Apparatus and method for continuously winding a length of material into a helical form

An apparatus for continuously winding a length of tubular material into a helical form, comprising:

• a frame structure;
• a plurality of rollers mounted on said frame structure, each of said rollers having a longitudinal axis and oppositely positioned first and second ends, each of said rollers having an outer peripheral surface and said plurality of rollers being arranged about a winder axis in a substantially circular fashion so that the outer surfaces of the rollers define a substantially cylindrical winder surface, said winder surface having an entry end at which tubular material to be helically wound is fed onto the winder surface and an exit end at which helically wound tubular material is directed off the winder surface;
• a driving mechanism for individually rotatably driving each of the plurality of rollers about their respective longitudinal axes;
• and means for helically winding the tubular material around the winder surface while the tubular material moves from the entry end of the winder surface to the exit end of the winder surface, and means for maintaining the tubular material in a substantially constant cross-sectional orientation relative to the winder surface as the tubular material moves from the entry end to the exit end of the winder surface so that the tubular material is prevented from rolling and becoming damaged.