Commencing with 10 machines in one of their multiple units, the Company's aim was to reduce the amount of direct labour necessary for trimming and de-spruing by sending moulded parts from two machines to one work station. Beam robots were installed to each machine and within one month Tex saw an 18% reduction in direct labour. By the end of the second month a further 9% saving was achieved. With plans for a comprehensive tool refurbishment programme going ahead the Company expect to see a further reduction in the region of 9 - 18%. Tex Managing Director; Peter Stevenson, says "The need to become leaner is imperative; this investment will drive our business further towards low cost manufacturing, which will safeguard the company's future."

A new material handling system with the inclusion of large capacity desiccant dryers has introduced significant improvements in material control and housekeeping. Spillages have been reduced and there have been measurable time savings in the material handler's workload with all materials being centrally controlled from one area. This has allowed Tex to feed several machines from one large dryer using their core material which has had the effect of reducing the need for multiple dryers and costly clean downs.

With beside the press granulation now in place Tex have been able to re-use sprue and runner waste at source, giving them a reduction between 2-3% in the use of virgin material on selected jobs. Always looking to improve, Tex are planning for the reclaim of larger part waste in the next phase of development.

Manufacturing Director; Guy Sentence has worked closely with Summit's team on all aspects of this investment and is confident that they have obtained the best solution to reduce costs within their mix of work. "We have seen immediate and tangible benefits and with continued development across all areas of the factory we see Summit as a long term partner".

Peter Stevenson concludes, Summit Systems have provided sound solutions for us and continue to be proactive in making sure we stay ahead both technically and in user confidence. This to me is a big "tick in the box" for supplier selection and as such paves the way ahead for further strategic investment."   

During the course of a day T-Zero will run up to 4 technical moulding trials through a single machine. Given the wide range of engineering grade and specialty polymers that they are processing it is essential that materials can be dried quickly and efficiently. T-Zero were keen to find a dryer that would easily cope with notoriously difficult to dry materials such as Glass Reinforced Nylons, Lens Grade Polycarbonates, Polyurethanes and various other technical materials. Summit Systems suggested they trial the Low Pressure Dryer from Maguire and after immediately experiencing considerable benefits T-Zero were happy to confirm the order.

Low Pressure Dryers use vacuum to lower the boiling point of water from 100 deg. C to 56 Deg.C. The moisture is rapidly extracted from the heated material, leaving it in an optimum condition to be moulded. Long drying times at elevated temperatures can cause thermal, chemical and physical material degradation. The minimal drying times achieved with this dryer dramatically reduce the risk and accelerating the drying process also provides significant cost advantages.

Managing Director of T-Zero; Simon Oliver, says "Although many companies have their own project teams and moulding facilities, they find it difficult to allocate development time on machines against busy production schedules. Our customers depend on us to conduct robust trials on their behalf and at T-Zero we believe that our policy of continued investment in processing technology maintains their confidence. We previously used hot air and dessicant dryers, both of which are fine for standard grade materials where drying time is not a major issue. With the Low Pressure Dryer we have reduced our tool change times by an average of 2.5 hours". He continues "Obviously, the concept of Vacuum Drying was new to us, but the support we received from Summit was of the highest order. A bonus has been the compact dimensions of the LPD, it takes up far less space than conventional dryers.

We are entirely happy with the results we are getting from the dryer and would like to specify one for each of our machines as we continue to develop. I really don't know how we managed without it".

For more information on T-Zero check out their website www.T-Zero.co.uk

Time savings with the use of these platens is significant. Whilst taking into account the variability of frequency of tool changes, Marley state that on smaller machines they are saving around 20 minutes per change and on the larger machines the saving is an hour per change. With in the region of 20 tool changes per day Marley are achieving significant reductions in down time.

The Tecnomagnete Magnetic Platens are manufactured with square poles of alternating polarity in a chess board configuration, with an even distribution of magnetic flux concentrated exclusively in the mould clamping area.  A short electrical impulse activates the system securing the mould by the strength of permanent magnets for unlimited time, without consuming electrical energy.   The total holding force available is directly proportional to the number of magnetic poles engaged with the surface of the mould

When magnetically clamped; as with this system, a mould does not receive any stress or deformation as its holding strength is equally distributed across the contact area instead of at the peripheral points as with traditional systems. This translates to better quality and repeatability of moulded parts.

Moulds of any shape and size can be easily clamped without any modification to the mould base plates. The system allows entire machine platen utilisation without the constraints of traditional mould clamps and in some cases the mould can even overhang, so increasing the machine capacity.

Marley Project Engineer, Phil Grebbell outlines some of the advantages that have convinced the Company to specify the system as standard when purchasing new injection moulding machines. “After the initial investment cost there are no hidden extras, no need to purchase nuts and bolts for fixing tools to platens. There is a safer installation of tooling because there is no longer the need for the Setter to reach into the platen area to tighten the bolts. The mould change is performed standing outside the machine and away from the mould during its handling phase.”

