Doctor blade? Roll cleaning blade? Blade? Scraper? Flaker? The term is used differently depending on the industry, but the product’s purpose is the same–to clean or remove contaminants from a roll surface. A doctor blade, roll cleaning blade, blade, scraper, or flaker is any material in stick form that is run against a roll and is used to keep the roll clean. If you use doctor blades, roll cleaning blades, blades, scrapers, flaker blades or the like, you are well-aware that over time blades will wear leading to inefficiencies in production. But what really happens as the blade wears?

As a blade wears into the roll, the area of the blade contact increases. Even though loading pressure remains unchanged, actual transmitted blade pressure decreases due to the surface contact area getting larger. Increasing loading pressure with a worn blade will greatly reduce the efficiency of the system and may allow material to pass under the blade and wrap the roll due to the additional deflection of the blade.

This video explains blade wear and a couple tips to watch while using a blade in your process.

Three Proactive Blade Wear Tips

1. Do not increase loading pressure with a worn blade.
2. Regularly check blade wear.
3. Replace blades often.

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Check out the ProTip series on Kadant’s YouTube channel for more helpful doctoring, cleaning, and filtration tips.

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