Machine builders at work
Original article date: March 2000
SMC Pneumatics recently invited a group of machine builders to its offices for informal discussions. Tommy Miller talked to some of them about their work
You might think that, as a machine builder, you come across some weird and wonderful problems that you have to solve on behalf of your customers. But just think how many solutions a company such as SMC has to solve, dealing with so many machine builders, all of whom are in the business of solving problems for their customers.
Bakeries have changed almost beyond recognition over the last thirty years. No longer is baking bread a craft, it is now a batch manufacturing process which is virtually fully automated. With production rates running at 12,000 loaves per hour in some bakeries, the equipment has to be extremely reliable and capable of being washed down as appropriate for a food production line.
But if you have ever kneaded dough, you will appreciate how sticky it can get. How do you automate dough handling when each batch mixed weighs one-third of a tonne? Andrew Robinson of Turkington Engineering (a specialist manufacturer of bakery automation) explained that the answer is simple: never leave the dough on a conveyor for more than five minutes, otherwise you will never get it off! So, if the production line stops for any reason, after four minutes the conveyors must be reversed and the unbaked dough must be unloaded into a bin. But the problem does not stop there because, as with Paddington Bear’s dumplings, the dough will continue to rise. And rise, and rise… The only solution is to subdivide the dough into manageable portions and bake it so that it can be disposed of. This entire ‘disaster recovery’ scenario has to be allowed for during the design of the equipment that normally runs automatically.
Design assistance
For large organisations with design departments staffed with experienced engineers, developing the pneumatic systems can be relatively straightforward. However, for small and medium-sized companies – which many machine builders are – the pneumatics can sometimes prove to be a headache. SMC takes the view that it is supplying ‘solutions’, not just pneumatic components. Machine builders can therefore approach SMC for assistance with any aspect of pneumatics, including component selection and sizing, and the design of complete pneumatic circuits.
One company that has made good use of SMC’s expertise is Easycarton. This is a small company that has developed a plastic ring-pull that can be fixed to conventional milk cartons to make opening the carton far easier. Having developed the product, the company realised that to convince the large manufacturers of the benefits, it had to build a small-scale plant for applying the ring-pulls.
An interesting point is that the ring-pulls are cut from a laminated film that uses the same polymer as exists on the carton exterior. The ring-pull can therefore be heat-bonded in place, rather than using an adhesive that would make recycling less attractive. A specialist twin-action guided cylinder was developed with SMC’s assistance, which is used to clamp, cut and bond the ring-pull.
Machine builders are confronted with a variety of problems, and there are many alternative ways to solve them. Calling on a supplier’s expertise is as valid as any.
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When the force of gravity isn’t enough One company that makes extensive use of SMC’s pneumatics, though it purchases them through Pneumatic Lines, is PCE Automation. Working mainly in the field of plastic bottles and containers, PCE produces special-purpose handling and testing equipment. While PCE’s customers are striving to cut costs – often by reducing the amount of raw material used – the products have become marginally less robust due to the reduced wall thickness. There is therefore now a greater emphasis on the leak, closure and load-testing of bottles. Another area where PCE has applied extra effort is in developing robotics for unloading moulding machines. Whereas gravity was previously relied upon to cause the bottles to drop from the mould, reduced cycle times demand that the robots must be able to remove the bottles faster than gravity can! However, using robots does bring other benefits: reduced damage and contamination, and easier subsequent handling. |
- SMC Pneumatics
- Pneumatic Lines
- PCE Automation
- Turkington Engineering
- Easycarton
March 2000