Absorbent articles, such as taped diapers or pant diapers, for example, may be manufactured by a process where discrete articles, such as a chassis of a taped diaper or a pant diaper comprising a topsheet, a backsheet, and an absorbent core, for example, are applied to one or more moving webs of components, such as webs of front and rear belt portions, for example. To achieve this, a transfer assembly may be provided that comprises one or more transfer members and a frame defining a rotation axis. The transfer member(s) may orbit about the rotation axis. Each of the transfer members may comprise a transfer surface that is configured to engage one or more of the discrete articles. The transfer members may pick up the discrete articles at a pick-up location and place the discrete articles at a drop-off location within the orbit. In certain instances, the transfer assembly may rotate the discrete articles about 90 degrees, or other suitable angles, between the pick-up location and the drop-off location about a second rotation axis that is perpendicular, or substantially perpendicular, to the rotation axis. Transfer assemblies that rotate and transfer discrete articles are known in the art as “turn and repitch” units because the units turn the discrete articles and repitch them (i.e., change the spacing or “pitch” between them) between the pick-up location and the drop-off location.
FIG. 1 shows an exemplary turn and repitch unit 10 comprising a plurality of transfer members or heads 12 that are configured to orbit about an axis. The transfer heads 12 and their respective outer surfaces 13 are typically designed to accept an article that has a specific size and shape. To run a different shaped and/or sized article on the same manufacturing line requires the transfer heads to be changed out for different transfer heads specific to the new article. But the time and effort that it would take to change all of the relatively large number of transfer heads generally associated with commercial transfer units can dictate instead changing out the entire operational unit. Entire unit operation change outs can of course lead to increased capital expenditure, maintenance, and manufacturing line downtime.
Accordingly, what is needed are methods and apparatuses for transferring or moving varying sized and/or shaped discrete articles on a single manufacturing line that overcome at least some of the foregoing shortcomings in the art.
While the Background section above highlighted turn and repitch units, the skilled artisan should appreciate that the methods and apparatuses disclosed herein are not limited to such.