RICKY LOVELAND

OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE

Paper Machine
Sheet Forming

06.06.2024 C L A S S I F I C AT I O N / P R E S E N TAT I O N / A U T H O R 1
Webinars in the Series
• Webinar No. 1 - A General Knowledge of Paper Machine
Formers
• Webinar No. 2 - Critical Headbox Variables and Geometries for
Sheet Forming
• Webinar No. 3 - Paper Machine Former Audits

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Paper Machine Sheet Forming
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R I C K Y L O V E L A N D – O P E R AT I O N A L E X C E L L E N C E 06/06/2024 3
A General Knowledge of Paper Machine Formers.

Agenda

• Primary Former Elements

• Fourdrinier
• Gap Former
• Hybrid/Multiply Former

• Specific Operational Considerations of

Key Elements for each Former

• Forming Fabrics

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Paper Machine Sheet Forming

Fourdrinier Machine Formers

(The “Fourdrinier Machine” was actually patented in England by John Gamble. The name Fourdrinier did not come from the British
patent but from Sealy and Henry Fourdrinier, stationers of London, who agreed to finance the project.)

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Elements of a Fourdrinier Table
1 7
9
3 4 5 6 8

10
15
2

14 12
11
13

1 - Headbox 6 - Low Vac. Boxes 11 - Couch Roll

2 - Breast Roll 7 - Dandy Roll 12 - Stretch Roll
3 - Forming Board 8 - High Vac. Boxes 13 - Wire Return Rolls
4 - Table Rolls 9 - Lump Breaker 14 - Forming Fabric
5 - Foil Boxes 10 - Wire Turning Roll 15 - White Water Tray

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Elements of a Fourdrinier Table
Lead Edge – Not showing any
Slice Lip Free Jet
cut through prior forming board
Headbox and Jet
Impingement Multi-blade board, may be as
few as only three elements

Forming
Apron Body Breast Roll Board

Forming board “setup” is critical to performance. The distance from the apron determines the
“free jet length” and the associated jet angle. Forming boards should be set level to the plane
of the wire from the breast roll and first trailing drainage unit. Many forming boards are set
0.010” low on the lead edge to minimize wire wear.

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Elements of a Fourdrinier Table
1 7
9
3 4 5 6 8

10
15
2

14 12
11
13

1 - Headbox 6 - Low Vac. Boxes 11 - Couch Roll

2 - Breast Roll 7 - Dandy Roll 12 - Stretch Roll
3 - Forming Board 8 - High Vac. Boxes 13 - Wire Return Rolls
4 - Table Rolls 9 - Lump Breaker 14 - Forming Fabric
5 - Foil Boxes 10 - Wire Turning Roll 15 - White Water Tray

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Elements of a Fourdrinier Table

Breast Roll
Typically a hard rubber roll located below the apron lip. The roll and cover must be build with
high precision and aligned to the apron lip in all axis. Proper clearance between the bottom
on the apron and the breast roll is critical(0.250” – 0.350”). The breast roll should be typically
be doctored with DST style doctor.
Forming Board
The forming board supports the forming fabric at the point of jet impingement from the slice.
Forming boards are typically ceramic elements for wear resistance. The number of blades in
a forming board may vary depending on the amount of drainage desired at this stage of the
table. The jet should contact the fabric prior to the lead edge of the forming board to prevent
air from following the bottom side of the fabric. The forming board, breast roll, slice lip, and
apron must all be level and square to each other. Water removal must be uniform from front
to back of the forming board.

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Elements of a Fourdrinier Table

Table Rolls
Table rolls were installed on early machines to support the fabric during sheet forming. As
machine speeds increased drainage was increased by the “vacuum pulse” generated by the
outgoing nip of the wire and roll. This pulse became greater and greater as speeds increased
and eventually was detrimental to sheet formation. Table rolls are typically not seen on
machines running over 1800 fpm.
Foil Blades
Foil blades replaced table rolls as machine speeds increased. A foil blade has a contact
surface with the fabric and an angled surface to the plane of the fabric. Blade angles are
typically 0 to 4 degrees. These angles again create a vacuum pulse to assist in dewatering
the sheet. These pulses are determined by the blade angle, length of the blade, and the
machine speed. Proper management of these pulses can be beneficial to sheet formation,
improper management can be extremely detrimental.

