Unstable textile tape flipping before measuring roller – pneumatic rotary actuator application

Hello,
I am looking for mechanical design advice regarding an automatic textile tape handling problem in a custom-built machine.
I designed a device that automatically flips a textile edging tape (mattress edge tape / “kedra”) during winding onto a spool. The system works mechanically, but the flip is unstable and only succeeds intermittently.
I am attaching a short video showing the issue.
Machine setup
  • Tape width: 15 mm
  • Profile: asymmetric
    • 10 mm flat flange
    • 5 mm corded edge (round bead)
  • Material: polyester textile
  • Speed: approx. 33 m/min (≈16000 m / 8 h)
  • Application: tape winding onto spool
Flipping mechanism
  • Pneumatic rotary actuator: SMC CDRB2 series
  • Rotation: 180°
  • A guiding wheel (“flipping wheel”) rotates and forces the tape to turn over.
  • After flipping, the tape immediately passes through a rubber measuring roller (length counter).
Problem
The tape sometimes completes the flip correctly, but most of the time it remains partially twisted.
Success rate is roughly 5–10%.
Observed behavior:
  • rotation starts correctly,
  • but before the twist fully settles, the measuring roller (high friction rubber surface) stabilizes the tape in a wrong orientation,
  • resulting in a permanent twist downstream.
A temporary test using a simple rod placed before the measuring roller significantly improved the flip stability, which suggests a geometry / web-handling issue rather than actuator force.
What has already been tested
  • changing actuator speed (flow control valves),
  • different guide rods,
  • larger flipping wheel radius,
  • adding intermediate rollers,
  • testing a funnel-shaped guide,
  • experimenting with asymmetric guiding geometry.
The system improves but is still not fully stable.
Current questions
I would apprecite advice from people experienced with web handling or textile machinery:
  1. Is it better to stabilize orientation using passive geometry (guides/funnels) rather than adding another active flipping actuator?
  2. Would increasing flipping radius or using a geared reduction from the rotary actuator typically improve flip stability?
  3. Are asymmetric guides commonly used to eliminate rotational degrees of freedom in narrow textile tapes?
  4. Is placing a high-friction measuring roller immediately after a flip generally considered bad practice in web handling systems?Link to the movie with the issue
 
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