resistance of motion of the garniture belt in the filling material receiving section by adjusting positions of guiding bars for guiding the garniture belt so that a width of the garniture channel in the filling material receiving section is greater than a width of the garniture channel in the rod diameter setting section, and/or reducing the resistance of motion of the garniture belt in the rod stabilizing section by adjusting positions of guiding bars for guiding the garniture belt so that a width of the garniture channel in the rod stabilizing section is greater than the width of the garniture channel in the rod diameter setting section.

The present invention relates to a filter manufacturing apparatus comprising: a feed path adapted to continuously feed a filter material along a longitudinal transport direction; a forming device connected to a terminating end of the feed path and adapted to form the filter material into a continuous filter body and to deliver the formed continuous filter body, the forming device including: a tubular element (8) adapted to allow the filter material to pass therethrough to form the filter tow material into the continuous filter body; and a steam generator (9) adapted to produce steam, the steam generator being in fluid communication with the tubular element to supply steam to the filter material; a drain channel (10) in fluid communication with the tubular element adapted to drain fluid from the tubular element; a valve adapted to open and close the drain channel so as to allow or block discharge of fluid from the tubular element.

The invention relates to a method for the ultrasonic welding of a strip consisting of a plastic material for the production of cigarette products, in which method the strip has two free ends which are heated in a connection region by means of ultrasound and joined together to form a closed strip. Ultrasound at a frequency of more than 22 kHz is used.

The apparatus for shaping substantially flat continuous material comprises a shaping device for gathering substantially flat continuous material transverse to a longitudinal direction of the continuous material to form a gathered continuous material. The apparatus further comprises a cooling device for cooling the gathered continuous material. The shaping device and the cooling device are combined such as to immediately cool the gathered continuous material.

The apparatus for shaping substantially flat continuous material comprises a shaping device (500) for gathering substantially flat continuous material transverse to a longitudinal direction of the continuous material to form a gathered continuous material. The apparatus further comprises a cooling device (75) for cooling the gathered continuous material. The shaping device and the cooling device are combined such as to immediately cool the gathered continuous material.

The object of the application is an apparatus for the manufacturing of rods of a continuous material strand comprising a feeding unit for feeding the material strand, a guiding unit for guiding the material strand, a compressing unit for compressing the strand and forming a continuous rod of the material strand, and an object feeding unit for feeding an object to the compressing unit, the apparatus being adapted to feed three partial strands of the material strand, whereas the partial strands are fed through the guiding unit to the compressing unit characterised in that the object feeding unit is adapted to insert the object in the radial direction of the formed continuous rod into the compressing unit between the partial strands. The object of the application is also a method for the manufacturing of rods of the continuous material strand.