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Elements of a Fourdrinier Table
Land Area Plane of Diverging Angle -
of Foil the Wire 1°,2°,3°

Travel Direction of
Wire

Dewatering Wire
length
Deflection
Standard Foil Design Step Foil Design – “Unfoil”

Several Non-standard foil blade designs exist include adjustable

angles, step angles, curved surfaces, or ramps in the divergent
section.
Recent technology has introduced a foil section with adjustable angles
and adjustable heights of each individual foil. (I – Table)

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Elements of a Fourdrinier Table

Pressure/Vacuum Pressure/Vacuum Pressure/Vacuum

Pulse with a Table Pulse with a Foil Box Pulse with a Vacuum
Roll Foil Box

Table Roll Foil Box Vacuum Foil

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Elements of a Fourdrinier Table

Table Activity Caused by Foil Blades

Stock jump
caused by wire
deflection

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Elements of a Fourdrinier Table

“Stock jump” on a Fourdrinier table

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Elements of a Fourdrinier Table

Table harmonics also play a role in

optimizing formation and sheet
dewatering. Harmonics should be
uniform in the early part of the table
with a desired frequency greater than
75 Hz for sheet formation.

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Elements of a Fourdrinier Table

Calculation of table harmonics

Wire speed = 2400 fpm or 40 fps

Foil spacing = 6 inches or 0.5 feet

40 fps ÷ 0.5 feet = 80 Hz (Cycles per second)

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Elements of a Fourdrinier Table
1 7
9
3 4 5 6 8

10
15
2

14 12
11
13

1 – Headbox 6 – Low Vac. Boxes 11- Couch Roll

2 - Breast Roll 7 – Dandy Roll 12 - Stretch Roll
3 – Forming Board 8 – High Vac. Boxes 13 – Wire Return Rolls
4 – Table Rolls 9 – Lump Breaker 14 – Forming Fabric
5 – Foil Boxes 10 – Wire Turning Roll 15 – White Water Tray

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Elements of a Fourdrinier Table
Low Vacuum Boxes(Orthoflo Boxes)
Low vacuum boxes are common after the foil section, or gravity drainage section,
these boxes typically have a flat top with an open area of 50 to 75%. The maximum
vacuum on these units is relatively low and dictated by a seal leg which is within the
tray of the table (Vacuum levels may range in the 0 to 10” of water). A vacuum
blower is normally employed to remove air from the box. Large quantities of water
can be removed from these boxes, but the sheet is normally “set” at this point in the
process so there is little effect on formation.

Dandy Roll
The dandy roll is a wire covered open cylinder resting on
the surface of the sheet. The roll will disrupt the flocks in
the top portion of the sheet and improve overall
formation. A dandy roll operation becomes more difficult
as the machine speeds up. Issues often consist of stock
sticking to the roll or water being cast off from the roll.
Dandy rolls have been replaced with top-wire formers in
newer installations.

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Elements of a Fourdrinier Table

High Vacuum Boxes

To achieve further drainage on the table beyond 3 – 4 % solids, high vacuum boxes must be used. These boxes are
normally connected to a vacuum pump with the capability of as much as 20” Hg. Even though these boxes are
capable of such vacuum, the vacuum levels are typically graduated from 1 to 12” Hg. Any higher vacuum has very
diminishing returns with regard to solids improvement, but a significant factor in wire wear and energy usage to drive
the former (High vacuum boxes can account for 80% of the load to turn the fabric). It is common to see DuoFlo or
TriFlo boxes with either 2 or 3 separate chambers within an individual box.
Dry Line
Once the sheet reaches 4 – 5% solids the “water mirror” look will disappear indicating that air is initially being sucked
through the sheet. This more or less straight cross-machine line is referred to as the dry line. An erratic dry line may
indicate profile issues, movement of the dry line towards the couch or back towards the headbox indicates changes
in drainage.