Phil goes on to explain that operators found adapting to using the new system extremely easy “Once operators have the confidence that the tool is safe and secure, the rest is plain sailing” he says.

With the extruders processing five different grades of TPE material, Bioprene, at various times, the Maguire Low Pressure Dryers supplied have been specified because they dramatically cut the amount of time necessary to dry raw material.

The vacuum system employed by these Dryers enables Watson Marlow to prepare this material ready for extrusion in a mere 40 minutes. Were they to use the more standard Dehumidifying Dryers the process would typically take 3 hours. This not only represents major reduced energy costs, but also significant additional production time.

Watson Marlow Tubing Business Manager, Mark Rawet is eager to praise both the dryers and the installation and back up service they have received from Summit. “To be able to accelerate the drying process in this way is of huge benefit to us” he says. “We were confident that Summit had specified the right kit for the job and we have not been disappointed. It is reassuring to be dealing with a Company who will go out of their way to ensure that we are getting the most from our investment”.

The dryers are sited in a segregated materials handling area of the Clean Room and a central conveying system is used for the transfer of the polymer from material bins to the dryers and from the dryers to the extruders. All material pipes within the clean room are stainless steel, as are the Hopper Loaders.

Further features of this installation include a recycling system for scrap tube. Granulation takes place in the materials area and there is an independent vacuum pump and filter to convey the regrind to a storage bin. This material is then transferred to the extruders via another dedicated Low Pressure Dryer. Blenders are fitted to each extruder to allow regrind to be mixed accurately with the virgin material for the production of Marprene tubing.

Recently, Flexfilm have invested in Maguire yield control technology. Designed for mono or multi layer co-extrusion, this stand alone system will operate independently or; as in this case, interface with existing Maguire Gravimetric Blenders. The system will allow accurate control of extrusion output either in terms of a throughput over a given time or a yield of a given weight per metre.

Featuring throughput and haul off control and a touch screen with Windows driven software, it will also report for quality control requirements (ISO). Flexfilm say that the reports are exactly what they require and comment on its simple operation. Flexfilm are currently using the system on one co-extrusion line linked to three blenders. However, so flexible is this system that it could easily be put to use with up to 7 co-extrusion lines. It allows rapid product changeover and has a typical 2-3 minute start up time before it hits target.

"We have seen a significant improvement in product quality and consistency, yielding reductions in start-up and changeover times and reductions in raw material usage and scrap". says John Russell. "Obviously dependent on the product, we have seen productivity improvements of up to 20%".

Summing up, John says he is very happy with the service he receives from Summit Systems. "Their installation of equipment is professional, they give user friendly training to our staff and most importantly, they are a supplier upon whom we can rely".

To obtain more information on Maguire products see our Product Selection pages.

Personnel at Springbank speak of the vast improvements this sytem has brought to their processing. Now, all forklift activity is kept well away from the extrusion lines as they are only required to lift the Octibins from storage racks onto the adjacent DayBins. Previously, Octibins had been sited next to the lines as required and involved a pick up wand on each Hopper Loader to convey the material into the processing machine. Manufacturers operating this system will sympathise with the difficulty of maintaining the wand in the Octibin as the amount of material within decreases.

Gradus Manufacturing Manager, Mark Riley, said of the project "We were impressed by Summit's professional yet flexible approach. From the initial sizing and quotation of the system through to the installation and commissioning Summit's team gave us confidence in their ability." He added "This system has given us precise control of colouring, reducing our waste and therefore our costs. Simply, it works - its easy to control and has improved our production."

To see video footage of the Gradus installation click on Gallery and select Video from the choice box.

HellermannTyton, who are world leaders in the manufacture of cable network products, involved Summit Systems at the design stage of their new premises. This enabled them to liaise with other utilities, particularly electrical and water, to assess the most effective and efficient positioning of the pipework needed to move materials from the receiving area across the three product bays housing the injection moulding machines.

In the receiving bay, Summit Systems installed hot air machines to create a warm blanket above silos holding the nylon granules before they are drawn along Summit System's aluminium pipework (fitted with stainless steel on the bends for extra strength) to the injection moulding machines all fitted with either a standard Summit Systems gravimetric, or volumetric blender.

John Pilkington, the HellermannTyton Project Engineer, who had the task of amalgamating four existing production centres in the Manchester area into one combined operation in just five months, says: "The secret was the total co-operation at design stage. We integrated our own team's activities with those of water and electricity, and Summit System to ensure we had an efficient and cost-effective factory, manufacturing quality product.

Summit System's Chris Bailey, says: "We were required to get the granules from the point of delivery to the moulding machines in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible. We had to dry it, blend it, and deliver it along massive amounts of pipework that was banked horizontally where possible to cut down intrusion into the general appearance of the factory.

"Furthermore, we had to be conscious of the accuracy required in the control of blending, the economical use of expensive masterbatch and the general throughput parameters."