Self-lifting shaftless unwind stand

摘要

A machine for lifting a roll of previously wound material and for unwinding the material from the roll is disclosed. The machine includes a turret shaft around which a lift arm assembly is moved from a first position to a second position. A lifting mechanism for lifting the roll after it is loaded at the first position is also provided. A plurality of lift arm assemblies can be provided so that a stand-by roll can be loaded onto the machine to be quickly rotated into an unwinding position. The lift arm assembly supports the roll without the use of a shaft through the core of the roll. A drive tower is provided which includes a turning belt with a frictional contact surface for contacting the roll as the turning belt is rotating, thereby turning the roll to unwind the material therefrom.