GB2566694B

GB2566694B - Roll winding apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2566694B
Application number: GB1715177.0A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Beynon David
Original assignee: Daco Solutions Ltd
Current assignee: Daco Solutions Ltd
Priority date: 2017-09-20
Filing date: 2017-09-20
Publication date: 2019-11-13
Anticipated expiration: 2037-09-20
Also published as: GB2566694A; GB201715177D0

Description

Roll Winding Apparatus

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a roll winding apparatus. In addition, the present invention relates to a method of winding a roll.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Turret winders are known for winding a continuous web of flexible web material, for example arrays of individual labels on a backing paper onto smaller diameter or narrower rolls for subsequent use. As such the turret winder may be downstream of other processes such as slitters that separate a wide web into multiple narrower webs, finishing processes, or a process to remove scrap material from around the array of labels.

Various arrangements are known to control the rewinders and allow full rolls to be removed, new cores that support the web to be placed on the winder, and the web to be adhered to the winder.

Some expensive machines are highly automated and wrap the web around the core frictionally. However, this high capital cost, and need for skilled operators is prohibitive for many potential customers. In addition, in certain circumstances it is known for the core to fall out of the roll after winding has taken place, which is undesirable.

Some lower cost winders partially immerse an empty core in a liquid hot melt adhesive that is then used to adhere a free end of the web to the core. Whilst these machines are generally reliable, one significant drawback is that the adhesive when still liquid may be transferred to an upper face of labels by the spinning of the core. Such labels are then often printed on by thermal printers and the like e.g. when being used by courier companies for despatch information, or for the printing of batch, use by, best before, or other information on the labels for food products.

Such printers have expensive and delicate print heads that run close to the surface of the label. The print heads can therefore be damaged by the stray adhesive from the cores. The heads are expensive to replace, and the downtime arising from their damage can lead to considerable costs through lost production.

The present invention seeks to overcome or at least mitigate the problems of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

One aspect of the present invention provides a roll winding apparatus for handling flexible web material, the apparatus comprising: at least two winding spindles, each being supported for rotation and arranged to releasably mount a winding core thereon, a translation mechanism arranged to translate the winding spindles about a closed loop path between at least three stations at which an operation may be performed, a drive mechanism arranged to selectively and independently rotate the winding spindles at two of the stations; the first station being an alignment station at which a strip or line of adhesive is positioned at a predetermined angular position on a first core, the second station being a cutting station, having a cutting mechanism; and a third station being a winding station at which the spindle is configured to wind a web of flexible web material onto the core; wherein the apparatus is configured to substantially synchronise the rotational speed of the core to the linear speed of a moving web of flexible web material and being further configured to monitor the angular position of the strip of adhesive on the core during synchronisation, and to cut the web to define a trailing cut edge of a first web portion and a leading cut edge of a second web portion at a time when the adhesive is located such that the second web portion is held to the core by the adhesive proximate the leading edge, and commences winding thereon.

Advantageously, this apparatus provides a faster changeover from winding on one core to winding on a second core as there is no stopping of winding during the changeover (i.e. winding can be continuous), with less operator input required, and a more reliable changeover.

The alignment station optionally comprises a marker arrangement to indicate the desired angular position of the adhesive strip on the first core to permit the application of adhesive to the core in situ on the spindle.

If the adhesive strip is being manually applied, the marker assists in achieving accurate alignment.

The marker may be a light, preferably a laser light, projected onto the spindle in a particular location.

Advantageously a marker that projects a light on to the core may allow the alignment to be easier to achieve by an operator of the apparatus.

The linear speed of the moving web is caused by the winding of the web material on to a second core located at the winding station.

The translation mechanism may be configured to translate the spindle mounting the first core to the winding station after cutting has occurred.

Advantageously, in this way, the next core can rapidly be brought into the correct position for the next changeover.

The drive mechanism may be configured such that drive to the spindle mounting the first core continues during the translation to the winding station.

This maintains the throughput of the machine and minimises unwanted tension being applied to the web by speed changes in winding

The drive mechanism may comprise a drive input for each spindle.

Advantageously this enables drive to each spindle to be independent of the other spindle(s)

The drive mechanism optionally comprises a differently positioned drive input for a second spindle immediately adjacent to the first.

