Editor's Note: This is a post from Rich Eckhard, a Strategic Account Manager at The Knotts Company
A customer in the contract packaging business needed to make changes to a machine in a timely manner. The equipment is a used to handle a roll of material and convert it to a packable product (commonly referred to as Converting Equipment). The material may be coated, heated, die cut and final cut into its final size. Some or all of these operations may be done depending on the product.
If the die cutting is not required, then the dies must be removed. Likewise if the coating is not required, the coating machine must be removed.
The problem is that each time a unit is removed; it must be lined up perfectly with the other stations in the machine. This is where 80/20 solved the problem. First the entire machine frame was made out of 80/20. Then each section Coating, Heating, Die Cutting and The Final Cutter were made into stand alone frames made of the same 80/20 extrusion size. Each modular section was then fitted with 80/20’s UHMW linear bearing. The entire section could then be loaded from the end of the machine and slid to its correct position. Since the machine frame is one continuous length of 80/20, the linear bearings keep each section perfectly in line with the rest of the equipment.
The changeover is now done in half the time. The changeover can also be done by the line workers. There is no need to bring in the maintenance staff and spend hours of making mechanical adjustments.
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