Voith deploys pneumatic full-width monitoring to eliminate suction roll guesswork

The shift from reactive to predictive maintenance in wet sections

As we navigate the operational challenges of July 2026, paper mills globally continue to battle one of the most persistent causes of unplanned downtime: the sudden loss of vacuum in the wet end. Addressing this critical vulnerability, Voith Paper has officially launched SealView NG, a pneumatic-based continuous monitoring system designed specifically to track the wear of suction roll sealing strips. This development marks a significant departure from traditional maintenance protocols, which have historically relied on fixed-interval replacement schedules or subjective estimates.

Suction rolls in industrial papermaking operate continuously under extreme humidity and mechanical friction. The sealing strips form the critical mechanical boundary containing the applied vacuum, but direct visual inspection during operation is impossible. When friction degrades a sealing strip past its operational threshold, vacuum pressure drops sharply. This pressure loss destabilizes web transfer, degrades dewatering performance, and forces emergency machine shutdowns. Conversely, replacing strips prematurely on arbitrary schedules wastes usable component life and inflates consumables expenditure.

Pneumatic sensing over electrical vulnerability

The core innovation of SealView NG lies in its pneumatic architecture. Electrical sensors situated inside wet suction rolls often face premature failure, corrosion, or short circuits due to fluid ingress. By deploying a pneumatic-based operating principle, Voith avoids sensitive electrical sensing points inside the damp shell while continuously calculating mechanical wear. Rather than relying on localized spot measurements, the pneumatic circuit tracks wear across the entire operational width of the sealing strip. This uniform monitoring detects uneven profile degradation and edge wear before localized air leakage compromises overall machine vacuum.

• Full-width tracking: Detects uneven wear profiles across the entire roll, outperforming traditional spot-check methods.
• Standalone edge integration: Functions entirely on-premise without requiring an external cloud or internet connection, eliminating cybersecurity risks.
• Local visual feedback: A local LED display delivers instant wear status directly at the machine frame.
• Universal compatibility: Engineered for broad operational compatibility across variable industrial mill voltages and all major suction roll brands.

Operational impact and spare parts optimization

The system converts real-time wear progression into an exact calculation of remaining service life. Halim Takhedmit, Digital Product Manager Fabric & Roll Systems at Voith Paper, emphasizes that this technology gives operators a clear picture of the wear status of their sealing strips, allowing them to plan maintenance more efficiently and avoid premature roll changes. Mechanical integration can occur during planned maintenance cycles through Voith Mechanical Roll Service Centers, making the upgrade path relatively frictionless for existing production lines.

By shifting from time-based to condition-based maintenance, mills can optimize their procurement strategies, ordering spare parts precisely when the data dictates rather than holding excess inventory or risking stockouts during emergency breakdowns. In an industry where machine availability dictates profitability, eliminating the guesswork from suction roll maintenance is a tangible operational victory.

Voith’s decision to bypass cloud dependency in favor of a localized, pneumatic edge system is a masterclass in understanding the actual, gritty reality of paper mill floors. As predictive maintenance becomes standard, will we see a complete phase-out of time-based replacement schedules across all wet-end components by the end of the decade? Follow The Paper for daily news, market signals and key updates from the global paper, corrugated and packaging industry. — Sigue toda la actualidad del sector en www.thepaper.ai