This arrangement allows two spindles to be independently driven by two sources

The apparatus may further comprise a drive transfer device to transfer drive to the first drive input.

The apparatus may further comprise a second drive transfer device to transfer drive to the differently positioned drive input.

Advantageously, this is a convenient way to achieve the transfer of drive to the spindles.

The or each drive transfer device optionally comprises a belt or chain and the corresponding drive input may comprise a respective pulley or sprocket.

The use of belt or chain allows the corresponding pulley or sprocket to be brought into and out of driving engagement therewith as they move to and from the stations where the belt or chains are arranged.

The cutting mechanism may be further arranged so as to press the leading cut edge onto the first core as part of the cutting operation.

Advantageously this means that the cutting action can simultaneously ensure that the leading cut edge is secured to the core in one action

The apparatus may further comprise a joining mechanism arranged to join the trailing edge of the first web portion to the roll of web material after winding.

This mechanism ensures that an unwanted unwinding of the roll does not occur once winding has been completed

The joining mechanism is optionally arranged to carry out the joining operation at the third station, and the apparatus preferably monitors the position of the trailing edge to ensure an automatic joining thereof.

By knowing the speed of the web, and the position at which cutting takes place with respect to the third station, the trailing edge of the first web portion can be arranged directly in alignment with the joining mechanism for reliable joining to be achieved.

The joining mechanism may be a label applicator.

The first and second stations may be at different physical locations.

Advantageously this may allow for a greater throughput of the apparatus as alignment of one core can occur simultaneously with synchronisation and cutting of a second core.

The apparatus may comprise three spindles.

The apparatus may further comprising an unloading station, preferably at a different physical location to the other stations.

Advantageously this may further increase throughput of the device as unloading of one core and roll can occur simultaneously with winding of another roll at the third station.

The apparatus may comprise four spindles.

The strip of adhesive may be a strip of double sided adhesive tape.

Adhesive tape is simple and economical to apply and avoids the problem of liquid adhesive being transferred to unwanted locations on the web. A second aspect of the present invention provides a method of operating a roll winding apparatus the method comprising the steps of: a. providing strip of adhesive on a core and orienting the core to position the adhesive strip in a predetermined orientation on a spindle; b. rotating the spindle to synchronise the rotational speed thereof to the linear speed of a web of flexible material being wound onto a second core and monitoring the angular position of the strip of adhesive during the said rotation; and c. cutting the web to define a trailing cut edge of a first web portion and a leading cut edge of a second web portion at a time when the adhesive is substantially in alignment the leading cut edge, such that the second web portion is thereby held to the core commences winding thereon.

The method may be carried out on an apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention.

Optionally in step a) the core may be positioned in an arbitrary orientation and the strip of adhesive may be applied to the core at a predetermined orientation.

The method may comprise a further step d) after step c) of securing the trailing edge of the first web portion to the roll.

The method may comprise a further step after step c) in which the core is translated to the position previously occupied by a roll onto which the first web portion was being wound.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is an isometric front view of a roll winding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 1 is an isometric rear view of the roll winding apparatus of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged isometric view of a turret part of the apparatus of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a front elevation of the apparatus of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is an enlarged front elevation view of the turret part of the apparatus of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is an enlarged rear elevation view of a spindle drive part at the rear of the apparatus of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is a side view of the apparatus of Figure 1;

Figure 8 is a schematic illustration of the control system of the apparatus of Figure 1;

Figures 9, 10, 11 and 12 schematically illustrate successive stages of a winding operation;

Figure 10A is a detail isometric view of the core on the spindle at the second station of Figure 10

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figures 1 to 7 illustrate a roll winding apparatus indicated generally at 10 for handling flexible web material 60, such as webs of labels for packaging (see Figure 9). The apparatus 10 is illustrated as a freestanding unit, but may in other embodiments be incorporated into a printing press or the like. As illustrated the apparatus comprises a structural chassis 12 in the form of a vertical plate on to which the components of the apparatus are mounted.

In the front view of Figure 1 are shown the components that handle the web material 60, whereas in Figure 2, the drive components of the apparatus are visible. These components are described in more detail below. In Figure 1 a housing 14 for the drive components is present, but in Figure 2 this is omitted for improved clarity. Guards are provided on the front of the apparatus for operator safety, but are also omitted for clarity.