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Elements of a Fourdrinier Table
1 7
9
3 4 5 6 8

10
15
2

14 12
11
13

1 – Headbox 6 – Low Vac. Boxes 11- Couch Roll

2 - Breast Roll 7 – Dandy Roll 12 - Stretch Roll
3 – Forming Board 8 – High Vac. Boxes 13 – Wire Return Rolls
4 – Table Rolls 9 – Lump Breaker 14 – Forming Fabric
5 – Foil Boxes 10 – Wire Turning Roll 15 – White Water Tray

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Elements of a Fourdrinier Table
Couch Roll
The primary function of the couch roll is the final dewatering of the sheet before the press. Typical sheet solids
leaving the former into the press should be greater that 20%. The roll is a hollow perforated shell typically made of
bronze or stainless steel. The roll may have one or two vacuum boxes inside to remove water front the sheet. A
single box roll may have as much as 20” Hg vacuum. A dual box roll will have a low and high vacuum, typically 14
and 20” respectively. Very little water is ever pulled into the roll, most is cast off by centrifugal force once the holes
are past the vacuum zone. The second function of the couch roll is to aid in the driving of the fabric.
Lumpbreaker Roll
The purpose of this roll is to press the web against the upstream seal of the couch roll suction box, thus increasing
couch roll drainage. Several operating issues are associated with lumpbreaker rolls, the most common being the
sheet sticking to the roll or “picking”.

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Elements of a Fourdrinier Table
Wire Turning Roll
The fabric is drawn by the couch and the wire turning roll. The load split between the two roll
is normally 40/60, with the wire turning roll taking the majority of the load. The wire turning roll
is normally the speed reference and control for the former and the machine as a whole. A
wire turning roll is necessary anytime there is a suction pickup roll for sheet transfer into the
press section.
Stretch Roll
The stretch roll is critical to fabric operation and performance. The rolls sole purpose is to
tighten the fabric to it’s designed pli. Wire tension is a critical element to sheet formation. If
you look at the forming fabric as a piece of clothe, if you pull it too tight the strands will
become closer together closing up the fabric. If the fabric is not pulled tight enough, it will
have slack areas which many cause profile issues or it may not guide properly.

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Water Removal on a Fourdrinier Table

30
Percent of Total
0 15

Relative Water Removal

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Water Removal on a Fourdrinier Table
2.8 20.5
2.6 19.0

Percent Consistency
Percent Consistency
2.4 17.5
2.2 16.0
2.0 14.5
1.8 13.0
1.6 11.5
1.4 9.0
1.2 7.5
1.0 6.0
0.8 4.5
0.6 3.0

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Paper Machine Sheet Forming

Gap/Roll/Hybrid Formers

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Paper Machine Sheet Forming
The fourdrinier table has a practical upper limit speed limit of about
3250 fpm due to operating and sheet quality constraints. In speeds
over 3250 fpm it is preferred to form the sheet between two fabrics,
draining through both at the same time. These formers may fall into
the classes of either a gap former, a roll former, or a hybrid former.
In a gap/roll former, the jet discharges into the converging nip between
two forming fabrics. On a hybrid former, initial drainage will take place
on what would resemble a fourdrinier followed by drainage through a
shorter top wire.

