Feature Conveyors
Automated conveyor system increases production for sealant manufacturer
CI Logistics has automated the movement of products for Hodgson Sealants enabling the company to achieve up to a 10 per cent increase in production at its Lymington facility
A
continuous conveyor system, which has been designed, manu- factured and installed by CI Logistics, transports boxes of butyl sealant products from the first floor of Hodgson Sealants’ Lymington site to the palletising and despatch area on the ground floor.
Hodgson Sealants began life in the late 1960s as a small family firm. Over the last four decades it has grown to become a global supplier of quality sealants. The company operates from two sites, one in the north of England at Beverley and the other based in the south, at Lymington. The Lymington site was purpose built in 1988 and has become the company’s centre for butyl sealant manufacturing and extrusion.
An automated conveyor system from CI Logistics has increased production output by 10 per cent for Hodgson Sealants
Hodgson Sealant’s engineering man- ager at Lymington comments, “We approached three different companies to tender for the contract and we were impressed by the detail that CI Logistics put into the design stage. They’d ironed out potential problems all the way through the process right up to installation and commissioning. “Their automated system was also the best that we looked at; it was ergonomic, modular and more versa- tile than the other systems which were rigid and fixed in comparison. Because the system is modular, it is relatively maintenance free and will be easy to adapt should we wish to carry out future modifications.” He continues, “The system was delivered on time and CI Logistics installed it mechanically and electri- cally in three phased stages. The con- veyors are operated by a highly effective control system, which was also designed and developed by CI Logistics. “It’s an integral part of the auto- mated process, managing the flow of boxes by stalling them if the system is busy at the merge points. Essentially it’s a good system with a minimal
Bag dump conveyor improves productivity F
number of drive units, which gives a reduced risk of component failure. “Once the automated system was switched on it had to work from day one as all of the production lines were committed to it. Altogether the instal- lation was relatively seamless and we were pleased with the back up support that CI gave us during that first week.” The palletised raw butyl sealant arrives by lift onto the upstairs extruder floor, ready prepared for the extrusion process. This raw product is fed to the production lines where each operator can produce between 50 to 120 boxes of extruded product per shift.
lexicon bag dump stations have become a ‘must-have’ at Ameron International’s manufac- turing plant which produces protective PVC lining products for large concrete sewer pipes. The bag dump stations with their high velocity fans and two-stage filtration system have dramatically improved the working environment, drawing airborne dust away from the operator whilst also reducing build-up on machine surfaces. In addition, the performance of a Flexicon screw conveyor for handling a difficult paste-like material has improved transfer rates six-fold. Production of the PVC linings require precise quantities of titanium dioxide (TiO2) to be weighed and blended with a PVC resin prior to extrusion of the compound, to impart UV resistance and a translucent white colour. With the company’s previous mixing process it was difficult to contain dust. Plant personnel cut open bags of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and shoveled
the powder into a bucket on a scale. When the net weight of TiO2 reached 2.7kg it was dumped into a blender containing 137kg of PVC - a 2 per cent concentration. Handling the powder in an open environment produced dust. “If you open a bag of titanium dioxide and dump it, the powder can become airborne,” explains James Gross, a product engineer at the Ameron plant. TiO2 powder is difficult to handle since it is cohesive and compressible, tending to pack, cake, bridge and otherwise resist flow. “It’s a powder that acts almost like a paste, so it’s problematic to move,” says Gross. With the Flexicon system an operator can empty the filled bucket into the blender without removing it from the dust-containment box, titanium dioxide is thus contained throughout the system. “The system has effectively contained dust,” Gross reports. In addition to protecting workers and keeping the surrounding plant area clean, the system reduces material waste and eliminates the need to clean a remote dust-collection site. Flexicon (Europe)
T: 01227 374710 S10
www.flexicon.co.uk Enter 359
All of the extrusion lines are con- nected by spurs to the main conveyor system. Double lift up gates have been incorporated into a number of these conveyor spur sections to allow access with a pallet truck as necessary. As the operators fill the boxes with finished product, they now simply push them out onto the conveyor system instead of directly placing them onto the pallets. Transportation of boxes to the ground floor is via one of two con- veyor routes; one runs above the main gangway supported by structural steel- work to provide maximum usable floor space, the other emerges from the extruder floor close to the decline sec- tion where the two routes merge. “Our operators are now at their sta- tions extruding product for longer periods, where in the past they had to leave the line to manually pack boxes onto a pallet which was then taken to the ground floor via the lift,” con- cludes Hodgson Sealant’s engineering manager. “This took time and meant that the production lines’ output had to accommodate those processes. As soon as we became automated we saw the gains in terms of increased produc- tion output by up to 10 per cent.” Hodgson Sealants also believes that installing the conveyor system has helped to protect the health and safety of its staff by reducing a manual han- dling component of their work.
CI Logistics T: 0116 276 1691
www.conveyors.co.uk
Enter 358 MAY 2011 Materials Handling & Logistics
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