Bottle marking at Lever Faberge
Secomak’s Powerstrip System for moisture removal is in use at Lever Faberge’s Fabric Softener Manufacturing Site, Port Sunlight, Wirral.
The Powerstrip system removes moisture from the fabric softener bottles enabling an ink jet identification mark to be accurately placed on the bottle surface. The bottles also need to be dried before being packed. Powerstrip is placed immediately downstream of a Fuji steam tunnel which shrinks the product sleeve over the bottles.
The bottles travel down the line with a gap between each, which has to be maintained.
The drying process must not bunch the bottles together.
Compressed air knives were considered as an alternative drying technique but rejected as their performance was unsatisfactory and running costs were prohibitive.
Unilever in Delft, Lever Faberge’s Netherlands-based sister company and already a user of Secomak products, recommended Secomak to the UK branch, prompting the purchase of a Secomak drying system.
Steve Maxwell, Electrical Project Engineer remarked, ‘Secomak were competitively priced and were able to offer a quick lead time.
The machine is reliable and build quality is good.’
Drying system eliminates windscreen defects
When Pilkington found that a new laser-based windscreen defect detection system was compromised by water droplets remaining after cleaning, they called in process dying specialist Secomak.
Pilkington produces windscreens for all the major car makers including Ford, Jaguar and Rover. To maximise quality the company installed a high performance laser defect detection system capable of picking out small pit marks or cracks in the glass. However, unless glass is perfectly dry the laser will signal water droplets as a defect.
False detection of defects is costly and time consuming.
Secomak designed a drying system, based on its air cannons, that has been added to the King’s Norton production line between the wash and final inspection stages.
The machine incorporates a reception and exit conveyor and the drying cycle time is just 18 seconds.
The air cannons deliver powerful currents of air both above and below the convex screens and track up and down to follow the screen contour as it passes on a conveyor.
To further improve the drying, the cannons oscillate from side to side as the screen passes.
Pilkington considered, and rejected, the use of standard air knives because they could not follow the glass curvature effectively.
The choice of a Secomak system was also prompted by the company’s ability to offer a complete solution including transfer mechanisms, fans, air cannons, and system installation and commissioning.
New drying demonstration and trial centre
Thanks to Secomak’s new Demonstration and Trial centre, customers can try out Secomak’s dryers, air knives, blowers, and shrink-wrapping packages without charge, before they buy.
Drying specialist Secomak produces air knives, blowers, and shrink-wrapping packages each designed to suit customers’ individual requirements. to take time out to run test lines at customers’ own sites, or risk buying machinery before the results can be guaranteed. The new centre contains a complete Powerstrip drying system with its inherent variety of air knives and blowers, which can be employed as a whole or in any combination of parts, plus shrink wrapping machines and bottle-capsule shrink-wrappers.
Customers can visit the centre with their products and view them being run through Secomak’s systems, or product samples can be sent in, along with details of line speeds, to be tested by Secomak.
The company will film the trials, and send them out to customers in CD format.
Secomak and the customer can also agree parameters for the tests.
For drying applications, Secomak’s sensitive measuring devices allow the company to reliably detect less than three milligrams of moisture on can tops, allowing the company to agree drying specifications with the customer, and then write those terms into a guarantee once trials have been completed.
On opening the new centre, Stephen O’Shea, Chief Executive at Secomak’s parent company, Halma, said, ‘This significantly enhances Secomak’s overall customer service.
The company now boasts an unrivalled facility and service that it can offer to existing and prospective buyers to fully prove its product performance right in front of them.
The Development Centre is equipped with the full range of Secomak’s latest products ranging from the highly efficient Powerstrip drying system to our range of Thermoshrink units for sleeving, and cap sealing.
In addition the full range of Secomak air knives, heaters, blowers are available to ensure that the most efficient process for your application can be developed, optimised and specified.
Secomak welcomes joint development’s and will work alongside customers to develop solutions for difficult or new processes, using our experience to develop the right solution for the product.
As well as the Secomak equipment available there is a wide selection of test equipment that is available to assist with process optimisation and allows for detailed results to be taken.
A CD of the trials data along with video footage of the trials will be provided.
All trials are undertaken in the strictest confidence.