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Primary Elements of a Gap Former
Wire Return Roll

Wire Guide Roll Forming Zone Couch Roll

Wire Return Roll

Backing Fabric
Conveying Fabric

Wire
Turning Roll
Stretch Roll

Headbox
Wire Turning Roll
Wash Roll Mt. Hope Roll Mt. Hope Roll Wash Roll Stretch Roll
Slice
Forming Roll Breast Roll
Beloit BelBaie III Former

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Primary Elements of a Gap Former
Forming Zone

Wire Return Roll Couch Roll Wire Return Roll

Sheet Travel

Wash Roll
Wire Turning Roll Slice Wash Roll Wire Turning Roll
Headbox
Mt. Hope Roll Mt. Hope Roll

Voith Duoformer

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Primary Elements of a Gap Former
Couch Roll
Forming Zone

Forming Roll
Flatboxes

Slice Couch Roll

Headbox

Couch Roll
Breast Roll Transfer Box

Beloit Horizontal BelBaie III

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Forming Zone of a Gap Former

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Forming Zone of a Gap Former
Deflector
Couch Roll
Breast Roll – fixed
position roll. Vacuum Box
Forming Shoe – curved (Flat box)
ceramic bladed shoe, may
or may not have vacuum
applied.
Forming Roll –
adjustable position roll
use to open or close
forming gap. Deflector
Forming Gap – distance
between the breast roll
and forming roll, it
Forming Shoe
determines the
convergence of the two
fabrics.
Deflector – positioned to
direct water from the Forming Gap
inside of the fabric into
the tray. Forming Roll
Breast Roll
Basic Forming Zone – Beloit
BelBaie II & III, Valmet Speed Slice
Headbox
Former, & Voith Duoformer
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Forming Zone of a Gap Former
“Counter Blades”
in a Gap Former

Counter blades have been installed

in gap formers to improve overall
formation and drainage by providing
additional pulses within the forming
zone.

Counter
Blades
Installation

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Forming Zone of a Gap Former
Counter Blades Pulsation

Top Blades Bottom Blades

Pressure
Amplitudes
The bottom blades can be loaded or
unloaded varying the magnitude of
pulse.

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Forming Zone of a Gap Former
Headbox Jet Placement

Jet placement is critical for gap formers.

The formers are known for improved
formation but the forming zone is much
shorter and the drainage is more
dramatic. The jet from the headbox will
be ”trapped” very quickly between the
fabrics. The angle of impingement may
be as low as 2º into the plain of the
fabric. The jet must not contact the breast
or forming rolls to prevent “pumping”, and
there cannot be any droplets of water
coming from either forming fabric. The
balance of sheet formation and first pass
retention is hinged on headbox jet
placement in these formers.

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Primary Elements of a Hybrid Former(Top Wire)
Top Wire
Forming
Headbox
Zone

Couch Roll

Breast Roll Forming Board Low Vac. Boxes Transfer Wire Turning
Foil Boxes Roll
Box

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Sheet Formation and Structure

Uni-directional flow
of water

Matt Formation on a Fourdrinier Former

Bi-directional flow
of water

Matt Formation on a Gap/Roll Former

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Sheet Formation and Structure
Fines and Filler Distribution
of a Fourdrinier Sheet

20
In a fourdrinier sheet all the
drainage is through the
bottom of the sheet. This

Percent Sheet Ash

15
allows for much of the fines
and fillers to be washed out of
this side of the sheet on the
bottom side through the

10
forming fabric. As the sheet
begins to form, the
subsequent mat holds more

5
and more of these fines and
fillers establishing a very “two-

0
sided” sheet with respect to Wire Side of Felt Side of
ash and fines distribution. Sheet (Bottom Sheet (Top
Side) Side)

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Sheet Formation and Structure
Fines and Filler Distribution
of a Gap/Hybrid Former

20
Sheet
In a gap former now the
drainage is split through both

Percent Sheet Ash

15
sides of the sheet, this allows
for a much uniform distribution
of the fines and fillers. There
may still be differences in the

10
fines and fillers distribution of
a twin wire sheet, with much
of the difference being

5
attributed to jet placement,
vacuum applied, forming zone

0
or forming fabric design, and Wire Side of Felt Side of
even press dewatering. Sheet (Bottom Sheet (Top
Side) Side)

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Paper Machine Sheet Forming

Multi-ply Formers

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Paper Machine Sheet Forming – Multi-ply

Once again Multi-ply formers come in many shapes and styles and
may range from two plies to an 8-ply sheet. The designs range
from cylinder formers, to multiple fourdrinier formers, to a
combination of gap/roll formers and fourdrinier formers

Paperboard Machine with Four Fourdrinier Type Formers

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Paper Machine Sheet Forming – Multi-ply
Many of the aspects of sheet forming with a Multi-ply sheet
are exactly the same as either a fourdrinier or gap/hybrid
former…with one major exception of the “Combining Roll”
where the individual plies are married together.

