How a Powered Prestretch Carriage Works

Why Replace Pre-Stretch Rollers?   

Have you ever seen pre-stretch represented as a percentage and wondered ‘What does that really mean?’ If you are just getting familiar with pallet wrap lingo, you might not know what it means when a stretch wrapper boasts “variable pre-stretch up to 450%” or why that is such a great feature.

When a stretch wrapper is used to apply stretch film to a pallet, the film is elongated using a pre-stretch carriage on a wrapper. The film gets pulled between the rollers, thus stretched prior to being applied to the load. This is called pre-stretch.

Why is this important?

Film that is stretched properly will hold the load more securely, be more cost effective, and lead to a more productive plant. This is because properly maintained pre-stretch tends to minimize film breaks when wrapping skids. As you can see, there are a variety of reasons why you would want to replace your pre-stretch rollers.

What are some signs that your rollers need to be replaced:

-The rollers contain debris, cuts, and rough edges.

-The rollers are bald. Like a car tire, after much use the tread or grooves tend to smooth out.

-The roller shafts are worn where they spin in their top and bottom bearings.