Leakproof poultry packs geet the bird
A packaging system that provides completely sealed leakproof packages of whole birds has been developed by Secomak.
A packaging system that provides completely sealed leak proof packages of whole bird has been developed by Secomak.
The system is now approved by major multiple retailers and produces leak proof packs for the entire range of poultry sizes, with minimal adjustments with little or no distortion of the finished pack and very low heat dissipation into the packing hall.
Leak proof packaging offers advantages for both customers and retailers with no mess at the shelves, no mess for the customer and will highlight any damage or tampering of the pack.
Dryer speeds potato processing
A Secomak air knife drying system and turbo blower has been employed at MBM Potatoes, for use at its Shrewsbury potato processing facility.
MBM Potatoes processes and packs potatoes, mainly for Sainsbury’s in the UK. After passing through a wash facility, the potatoes need to be sorted, weighed and packed. Secomak’s drying equipment is positioned immediately before a sort/weigh/package machine, above the moving conveyor of potatoes.
To ensure accuracy, as well as for packaging purposes, the potatoes must be dry before weighing.
Space constraints meant that the system had to be mounted directly over the process line.
Demonstrating the company’s customer focus, Secomak introduced an air distribution manifold to neatly solve the problem.
Brushes and vibrating tables were considered as alternative drying techniques but were discounted as costs were too great, and both options were high maintenance.
Secomak’s drying system was purchased as it offered easy installation, low power consumption, and flexibility.
Major film manufacturer shrinks energy bill
Air knives from Secomak are now in use at Curwood Packaging Ltd, one of the largest manufacturers of barrier shrink films to the food processing industry.
Air knives from Secomak are now in use at Curwood Packaging Ltd, one of the largest manufacturers of barrier shrink films to the food processing industry, at its facility in Swansea, South Wales. Food producers demand a high performance product, with a consistent rate of shrink to meet the requirements of modern, high speed manufacturing environments; attained by pre-conditioning the film at the point of manufacture. Traditionally, the process of pre-conditioning is performed using hot, compressed air.
At Curwood’s Swansea facility, a process heater and air knife kit using low-pressure air knives from Secomak allows a more environmentally-friendly solution to be employed.
Curwood Projects Engineer Gary Smith said ‘The low-pressure air knives allowed us to condition our film very accurately, but most importantly, significant energy savings running into many thousands of pounds were achieved over the costs of traditional methods’.
He added, ‘The first Secomak kit was easy to install and made energy savings substantial enough to justify the purchase of a second system’.
Many extruders in the UK use traditional compressed air methods to condition or dry extrusions after water chillers.
Significant savings can be achieved using energy efficient low-pressure air knives.
This green alternative can help companies to reduce their energy consumption or greenhouse tax levy commitments.
Bottle drying dilemma solved
Secomak has helped Highland Spring solve a bottle drying dilemma at its state-of-the-art Perthshire bottling plant.
Highland spring has a very high profile image, and the shape and presentation of their blow-moulded bottles are quite distinctive. In profile they are almost square, and extra care was required to ensure the best possible presentation was maintained. As the spring water is bottled cold, straight from the mountain spring, condensation can occur on the outside of the bottle, which in turn leads to difficulties in applying the label directly on to a wet surface.
A Secomak Powerstrip drying system was selected as the best drying system to remove the troublesome condensation at very high production rates, prior to labelling, ensuring that the labels are presented perfectly on the bottle.
At high production speeds, it becomes necessary to expose as much of the surface area of the bottle to the drying effect of the air knives, and Secomak’s special container guidance system achieved this, as well as dealing with the added problem that the bottles are square in section.
It would not have been possible to achieve this with standard conveyor guide rails.
‘ We are very happy with the Powerstrip system,’ said Engineering Manager John Calderhead.
‘The bottle guidance system works well and the air knives are efficient even at high line speeds.
The acoustic cabinet also keeps the noise down to an acceptable level.’ Modular in design, Powerstrip systems can be custom-built for each specific application.
They are available in various forms, and are of modular construction, allowing for machines suitable for 200-600-1200 and 1800 bottles per minute.
Secomak estimates that the Powerstrip can reduce drying costs by up to 90% when compared with compressed air or thermal drying systems.