In this embodiment, the apparatus 10 comprises four winding spindles 16 arranged as cylindrical members extending in a cantilevered arrangement away from the chassis 12. In other embodiments the number of spindles may differ. For example, three or two may be provided, although this may reduce the throughput of the apparatus.

Each spindle 16 is rotatable about its longitudinal axis. The spindles 16 are arranged to receive winding cores 62 thereon, e.g. one core or multiple cores arranged co-axially end to end. The spindles 16 may have an arrangement (not shown) to releasably hold the cores 62 in a fixed axial and angular relationship to the spindles, e.g. using teeth that extend radially from the spindle. The winding cores 62 used are typically cardboard tubes, but may also be formed of plastics or metallic material.

The spindles 16 are mounted on a translation mechanism arranged to translate the winding spindles about a closed loop path between stations at which an operation may be performed. In this embodiment the spindles are mounted to turret 18 in the form of a rotatable disc. The angular and radial spacing of the spindles 16 about the centre of rotation is equal. The turret 18 is intended to rotate so that the spindles 16 are translated between four stations at which particular operations are to be performed as described in more detail below. A turret motor 34, which in this embodiment is a servo motor, is provided to rotate the turret.

In order for the spindles 16 to be able to rotate about their own individual axes, a drive mechanism indicated generally at 28 is arranged selectively and independently rotate the winding spindles at two of the stations as described in more detail below.

The first station 1 may be designated as an alignment station at which a strip or line of adhesive 70 is positioned at a predetermined angular position on a core.

The second station 2 may be designated as a cutting station, arranged adjacent a cutting mechanism 20.

The third station 3 may be designated as a winding station at which the spindles 16 are configured to wind the web of flexible web material 60 onto the core 62.

The fourth station 4 may be designated as an unloading station where fully wound rolls 64 are removed from the apparatus.

With reference to Figures 10 and 10A, the apparatus 10 is configured to synchronise the rotational speed of an empty core 62 on to which web material is to be wound at the second station 2, to the linear speed of a moving web of flexible web material 60 that is at that time is being wound onto another core 62 at the third station 3. By knowing the starting angle of the strip of adhesive 70 applied to the empty core 62 and being further configured to monitor the angle of the spindle 16, and therefore the empty core 62, as the core rotates during synchronisation, the apparatus 10 is able to cut the web to define a trailing cut edge 66 of a first web portion 60a and a leading cut edge 68 of a second web portion 60b at a time when the adhesive 70 is proximate the leading cut edge. The second web portion is thereby held to the core 62 by the adhesive 70 and can then commence winding on this core.

Considering the features of each station in more detail:

The alignment station 1 comprises a marker arrangement to indicate the desired angular position of the adhesive strip 70 on the first core 62. This assists in the application of adhesive to the core in situ on the spindle, or if adhesive has been pre-applied, allows the core 62 to be rotated to the correct angular position for alignment to be achieved.

Whilst the marker may be a physical indicator at each end of the spindle 16 to show where the ends of the adhesive strip 70 are to be located, in this embodiment, the marker is a light, preferably a laser light from a laser light emitter 26, which is projected onto the spindle 16 in a particular location. This has been found to assist more accurate alignment.

To ensure that the alignment does not shift from this position whilst the adhesive is being applied, a spindle brake 22 is provided for the spindles at station 1. With reference to the rear view of Figure 6, it can be seen that this brake comprises a flat 48 at the rear of the spindle 16, against which the brake 22 in the form of a flat arm engages. The flat arm 22 is supported a one end by a resilient support (a pneumatic cylinder 23 in this embodiment) and acts as a ramp that engages the spindles during rotation of the turret 18. In other embodiments, the brake may however be achieved in numerous alternative ways.

The second station 2 to which a core is moved (clockwise in this embodiment) once being aligned at station 1 is the cutting station.

In order to provide a swift and accurate changeover from winding on one (full) core to another (empty) core, the apparatus 10 is arranged to equalise the speed of the core with that at which the web 60 is being wound onto a second core at station 3 using mechanism described below.

With reference to Figures 1, 4 and 8, at an infeed to the apparatus 10 a nip drive 25 controls the speed of the web 60 by using a nip drive motor 27 driving a nip roller 29. The nip drive motor 27 is a servo motor and therefore allows a controller 50 of the apparatus 10 to know the linear speed of the web 60. Knowing the linear speed of the web is important in terms of being able to accurately control the processes discussed below.

