Consumers hardly think about packaging material. They unpack their goods and throw the protective packaging material away. However, for companies like Storopack, packaging material is a core business activity. This fast growing, global company relies on the Stars in Pneumatics range from Festo for some of its production equipment – sturdy, durable standard cylinders and valves that are quickly available from stock.
“Hardly anyone thinks about how important it is to select the right protective packaging products in the right quantity and quality for a particular application,” says Daniel Wachter, president of Storopack in Cincinnati, Ohio. “Incorrect or inadequate filler material can damage goods in transit, while excessive or incorrectly inserted protective packaging material can significantly reduce productivity.”
Part of the overall solution is a comprehensive approach which assigns the right packaging to each consignment to ensure optimum product protection combined with maximum productivity. In addition to the numerous article data already recorded in most material management systems, Storopack solutions can also include information crucial to providing transport protection for all listed articles, for example degrees of fragility or sensitivity. This means that, even at the picking stage, the best possible sequence and arrangement can be used to insert goods into cartons.
On the so-called 'last 100 feet' in a distribution centre, various packaging solutions are networked together and used as appropriate so that each package is directed towards the right packing station. For example, a consignment consisting only of books is fed to a fully automatic system, while the next package is guided by a roller conveyor to packing stations equipped for the semi-automatic application of protective packaging. All consignments which require special attention because of their contents are guided to manual packing stations. A control system assigns each consignment a carton which is of optimum size for its contents.
During the primary process for Storopak’s Airplus film rolls, plastic granulate is formed into basic plastic film at blown film lines. This is then wound onto rolls by winding machines. These machines are equipped with standard Festo DSBC cylinders which allow the rollers of the winding machines to be correctly aligned, depending on the load.
On configuration lines in the secondary process, the film is configured to the required dimensions and perforations and packed as finished Airplus rolls. Stamping tools are used to seal and perforate the infinite plastic film to form air cushions of specific width and length. These lines are also equipped with pneumatic DSBC, cylinders, as well as rotary DSNU-PPS cylinders, compact ADN cylinders and short-stroke ADVC cylinders, controlled in each case by individual CPE 14 valves.
The self-adjusting end-position cushioning reduces vibrations and thus enables high speed and short machine cycles. The DSNU with PPS reduces costs and errors. The self-adjusting pneumatic cushioning of the DSNU-PPS never needs to be adjusted, which means that sources of error such as incorrect adjustment or accidental re-adjustment are no longer an issue. The PPS cushioning efficiently converts energy and effectively brakes loads. It adjusts perfectly to load and speed, even when these change.
Previously operators had to adjust the integrated pneumatic end-position cushioning in the cylinder manually at the expense of cycle time and noise generation. Manual cushioning adjustment is also time-consuming, prolonging the commissioning of systems with many drives to be cushioned. PPS self-adjusting cushioning ensures optimum cushioning performance at all times, without the need for any manual intervention.
“When it comes to reliability and robustness, there is no alternative to standard components from Festo,” says Mike Genevro, operations manager at Storopack, Cincinnati. “These features are very important, since conditions in our production process are dusty and hot.” These standard cylinders from Festo are among its automation stars and are identified in the catalogue with a star. This indicates that they are always available worldwide from stock and offer the proverbial Festo quality together with an attractive price. They can also be ordered online with a few clicks and are ready for dispatch ex-works in 24 hours.
The cooperation between Storopack and Festo does not end with Festo’s Stars in Automation. Service and training are very important. “When we were looking for the right cylinder for a certain application and could not find an answer, a whole project team from Festo Automation and Didactic provided us with advice and found the right solution,” concludes Genevro.
For more information contact Kershia Beharie, Festo, +27 (0)11 971 5509, [email protected], www.festo.co.za
| Tel: | 08600 FESTO (33786) |
| Fax: | +27 11 974 2157 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
| www: | www.festo.co.za |
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