DRIVEN LINEAR ACTUATOR SYSTEM FOR BOTTLE SPRAYING
18/10/2011 HepcoMotion
The Liverpool-based company Dibro has one of the largest facilities in the UK for decorating glass bottles. It applies decorative painted finishes, acid-etched effects and lacquers to a variety of glass containers and has recently installed a new printing facility for the ceramic and precious metal printing of glass containers. The company is a specialist in its field but by its own admission no expert in linear motion. So when it came to automating a glass treatment process on the new plant to increase productivity it chose HepcoMotion® to recommend the most appropriate system for linear actuation.The process Dibro was seeking to automate involves spraying the bottles with a slip coating after printing as they emerge on a conveyor from the firing lehr. This is a kiln with a temperature gradient from end to end for annealing glass, a method of slowly cooling the product to prevent thermal shock. The linear system was required to transport a spray nozzle mechanism across the full width of the conveyor, coating a line of bottles on each pass.
For this purpose HepcoMotion® suggested a complete system based on a hybrid version of its Profile Driven Unit, the PDU2; a bespoke solution from its standard range of products. "We knew we needed a linear system that would provide consistent speed of the traverse unit to ensure an even spray coating and also the accurate positioning of the spray head so only the sides of the bottles are coated," explained Tom Dickinson, Managing Director and son of one of the Dickinson brothers that founded the company in 1933.
Many HepcoMotion® customers know precisely what they want to achieve through automation within a given budget but they do not have the linear motion expertise to specify the required system with confidence. Tom Dickinson continued: "We were certainly attracted by the quality of the HepcoMotion® product but more importantly for us it was the technical understanding the company brought to the table. HepcoMotion® just made it so easy for us."
The PDU2 at the heart of the Dibro system is a belt-driven linear actuator and ideal for this high performance application because it is compact and, thanks to its Herculane® wheels, runs virtually friction-free on the inside of the profile. This provides extremely stable support for the carriage plate that carries the spray nozzle; felt wipers sweep away any debris in its path.
The overall system comprises a rigid but lightweight aluminium slotted profile into which fits the toothed belt drive and carriage, an arrangement that effectively encloses the unit and makes it ideal for operating in the damp conditions on the Dibro bottle production line. This quality is enhanced by stainless fixings, available as a standard choice within the HepcoMotion® product programme.
HepcoMotion® specified and delivered the turnkey driven system complete with extra long beam to accord with the width of the lehr and AC motor to drive the PDU2. "We also wanted to fit ancillary sensors for positioning and control of the drive unit to vary speed using an inverter," Tom Dickinson explained. "And the HepcoMotion® system gave us the facility to do that easily."
The system cycle is dictated by the belt speed of the lehr which in turn is dependent on the size of the bottles being printed. Typically the traverse unit operates every minute, travelling at around 200mm/sec. The lehr is 2m wide so it typically takes the system 10 seconds to coat 15 one-litre spirit bottles or 50 perfume bottles.
The new printing facility is now up and running bringing new business to this family firm. Tom Dickinson concludes: "Currently the lehr is operating 24 hours a day and I'm pleased to confirm the HepcoMotion® system is working very well."
For further information, please contact:
HepcoMotion
Lower Moor Business Park
Tiverton Way
Tiverton
Devon
EX16 6TG
Tel: +44 (0)1884 243400
Fax: +44 (0)1884 243399
Web: www.hepcomotion.com
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