Richard Hough

Glossary

Below are some definitions to terms commonly used in our industry. If you still need help, please contact us.
Bowl

General term for pressed fibre covered rolls. Derived from the word ‘bole’ meaning ‘trunk of a tree’. Wooden bowls (usually Sycamore) were originally used for textile calendering and squeezing.

Calendering

A finishing process whereby a material (eg paper or textile) is passed between two or more rollers (which usually apply heat and pressure to the material) to improve its surface properties.

Camber

The convexity of a roll. Many calendering applications utilise a positive camber on the rolls to compensate for deflection.

Cotton Roll

General term for pressed fibre covered rolls with cotton or cotton paper based covers.

Crowning

A positive camber on a roll.

Cutting Down

The process of removing the old cover from a fibre covered roll.

Deflection

The extent to which a roll bends under its applied load.

Elasticity

The extent to which deformation of the roll cover material from an applied load is reversible (measured as Modulus of Elasticity). Increased elasticity promotes improved resilience (resistance to surface marking and damage).

Embossing

The process of creating a three-dimensional effect or design in paper and other ductile materials. Many embossing applications utilise an engraved roll running against an elastic backing roll.

Filled Roll

General term for pressed fibre covered roll.

Filling

The process of recovering a fibre covered roll.

Filling Material

The cover material of a pressed fibre covered roll.

Linear Pressure

The force applied within the nip of a calender, usually measured in kg/cm or kN/m.

Nip

The area of contact between two rollers.

Nomex®

Heat resistant man-made fibre based calender roll cover material.

Oiling Rolls

General term for rolls used to apply a thin and even layer of oil to the surface of sheet metals.

Press

Hydraulic pressing machine, custom built for the compression of the fibre based cover material on fibre covered rolls.

Pressing

The process of compressing the cover material on a fibre covered roll.

Profile

The shape of a roll or cylinder measured by the change in diameter over its length.

PU

Polyurethane.

Resilience

The ability of the roll cover to resist and recover from surface damage.

Roberto™

RHL’s patented high expression squeezing rollers.

Supercalender

Machine utilising a stack of alternating steel and fibre covered rolls through which paper is passed to improve its density, smoothness and gloss.

Superelastic

RHL’s high performance cover material for embossing backing rolls.

Syncast™

RHL’s new generation Polyamide textile calender roll sleeves.

Wiper Rolls

General term for rolls used to remove or control the amount of oil or emulsion on a metal substrate.

Wringer Rolls

General term for rolls used to remove or control the amount of oil or emulsion on a metal substrate.