The controller 50 is a suitable industrial microprocessor controller and is also linked to a display 52 and one or more user inputs 54 such as buttons of a touch screen interface. These are used to set up, control and monitor the apparatus.

To provide rotational drive to the spindle 16 at the second station 2, the rear of the spindle is provided with two co-axially arranged first and second pulleys. On each spindle 16, one of the pulleys is a drive pulley 44 that transmits drive to the front part of the spindle, and the other is an idler pulley 46 that does not transmit drive to the front part of the spindle. The drive pulleys 44 and idler pulleys 46 alternate in position between adjacent spindles 16. With reference to Figures 5 and 7, for spindles 16a and 16c, the drive pulley 44 is that closest to the chassis 12, whereas the idler pulley 46 is that remote from the chassis. For spindles 16b and 16c, the location of the drive pulley 44 and idler pulley 46 are reversed - i.e. the drive pulley is remote from the chassis.

The pulleys 44 and 46 are arranged to drivingly engage with first and second spindle drive transfer devices in the form of first and second belts 36 and 38, when at the cutting and the winding stations 2 and 3, as well as when transitioning from station 2 to station 3. The spindle drive belts 36 and 38 follow the same path but are axially offset from each other by the same amount as the first and second pulleys 44 and 46. The belts 36 and 38 extend over the top of the turret 18 and are toothed, so that when a spindle 16 moves to the second station 2 it automatically drivingly engages each belt, and because of the teeth are then positively driven.

Each belt is independently driven by a first spindle drive motor 30 and a second spindle drive motor 32 respectively. In this embodiment, the motors are both servo motors so as to provide accurate speed signals to the controller 50, and so that the controller is able to accurately control the drive.

The arrangement of belts and pulleys described above always enables the motors 30 and 32, to independently drive the spindles 16 at stations 2 and 3 irrespective of whether the spindles at stations 2 and 3 are spindles 16a and 16b, 16b and 16c, 16c and 16d, or 16d and 16a, since in every configuration each motor is only able to drive one of the two spindles.

Further, the controller 50 is able to derive the diameter of a roll being wound by comparing the rotational speed of the nip drive motor 27 and the spindle drive motor 30 or 32 that is currently driving the spindle 16 at winding station 3.

The cutting mechanism 20 located at the second station comprises an anvil 20b that is moveable via a pivoting mechanism into an operative position adjacent the spindle 16b at the cutting station 2. The anvil 20b is located underneath the path of the web 60. The cutting mechanism further comprises a cutter 20a located above the path of the web 60 that lowers and cuts against the anvil 20b in response to a signal from the controller 50. The cutter 20a is, in this embodiment, further arranged such that during the cutting action it guides the leading edge 68 of the second web portion 60b into contact with the core. With the correct alignment of the adhesive strip 70, this causes the second web portion to be held to the core 62.

The winding station 3 comprises a joining mechanism arranged to join the trailing edge 66 of the first web portion 60a to the roll 64 of web material after winding. In this embodiment, the joining apparatus is a label applicator 24. The label applicator 24 may have multiple applicator heads, such that if multiple webs 60 are being wound side-by-side at the winding station 3, the trailing edge 66 of each can be secured to its individual roll 64.

The controller 50 of the apparatus 10 monitors the position of the trailing edge 66 and therefore ensures that a label is applied to the roll 64 when the trailing edge 66 is aligned with the applicator 24 to ensure an automatic joining thereof. Specifically, by knowing the speed of the web 60, and the position at which cutting takes place with respect to the third station, the trailing edge 66 of the first web portion can be arranged directly in alignment with the joining mechanism, by controlling the drive to the first spindle drive motor 30, for reliable joining to be achieved.

The label applicator 24 may further comprise a printer so that the labels being applied also include printed indicia such as batch codes etc.

The unloading station 4 allows the roll(s) 64 to be removed from the spindle 16 without interfering with the operation of the loading, cutting and winding.