Combining Rolls

Multi-ply Former with 3 Fourdriniers, Two Hybrid Formers, and a Secondary Headbox

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Paper Machine Sheet Forming – Multi-ply
The combining roll, the individual ply consistency, and
the roll’s “loading” into the subsequent ply all play a
significant role in the multi-ply sheet strength.

Combining Rolls

Multi-ply Former with 3 Fourdriniers, Two Hybrid Formers, and a Secondary Headbox

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Operational Considerations for a Paper Machine Former

Showers and Wire Cleaning

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Elements of a Fourdrinier Table Flooded Nip
Shower –
Typical Shower Arrangement of High volume,
low pressure
a Fourdrinier Table used to
remove fiber
or debris from
the fabric or
remove the
entire sheet
before
transfer into
the press
Breast Roll
Shower –
eliminates Wire Return
buildup on Roll Shower –
bottom of Typically “Sheet Knock
apron lip applied to a High Pressure Off” Shower –
Wire Return
doctor for roll High Pressure Inside Shower may be used
Roll Shower –
cleaning – used to to remove
Sheet Side Typically
Chemical dislodge sheet from
Shower – applied to a
Shower – debris by the fabric
used to doctor for roll
may be used forcing it before sheet
dislodge fiber cleaning
to apply through the is transferred
cleaner or or stickies fabric into press
passivation from the section
agent to wire. surface of the
fabric

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Operational Considerations for a Paper Machine Former

Fabric Cleaning

• All shower water used on the fabric should be the same pH and temperature as the
sheet, for this reason clear white water is commonly used. This water must be free
of fines and filler to prevent shower nozzle pluggage. A pluggage shower nozzle
can easy impact cleaning performance or even damage a fabric.

• Fiber Content – 0.35 lbs. of fiber per 1000 gallons of

water, filter through a 300 micron filter.
• Temperature – 0 to 5 degrees above sheet
temperature
• pH – Should be +/- 0.3 from sheet pH
• Chlorine Content – Must be less than 1 ppm.
• Hardness – Calcium hardness less than 70 – 90 mg/l.

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Elements of a Fourdrinier Table Flooded Nip
Shower –
Typical Shower Arrangement of High volume,
low pressure
a Fourdrinier Table used to
remove fiber
or debris from
the fabric or
remove the
entire sheet
before
transfer into
the press
Breast Roll
Shower –
eliminates Wire Return
buildup on Roll Shower –
bottom of Typically “Sheet Knock
apron lip applied to a High Pressure Off” Shower –
Wire Return
doctor for roll High Pressure Inside Shower may be used
Roll Shower –
cleaning – used to to remove
Sheet Side Typically
Chemical dislodge sheet from
Shower – applied to a
Shower – debris by the fabric
used to doctor for roll
may be used forcing it before sheet
dislodge fiber cleaning
to apply through the is transferred
cleaner or or stickies fabric into press
passivation from the section
agent to wire. surface of the
fabric

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Operational Considerations for a Paper Machine Former
Fabric Cleaning

• High pressure cleaning showers must oscillate and should have a variable speed
control tied to the fabric speed. Proper oscillator stroke is also required for ideal
cleaning. The shower should be 6 to 8 inches from the fabric and approximately
350 psi.

