machinery & machine safety
minimise business disruption, claims Graham. he explains: “rather than getting confused by
rows of relays and flicking through a manual to find the corresponding part, we have tried to adopt a more logical approach to help production managers visualise and where possible resolve technology issues. machine downtime is the worst thing for a food production environment.”
Conveyor removed in SeCondS compared to many food inspection counterparts who continue to deploy vulcanized belts which requires specialist equipment and can take up to four hours to switch out, both companies are converting to a quick release conveyor. Deployed on the raptor series, removing the conveyor for maintenance and sanitation is now a one person job, notes Graham and saving valuable time, money and labour and provides hygiene peace of mind. During the sanitation process, operatives simply
the test valve to insert contamination test balls. retrieval of the test balls via the reject valve is equally fast. Between product changeovers and at the end of each production shift, all three valves are removed to blast high pressure water jets through the system, eliminating product residue to avert cross contamination.
Kaizen-inSpired Kit a similar design philosophy features on the company’s high-spec combination metal Detection, X-ray and checkweighing systems. harking back to the days when Grahamwas an engineer on the road and systematically organised tools and spares by machine type, all of the firm’s combination cabinets house tools expressly designed for each machine and conveyor, along with laser etched part numbers and clear component descriptions. “many tools are bespoke to the machine so
cannot be purchased at your local hardware store,” reports Graham. additionally, etching part numbers for components that may in time need replacing onto the side of the cabinet cover is a real time saver when troubleshooting issues and ordering spares. a typical conveyor, for instance, may list half a dozen part numbers, including the belt, the drive rollers, timing belts and motor.
Coding partS with unique identifierS another useful feature introduced on sparc’s cerberus and the new raptor electronic board includes mapping and colour coding where the different wires and plug feed into, for example sensors, drive motors and hmis. this enables in- house engineers to swiftly troubleshoot and resolve a fault without having to dig out the very latest manual or electrical drawing. Diagrams with coded wires directing to a
picture of the part it relates to also helps with remote assistance, helping technicians to pre- order parts to maximise first time fix rates and
factOry&hanDLinGsOLUtiOns | nOVemBer 2021 39
Bespoke spanner and socket located on Pipeline X-ray are always easily accessible for opening the reject valve
unclip and disconnect the conveyor motor and lift out the entire assembly. in just seconds, the conveyor belt is removed, along with its individual components, such as rollers and bearings. improving line efficiencies, the belt tension and alignment are instantly restored when clipped back into place after maintenance and cleaning. Being orderly, focused and able to lay your
hands on tools when you need them is a key principle of good manufacturing practice (GmP) cites Graham. “By putting ourselves in our customers’ shoes, we have tried to implement a solution to address every bugbear. any cluttered workspace psychologically sets the wrong tone. it’s here where the quality of design and the thought that has gone into addressing all those little niggles can make a real difference to food safety and machine longevity.”
Sparc Systems
sparc-systems.com
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