With reference to Figures 9 to 12, the apparatus operates as follows:

At the loading station 1 an operator slides one or more cores 62 onto the spindle 16a, the spindle being prevented from rotation by the spindle brake 22. The operator may then operate the mechanism to prevent the core(s) 62 moving on the spindle. A line of light is shone on to the cores 62 from the laser light emitter 26 parallel to the axis of the cores at a predetermined position. Using a tape applicator the operator applies a line of double sided adhesive tape 70 to the core(s) 62 in alignment with the light thereby providing a strip of adhesive on a the core(s). By virtue of the brake 22 orientating the spindle 16 at the alignment station into a fixed position, the adhesive tape being in a fixed angular position relative to the spindle, and there is no rotation when a spindle translates from station 1 to station 2, this means when the spindle reaches station 2, the angular orientation of the tape continues to be known by the controller of the apparatus.

At the same time a further core or cores 62 are located on the spindle 16b at the cutting station 2, having previously been loaded at station 1. Another core or cores is/are winding at the winding station 3 having previously been loaded at station 1. The spindle 16c is being driven by the first drive belt 36 and drive pulley 44 with.

With reference to Figure 10, a roll 64 continues to be formed from the web 60 on spindle 16c at station 3. When the changeover to the empty core 62 is required, either via the apparatus sensing that a required length of web has been wound onto the roll 64 (derived from relative rotational speeds of the nip drive motor 25 and spindle drive motor 30/32 by the controller 50), or due to a manual indication from an operator, core(s) 62 on spindle 16b at station 2 start to rotate and are synchronised with the speed of the web 60. This is achieved by spindle 16b receiving drive from the second drive belt 38 and its drive pulley 44 (the outer pulley for this spindle). This means that each pulley only drives one spindle, even though each belt is also in driving contact with the idler pulleys of both spindles.

In addition, the anvil 20b of the cutting mechanism 20 is moved into its operative position adjacent the spindle 16b at station 2. When the cut is to be made, the cutter 20a is brought into contact with the anvil at a time when the adhesive strip 70 is just behind the location when the cut is made. The controller 50 knows the position of the adhesive strip 70 because its start position at the cutting station 2 is known as described above, and during the synchronisation operation, its position continues to be known as this can be derived from the drive motor 30 or 32 that drives that spindle 16.

As the web 60 is severed, the cutter 20a also brings the leading edge of the second web portion 60b into contact with core 62 so the adhesive 70 holds the second web portion 60b. For the initial winds of the second web portion 60b around the core(s), the torque applied to the spindle 16b from the second drive motor 32 may be reduced slightly, so less tension is applied to the web 60b and adhesive 70. This reduces the risk of the adhesion between core 62 and second web portion 60b being broken.

With reference to Figure 11, whilst winding occurs at station 2, the label(s) is/are applied to the trailing edge 66 of the first web portion 60a at station 3.

When this has been completed the turret drive rotates the turret 18 so that spindle 16b indexes to station 3 etc. As illustrated in Figure 12, the winding of the web 60 onto the core(s) of spindle 16b continues as this translation of the turret 18 occurs.

The completed roll(s) may be removed from spindle 16c at unloading station 4. This process may be repeated as long as desired, with the operator adding and applying adhesive 70 to empty cores 62 at station 1 and unloading rolls 64 wound on to cores at station 4 whilst the apparatus 10 operates. Drive to the spindles 16 alternates between the first and second spindle drive belts 36 and 38 for each successive winding operation.

As a spindle transitions from the unloading station 4 to the loading station 1, the flat arm 22 contacts the spindle. If the flat 48 is not aligned with the arm 22, the spindle rotates and if required the arm pivots against the action of the pneumatic cylinder 23 until the flat is aligned and further rotation of the spindle is prevented. The arm 22 is long enough to ensure that alignment of the flat 48 will always occur irrespective of the starting orientation of the spindle 16. This means that the starting orientation of the spindle during loading is always known as described above.

It will be understood that numerous changes may be made within the scope of the present invention. For example other forms of adhesive strip 70 may be used, although hot melt adhesive is not preferred for the reasons discussed above. The adhesive may be applied before loading onto the spindles. The adhesive may be applied in an automated process (in which case no visual marker may be required for correct orientation of the adhesive). Loading and/or unloading of the cores may be automated. Alternative drive mechanisms may be used such as individual motors for each spindle.

