The boundless technology of Wet Embossing

With the AirMill, we have introduced wet embossing technology to the world of tissue. An innovative system capable of overturning the rules of a production process that has always seen the use of water only in the paper mill.   

Water is mostly associated with the heavy and material phase of reel production: a process in which cellulose and water pass through gigantic machines that generate steam in humid and noisy environments. On the contrary, in a converting plant, paper is transformed with more basic machinery, combined in lines developed in length, in clean and dry environments.   

With our wet embosser, water enters the converting process, bringing with it an inexhaustible source of innovation in the finished product, while maintaining and improving the cleanliness typical of that process.   

At Gambini, our two production plants are supported by a research and development center: the TissueHub, which hosts a fully equipped, full-size pilot line – a real converting plant, capable of producing rolls that are unique in terms of quality and have the same physical and mechanical characteristics as those sold on the market.   

This is where the AirMill, the first and only wet embosser, was born. This is where we dared to introduce water into the converting process and discovered the enormous scope of this application.   

A discovery that has all the magnitude of a revolution: water, a typical element of papermaking, is integrated into converting, finding its own space – until now unexplored – within the process.   

We do not yet know all the benefits that this technology can offer, nor the potential applications for the different markets and for the specific needs of each customer and product. In fact, AirMill is constantly being tested and developed at the TissueHub, which today is a permanent laboratory dedicated to wet embossing (and more), with the aim of taking advantage of every possible benefit of this new technology.   

 

AirMill applications continue to surprise us, creating new possibilities in the tissue market. The latest noteworthy one is undoubtedly the one we have named “C-TAD Punta-calda”. 

Through a particular embossing pattern, achieved thanks to our collaboration with Saueressig, the AirMill is now capable of obtaining a thickness between the plies that exceeds that of the system widely known as “Point-to-Point” (“Punta-punta”), particularly popular in the South American market.   

The traditional “P-t-P” system involves a technologically complex process: the roller embosses an identical decoration on both plies, which are then coupled, making the tips match so that the thickness increases significantly. This process requires accurate synchronization, which implies the presence of specialized operators, constant and expensive maintenance, as well as a production speed limited to just 400 m/min.   

PatternLab, the Gambini department dedicated to new patterns, has developed an embossing decoration designed to exploit the potential of the AirMill and obtain a “P-t-P” comparable result in terms of thickness, but through a simpler and, above all, cheaper and faster method.   

The shape of the new roller allows full advantage to be taken of the use of water and heat, the combination of which can increase the thickness of the plies and reach a height greater than that of the “P-t-P.” This happens thanks to the embossing process performed by the AirMill and the subsequent lamination, without the need for synchronization steps that would slow down the process. The new roller allows the paper to reach this thickness at a speed of 600 m/min, redefining the standards of the “Point-to-Point” production known to date.   

Ours is a simplified system, which does not require the intervention of expert technicians or any specialized maintenance, and which allows the line to obtain the same results at a lower cost and in less time.   

The “C-TAD Punta-calda” is yet another demonstration of the versatility of the AirMill – and of the validity of the C-TAD “concept”, of which it is a further development – capable of always finding new and innovative applications.   

Its uses have led, so far, to unexpected results in many aspects of the paper, helping to innovate and bring improved solutions to each of its applications.   

From “boosted” products, where the volume of the roll is increased or the strength is preserved, to the economic savings in terms of cellulose used in the paper mill, up to the paper with a textured appearance “comparable” to TAD (C-TAD).   

Wet embossing is a revolutionary technology that is constantly evolving, inexhaustible, and surprising, and we are excited to develop it every day at the TissueHub: a place open to any company interested in testing the AirMill first-hand and working on product tests that are realistic in every aspect. 

This article was written by the Gambini team. You can learn more about the company and its solutions by visiting their website.