System and process for controlling the deceleration and acceleration rates of a sheet material in forming absorbent articles

A process for forming an absorbent article comprising:

• unwinding a roll of a first material at a determined rate for processing using an unwind device, the unwind device being in communication with a festoon, the festoon including a plurality of rotatable guide rolls through which the first material being unwound is threaded, the festoon accumulating a determined length of the first material;
• decreasing the rate at which the roll of the first material is unwound causing the accumulated length of material contained in the festoon to be released in order for the rate at which the first material is moving downstream of the festoon to remain substantially unchanged;
• decelerating certain of the guide rolls in the festoon with a drive device when the rate at which the roll of the first material is unwound decreases at the unwind device, the guide rolls being decelerated independent of each other, the guide rolls being decelerated based upon an amount of inertia contained in the respective guide roll so as to minimize tension increases or decreases in the first material;
• and
• wherein the first material being unwound is fed into a process for forming absorbent articles, the first material being incorporated into the absorbent article, the absorbent article comprising a liner material, an outer cover material, and an absorbent material positioned in between the liner material and the outer cover material.