Cleaning Pattern of a High Pressure

Shower Oscillating too Fast

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Elements of a Fourdrinier Table Flooded Nip
Shower –
Typical Shower Arrangement of High volume,
low pressure
a Fourdrinier Table used to
remove fiber
or debris from
the fabric or
remove the
entire sheet
before
transfer into
the press
Breast Roll
Shower –
eliminates
Wire Return
buildup on
Roll Shower –
bottom of “Sheet Knock
Typically
apron lip High Pressure Off” Shower –
applied to a Wire Return
doctor for roll High Pressure Inside Shower may be used
Roll Shower –
cleaning – used to to remove
Sheet Side Typically
Chemical dislodge sheet from
Shower – applied to a
Shower – debris by the fabric
used to doctor for roll
may be used forcing it before sheet
dislodge fiber cleaning
to apply through the is transferred
cleaner or or stickies fabric into press
passivation from the section
agent to wire. surface of the
fabric

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Paper Machine Sheet Forming

Forming Fabrics

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Forming Fabrics

Forming fabrics have a great

impact on both paper quality and
paper machine performance.
Fabrics are often referred to as
“wires” as the early forming
fabrics were actually bronze
woven wires. Today’s
sophisticated forming fabrics are
technical designs of nylon aimed
at improved drainage, sheet
formation, and fabric life.

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Forming Fabrics

Physical fabric design parameters include:

• Weave pattern(one to three layers)

• Number of strands/sq. in.
• Diameter of the strands
• Thickness of the final product
• Number of knuckles/sq. in. on the sheet
side
• Percent machine direction stretch
• Percent cross machine contraction.

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Forming Fabrics

Practical fabric design parameters for sheet formation and drainage:

• % Drainage Area – Proportion of the fabric that is “open” for

drainage,
• Air Permeability – Controls impingement flow for a given headbox
and jet delivery.
• Fiber Support Index – The ability for the fabric to support or bridge
fiber.
• Drainage Index – An indicator of drainage potential with
consideration for fiber support and water evacuation.
• Running Void Volume – Impacts the amount of water the fabric
carries internally and the efficiency of high vacuum dewatering.

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Forming Fabrics
Simple Fabric Weaves

Broken
Twill

Plain Weave

Five-Shed Satin Semi-Twill Full Twill

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Forming Fabrics
A fabric can be in a single, double, or triple layer design, or even a
two and one half layer. Single layer fabrics can be 3, 4, or 5 shed
designs and are the cheapest designs to use, but offer lower
stability, retention, dewatering, and life.

Simple Double Two and One Half Triple Layer

Layer Design Layer Design Design

Warp Chute
Strands Strands
Machine Cross-
Direction Machine
Strands Direction
Strands

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Forming Fabrics
Double-layer Fabrics
Double layer 7 or 8 shed fabrics have replaced most single layer fabrics on
fast paper machines due to greater stability and performance. On the sheet
side of these fabrics the chute strands provide good fiber support and
drainage, on the inside the warp strands provide help to protect the warp
strands to maintain fabric life.

Two and a Half Layer Fabrics

The two and a half layer fabrics have an extra, thinner chute strand woven
into the fabric on the sheet side. This extra strand provides higher
retention and improved drainage.

Triple Layer Fabrics

A triple layer fabric is actually a true two layer fabric with an additional fine
weave layer connecting the two halves of the fabric. This sheet side layer
gives improved retention, drainage, and fabric marking of the sheet. The
inside weave provides improved wear characteristics. Two critical factors
are fabric thickness and secure anchoring of the top layer to the bottom.

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Forming Fabrics

Cross Section

Sheet Side Wear Side

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Expected Outcomes of the Series of Webinars
• Webinar No. 1 - A General Knowledge of Paper Machine
Formers
• Webinar No. 2 - Critical Headbox Variables and Geometries for
Sheet Forming and Dewatering.
• Webinar No. 3 - Paper Machine Former Audits

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 Thank you!

JUNE 6, 2024 C L A S S I F I C AT I O N P R E S E N TAT I O N N A M E , A U T H O R | 58