Automated sleeve filling for winding shafts on roll slitting and winding machines

A method for automated filling of a roll slitting and winding machine, the method comprising:

• in a first step, sliding at least two empty winding sleeves onto a free end of a winding shaft so that the winding sleeves are adjacent to one another on said winding shaft;
• in a second step, sliding the last winding sleeve by a fork piece of a freely programmable press-off plate that is freely positioned along the winding shaft at a free front end of the winding sleeve over the winding shaft until the last winding sleeve has reached a predetermined position;
• in a third step, grasping the next-to-last winding sleeve by tongs that are freely positionable along the winding shaft and slid over the winding shaft until a gap forms between adjacent winding sleeves;
• and
• in a fourth step, positioning the fork piece into the gap produced by the tongs and at the free front end of the winding sleeve positions the next-to-last winding sleeve by the fork piece along the winding shaft.