Maintenance costs are minimal, and expensive maintenance contracts are not required
Specialist furnace system anneals Indium wafers
A system for annealing indium wafers under clean room conditions has a 500 deg C oven and a special carrier assembly to insert the wafers into the heated zone of the system.]
Elite Thermal Systems, based in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, UK, have designed and manufactured a system for annealing indium wafers under clean room conditions for use in opto-electronics. The system is centred around an Elite oven that has a maximum temperature of 500 deg C. The oven incorporates a 110mm reaction tube with a 600mm heated length.
Elite designed a special carrier assembly to insert the wafers into the heated zone of the system.
The carrier is passed into the heated zone of the reaction vessel by a gas tight manual push-pull rod mechanism.
They are then processed under a high purity hydrogen/nitrogen gas mixture controlled by flow meters and micro filters.
Loading and unloading of the wafers onto the carrier assembly is facilitated by a precision slide assembly, which allows the whole carrier slide and push rod assembly to be withdrawn clear of the reaction tube.
Alf Roberts, Managing Director of Elite said, ‘This was a challenging project due to the need to keep a clean and pure environment for the wafers’.
‘We are producing many more innovative designs to meet the needs of the opto-electronics market that have a very high degree of precision and sophistication’, added Alf.
Elite produce a range a standard ovens and furnaces up to 2000 deg C, which are suitable for many applications.
Where specific thermal process characteristics are required, Elite will design a custom solution to meet the needs of the system
Tube furnace meets polymer production needs
When Hydro Polymers decided to install equipment to allow them to determine that products meet BS 6425 and CEI ICE 754-2 it selected a customised 1200 deg C single zone tube furnace.
When Hydro Polymers decided to install equipment to allow them to determine that products meet BS 6425 and CEI ICE 754-2 they appointed Elite Thermal Systems, based in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, to design the system. A Hydro Polymers’ spokesman commented, ‘We looked at various suppliers and it was obvious that Elite would be able to supply us with what we were looking for’. The Elite solution has a heated zone of 610mm and comprises: a specially designed 1200 deg C single zone tube furnace, quartz combustion tube, three wash bottles, combustion boats, sample carrier, load monitoring thermocouple and temperature indicator, all necessary connecting glass tubing and leak-tight rubber stoppers.
In addition, Elite designed the system with a number of innovative features that make it ideal for this work.
These include: Graded low thermal mass insulation, which provides rapid response times and optimum thermal efficiency and an outer mesh case cover to promote natural air-cooling that ensures operator safety and comfort.
The process starts with a weight sample being loaded into a combustion boat, which is inserted into the combustion tube and then into the hot Zone of the furnace via a non-contact sample carrier system to maintain the integrity of the sample environment.
Dry, filtered air is then introduced, the temperature in the furnace raised to 800 deg C and held for 30 minutes.
Enveloped gases from burnt material are trapped by bubbling through the distilled water in the wash bottles and the acidity measured by determining the pH value.
Elite produce a range a standard ovens and furnaces up to 2000 deg C, which are suitable for many applications.
Where specific thermal process characteristics are required, Elite will design a custom solution to meet the needs of the system
Special oven produces barium bromide safely
A special 450 deg C oven has been designed and delivered to leading international photographic manufacturer for the production of corrosive barium bromide, while maintaining safety nee
Elite Thermal Systems, based in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, UK, are used to developing thermal process systems for difficult and unusual applications. One such application was for a leading international photographic manufacturer, who required a special 450 deg C oven for the production of barium bromide. The challenge presented to Elite was to produce a system that was capable of withstanding the corrosive properties of the product and by-products of the process while maintaining safe working conditions for personnel.
An oven, designed with innovative features to provide a solution to the problem, is now installed and working at production capacity.
The oven is capable of processing up to 30kg of barium bromide per day.
The highly corrosive properties of the product and evolved vapours demanded special design characteristics and the use of a work chamber manufactured from a special corrosion and heat-resisting material.
The access door was also fitted with specially designed gas tight thermal seals.
Multiple gas inlets were provided together with exhaust and drain points for the safe collection of evolved condensates, with the heating elements being isolated from the process atmosphere.
Full temperature programming with digital communications for integration into a production supervisory system was provided.