Converting Case Study
Smart conveyors streamline wet wipes packaging challenges
By Christian Dager, sales engineer,
Shuttleworth, division of ProMach
here is little worse on an automated production line than an interruption or cessation of throughput because of equipment failure, product spillage or product jam ups. The costs of machine repair, product damage and clean up, and added labour are marginal compared to the loss of revenue from slowed or stopped throughput. In high-volume manufacturing facilities, interruption of throughput can exceed tens-of-thousands of dollars of revenue lost per hour.
T
Consequently, manufacturers closely manage their product line operations to maximise uptime. Technology plays a critical role. As new and improved technology becomes available, operational performance, safety and maintenance are streamlined for better output, optimised equipment utilisation and system longevity.
PRODUCTION BOTTLENECK An industry sector where automation has made a significant improvement in throughput uptime is the primary and secondary packaging of wet wipes. Wet wipe consumption, overall, has nearly tripled in the past decade, according to Smithers Pira (formally Pira International), the worldwide authority on the packaging, paper and print industry supply chains. The appeal of sanitising wipes, baby wipes, nappy liners, feminine hygiene and cosmetic wipes, and cleaning cloth products, comes from the advantages they offer consumers in effectiveness, cleanliness, convenience and ease of use. Adding to this tremendous growth, the demand for sanitising wet wipes has exploded with Covid-19, pushing manufacturers’ wet wipe production demands beyond previous expectations. High-speed automation for folding, wetting, cutting and piling of wet wipes presents throughput challenges when fragile stacks of newly-produced wipes are
transferred to downstream primary and secondary packaging machinery operating at lower throughput speeds. Wet wipe manufacturing automation can produce up to 500 stacks of wipes per minute, in counts ranging from 20 to 100 single-ply sheets per stack. At these high throughput levels, downstream systems for primary and secondary packaging like shrink wrappers and case packers, cannot handle the volume of product flow unless it is split into multiple lines of packaging machinery. Whether one packaging line or multiple lines are employed, the need to handle the fragile wet wipe stacks gently to minimise damage or deformation is a key concern. Transporting the stacks of wipes carefully from manufacturing through primary packaging with high throughput and near-zero product damage is of critical importance. However, many wet wipe manufacturers are plagued with conveying systems that are inadequate for moving these fragile stacks through the packaging processes.
Furthermore, when positioning stacks of wipes for infeed into primary packaging machinery, like shrink wrappers, as well as handling containers of packaged wipes for infeed into secondary packaging systems, too often the conveyors handling these wipes are not designed to adequately stage the products for precise registration for
infeed. The same can be said for labelling and, particularly, date stamping, where the products may have to be rotated on the conveyor to a precise location for stamping. No matter how efficient shrink wrappers, labellers and case packers may be, if the packaging line does not use conveyors adequately designed for the handling of fragile products, like wet wipes, and precisely stage these products for infeed, then the product quality, speed of throughput and cost-efficiency of the entire production and packaging line will be compromised. Having the right conveyor systems that adequately address these conditions minimises line stoppages, and significantly decreases opportunities for product jam ups and damage. Designing the wet wipes packaging conveyor system to function as an uninterrupted and smooth-running operation increases efficiency, throughput and profitability for the entire primary and secondary packaging line.
SMARTER CONVEYOR TECHNOLOGY Three technology developments have directly contributed to enhancing high- performance conveying for wet wipes packaging: Slip-Torque roller technology, Dynamic Accumulation and SmartFeed. These were developed by Shuttleworth, a designer, manufacturer and integrator
convertermag.com
February 2021
31
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