Claims

1. A roll winding apparatus for handling flexible web material, the apparatus comprising: at least two winding spindles, each being supported for rotation and arranged to releasably mount a winding core thereon, a translation mechanism arranged to translate the winding spindles about a closed loop path between at least three stations at which an operation may be performed, a drive mechanism arranged to selectively and independently rotate the winding spindles at two of the stations; the first station being an alignment station at which a strip or line of adhesive is positioned at a predetermined angular position on a first core, the second station being a cutting station, having a cutting mechanism; and a third station being a winding station at which the spindle is configured to wind a web of flexible web material onto the core; wherein the apparatus is configured to synchronise the rotational speed of the core to the linear speed of a moving web of flexible web material and being further configured to monitor the angular position of the strip of adhesive on the core during synchronisation, and to cut the web to define a trailing cut edge of a first web portion and a leading cut edge of a second web portion at a time when the adhesive is located such that the second web portion is held to the core by the adhesive proximate the leading edge, and commences winding thereon.

2. A roll winding apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the alignment station comprises a marker arrangement to indicate the desired angular position of the adhesive strip on the first core to permit the application of adhesive to the core in situ on the spindle.

3. A roll winding apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the marker is a light, preferably a laser light, projected onto the spindle in a particular location.

4. A roll winding apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the linear speed of the moving web is driven by the winding of the web material on to a second core located at the winding station.

5. A roll winding apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the translation mechanism is configured to translate the spindle mounting the first core to the winding station after cutting has occurred.

6. A roll winding apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the drive mechanism is configured such that drive to the spindle mounting the first core continues during the translation to the winding station.

7. A roll winding apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the drive mechanism comprises a drive input for each spindle.

8. A roll winding apparatus according to claim 7 wherein the drive mechanism comprises a differently positioned drive input for a second spindle immediately adjacent to the first.

9. A roll winding apparatus according to claim 7 or claim 8 wherein the apparatus further comprises a drive transfer device to transfer drive to the first drive input.

10. A roll winding apparatus according to claim 9 when dependent upon claim 8 wherein the apparatus further comprises a second drive transfer device to transfer drive to the differently positioned drive input.

11. A roll winding apparatus according to claim 9 or claim 10 wherein the or each drive transfer device comprises a belt or chain and the corresponding drive input comprises a respective pulley or sprocket.

12. A roll winding apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the cutting mechanism is further arranged so as to press the leading cut edge onto the first core as part of the cutting operation.

13. A roll winding apparatus according to any preceding claim further comprising a joining mechanism arranged to join the trailing edge of the first web portion to the roll of web material after winding.

14. A roll winding apparatus according to claim 13 wherein the joining mechanism is arranged to carry out the joining operation at the third station, and the apparatus monitors the position of the trailing edge to ensure an automatic joining thereof.

15. A roll winding apparatus according to claim 13 or claim 14 wherein the joining mechanism is a label applicator.

16. A roll winding apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the first and second stations are at different physical locations.

17. A roll winding apparatus according to claim 16 wherein the apparatus comprises three spindles.

18. A roll winding apparatus according to claim 16 or claim 17 further comprising an unloading station.

19. A roll winding apparatus according to claim 18 wherein the apparatus comprises four spindles.

20. A roll winding apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the strip of adhesive is a strip of double sided adhesive tape.

21. A method of operating a roll winding apparatus the method comprising the steps of: a. providing strip of adhesive on a core and orienting the core to position the adhesive strip in a predetermined orientation on a spindle; b. rotating the spindle to synchronise the rotational speed thereof to the linear speed of a web of flexible material being wound onto a second core and monitoring the angular position of the strip of adhesive during the said rotation; and c. cutting the web to define a trailing cut edge of a first web portion and a leading cut edge of a second web portion at a time when the adhesive is substantially in alignment the leading cut edge, such that the second web portion is thereby held to the core commences winding thereon.

22. A method according to claim 21 wherein the method is carried out on an apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

23. A method according to claim 21 or 22 wherein in step a) the core is positioned in an arbitrary orientation and the strip of adhesive is applied to the core at a predetermined orientation.

24. A method according to any one of claims 21 to 23 wherein the first web portion is being wound onto a roll comprising a further step d) after step c) of securing the trailing edge of the first web portion to the roll.

25. A method according to any one of claims 21 to 24 wherein after step c) the core is translated to the position previously occupied by a roll onto which the first web portion was being wound.