Commitment and Diligence Equates to 1st Paper Machine Run

The seniors in PSE 472 have been working hard to go forward with their paper machine runs this semester. Although this is another unusual semester, everyone involved is committed to making sure that these seniors get to have the experience of operating the Wolfpack Baby paper machine. There will be five paper machine runs this semester, and the first run took place at the beginning of March. The students were excited to be in the pilot plant gaining this valuable experience.

Dr. Pal is Professor Extraordinaire

Dr. Pal has been diligent about adjusting the typical schedule and procedures so that the PSE 472 class is conducted in a way that is accommodating to everyone’s needs and safety, while not sacrificing content. The lectures are conducted in a hybrid format with only some students attending in person, and only four lab groups involved with each run. However, each group still has the opportunity to perform all the roles they would in a typical year including paper machine operations, stock prep, wet end, dry end, paper testing, and coating.

Paper Machine Struggles equals Learning Opportunities

The first couple runs involved quite a learning experience with the first one having basis weight issues and the second struggling to start up due to improper mixing of calcium carbonate into the stock (ca any alumni out there relate?). Both of these opportunities gave students a chance to be hands on with problem solving. Once the machine is running smoothly, students have the opportunity to make changes to the operation to improve quality or productivity. Some of the changes made on the most recent run included doubling the production speed which also improved formation and the adjustment of the steam pressure to the dryer rolls to eliminate the low moisture that was evident at the reel.

As students, we are thankful for the diligence of our faculty. It is not easy to continue to provide the hands on learning and experiences we are used to in a global pandemic, but they have pulled it off!

By guest bloggers Daniel Lucas & Spencer Payne