A medium supplying apparatus with a detachable rolled medium is provided. In the medium supplying apparatus, the rolled medium is fed to a far side of a setting-and-removing direction of the rolled medium. The medium supplying apparatus includes a plurality of guide members configured to guide the rolled medium when the rolled medium is set. The guide members include at least one contact member which at least partially contacts only a lower outer periphery of the rolled medium and at least one auxiliary member which does not contact the outer periphery of the rolled medium. The contact member and the auxiliary member are connected at a base via the same rotary shaft. The auxiliary member is shorter than the contact member in a medium feeding direction, and is disposed in parallel with the contact member.

A bag-making and packaging machine includes a film supply unit that supplies film to a bag-making and packaging unit. The film supply unit has a film roll holding unit that rotatably holds a first film roll, a film temporary placement member on which a vicinity of a leading end portion of a first film wound into the first film roll is manually temporarily placed when attaching the first film roll to the film roll holding unit, a leading end portion detection sensor configured to detect that the leading end portion of the first film is positioned in a prescribed position, and a controller configured to control a rotating mechanism to convey the first film along a predetermined conveyance path until the leading end portion detection sensor detects that the leading end portion of the first film is positioned in the prescribed position.

Systems and methods are disclosed for starting a strip material in a substrate processing machine wherein the machine is not stopped and/or operators do not have to reach into the running machine to start the strip material. Exemplary systems include a strip material guide apparatus including at least one guide arm and at least one gas stream generator configured to direct strip material from the guide arm into a substrate processing machine to join the strip material with one or more running substrates. The gas stream generator is operable to cause a leading end of a strip material dispensed from the guide arm to be conveyed via a gas stream toward the running substrates, such that the leading end of the strip material becomes engaged by the substrate processing machine and the strip material joins with the running substrate.

A production method for a glass roll includes a start preparation step (S1) of feeding-out a first lead film (LF1) coupled to a starting end portion (GFa) of a first glass film (GF1) from an unwinding device (3) and allowing a winding device (8) to wind the first lead film (LF1 after passing of the first lead film (LF1) through a thermal film-forming device (4),). The start preparation step (S1) includes a temperature increasing step of causing the thermal film-forming device (4) to be increased in temperature to a film-forming temperature. The first glass film (GF1) reaches the thermal film-forming device (4) before the thermal film-forming device (4) is increased in temperature to the film-forming temperature.

A system has first and second winding drums and a core feeder for inserting a core into a winding nest for forming a convoluted roll. The leading edge of the web is engaged with a threading belt and directed around the first winding drum and through the winding nest to a position where the leading edge is beyond where the core feeder inserts the core into the winding nest thus providing an excess portion of the web between the leading edge and the core feeder core insertion position. A thread-up core is inserted into the winding nest and rotated with the winding drums so that the excess portion moves around the thread-up core. The leading edge is separated from the threading belt, the excess portion of the web is wound around the thread-up core, and the web from the supply is wound around the thread-up core.

A sheet feeding device includes a support that detachably supports a roll, a rotation driver that rotates a spool, a guide including a facing portion and a guide portion, a support shaft that swingably supports the guide, a biasing member that presses the guide, a sensor that retractably projects from the facing portion and outputs a detection signal, a roller that contacts an outer circumferential surface of the roll, and circuitry that controls the rotation driver. The circuitry determines a passing time based on a first change rate and a second change rate, and causes the rotation driver to rotate the spool by a predetermined angle in a winding direction, from the passing time, to position a leading end of a continuous sheet at a feeding start position, and rotates the spool in the feeding direction to feed the continuous sheet from the feeding start position along the guide portion.

A self-threading lamination head has a material supply drum, a backing layer collection drum, and a material threading system. The material supply drum supports a material roll of layup material backed by a backing layer. The material threading system includes at least one threading belt located on one side of the lamination head. The threading belt is supported by belt rollers driven by a belt drive motor. A belt-mounted layer engagement device is coupled to the threading belt for engaging a backing layer leading edge portion. The backing layer collection drum collects the backing layer as the lamination head applies the layup material onto a substrate. The belt drive motor drives the threading belt over the belt rollers and causes the belt-mounted layer engagement device to thread the backing layer through the lamination head, and position the backing layer leading edge portion proximate the backing layer collection drum.

A handling device having a holder for gripping web-shaped packaging material, which holder has a curvature in the longitudinal direction of the holder. When the packaging material is gripped by the handling device, a free end section of the packaging material is arched in the transverse direction of the packaging material and projects out from the handling device to be inserted into a processing station of a packaging machine.

A machine for producing disposable products anticipates when a current run of a product size is coming to an end, and therefore begins loading of material rolls intended for the next product size or code that will be run. An integrated production facility layout automatically orders and stocks raw material based on production plans, and commands a production machine to produce specific products of differing configurations, and automatically loads appropriately sized raw materials into the process.

A roll sheet, in which a continuous sheet is wound in a roll form, is caused to rotate in a forward direction to supply the sheet to a printing unit. First and second sensors are arranged at positions facing an outer circumferential surface of the roll sheet and deviated in an axis line direction of the roll sheet. Outputs of the first and second sensors are changed in accordance with a distance to a sheet of the roll sheet. A rotation direction of the roll sheet is switched from a forward direction to a reverse direction on the basis of the outputs of the first and second sensors while the roll sheet is being rotated in the reverse direction.