Where to Save and Prevent Costs on New Conveyor Projects
Copyright 2009 Nercon Eng. & Mfg., Inc.
Oshkosh, WI
Spring 2009
Where to Save and Prevent Costs on New Conveyor Projects Consumer product manufacturers are currently faced with higher costs of raw materials to produce their product or package and because of a slow economy, everyone is looking for ways to lower costs while maintaining quality on equipment purchases. Depending on the specifications and requirements for the conveyor system, Nercon can offer ways to save money up-front on capital equipment purchases as well as preventing unnecessary operating and production costs. System Requirements Versus Costs What are the challenges of balancing the requirements for a conveyor system with the cost and effort to produce it? In this article, Nercon’s projects are classified into three different categories and each of these offers either up front cost savings or other ways to save on production. Assemble-to-Order: Nercon’s Modular Conveyor Express line is a pre-engineered line of conveyors with common components kept in stock. When these orders are placed, the conveyors are readily assembled according to the order. Conveyors in this product line offer a robust, proven design at an economical price. As an added benefit, these conveyors are produced very quickly since the engineering process is bypassed and the components are already fabricated and kept in inventory. In order to save up-front costs, consider the requirements of the new conveyor system projects to see if these modular conveyors can fit into all or part of the product handling line. A new website was recently launched, which offers “how-to” downloads, Auto CAD templates, FAQs, and movies including “Express Install” featured on the home page. For more information, visit www.nercon.com and click on Modular Conveyor Express. Made-to-Order: Nercon offers proven, pre-engineered, standard assemblies and components that are modified to meet the specific requirements of the application. Using standard Made-to-order components reduces the amount of engineering time on the project. Whenever possible, Nercon will recommend standards on conveyor design, guide rails, brackets, motors, supports and even paint color. While it may require a change in system specifications, another way to save cost is to consider adopting Nercon’s standards for your next conveyor line project. Design-to-Order: The chart in Figure 1 shows that the greater the performance and efficiency of a system, the higher it’s cost. Design-to-order conveyors and equipment systems utilize Nercon’s proven conveyor engineering principles that are customized solutions to the customer’s specific requirements. Figure 1. This chart illustrates the capital cost comparisons of Nercon’s conveyor categories versus the customization needed to meet the requirements of the system. To review, ATO is Assemble to Order, MTO is Made to Order and DTO is Design to order. Continued on back (page 4.)
The Nercon Newsletter is published quarterly by the Marketing Dept. in order to educate customers on equipment and technology updates. Nercon Eng. & Mfg., Inc. 3972 S. Hwy. 45 Oshkosh, WI 54902 PH: 920-233-3268 FX: 920-233-3159 Email: [email protected] www.nercon.com COPYRIGHT 2009
Glass Handling Conveyors and Equipment
New Glass Jar Packaging Line Keeps Pasta Sauce On The Shelf DelGrosso Foods, Inc. is one of the oldest and largest family-owned producer of pasta sauce in the U.S., tracing its roots to 1914 and an Italian immigrant’s old-world recipe for pasta sauce. Perhaps the reason for a recent 60% increase in sales volume is attached to DelGrosso’s ultra-premium pasta sauce line, La Famiglia DelGrosso. Having expanded several times and as recently as 2000, the company partnered with Nercon to engineer a glass jar packaging line to dramatically increase production capacity within the confines of their existing facility. To allow for future growth, the high speed glass handling line was engineered to increase capacity by 50%. Nercon provided front-end engineering services for field verification, line layout design and concept. A second atmospheric spray cooler was installed to effectively double the jar cooling capacity. Nercon provided all the thermal engineering and hardware to update the cooling tower, heat exchangers, pumping and piping systems to the dual spray cooler arrangement. On the packaging floor, equipment bottlenecks were replaced with high speed or mass flow systems. An overview of Nercon’s equipment on the line started with a new high speed pressureless single filer handling empty glass jars. A live Drum spiral conveyor was integrated with a rotary jar rinser (600 jars per minute) in the field. The system included three heat tunnels (to prevent thermal shock) to pre-heat the glass before filling with 200 degree sauce. Next, hot-filled jars ran through the horizontal head space sterilizer. Then the full jar conveying system was engineered to demand divide and mass flow into two spray coolers. Out of the coolers, the flow of full jars was recombined using bi-directional tables and a high speed pressureless single filer, before conveying to labeling and case packing operations. Electrical controls were expanded and optimized to integrate all thermal controls including the spray cooling systems, and the high speed conveyor line controls. The system was fully automated and menu driven with multiple HMI’s (Human Machine Interface.) In addition to engineering the electrical controls, Nercon’s controls experts also provided start-up, commissioning and operator training. The 20,000 sq. ft. sauce line, including accumulation equipment, tabletop and mattop chain conveyors, was completely set up and tested at Nercon’s factory. The new line, producing 600 jars per minute to the case packers, will not only provide DelGrosso with the increased capacity it needs to keep up with present and future demand for their product; but will also provide minimal glass breakage and waste. Great expertise in thermal design, hot and cold glass handling and conveyance was put into the concept and engineering layout of this line to diminish thermal shock and other waste issues when handling glass.
To watch our Glass Jar Handling movie, visit NEWS at www.nercon.com and scroll to this article!
Live Drum Spiral Conveyors Solve Elevation Challenge A large pickle producer replaced older pasteurizers/ coolers with larger, more efficient machines. In order to fit into the production space, these large pasteurizers/ coolers were vertically stacked. The challenge in this production situation was to elevate multiple sizes (10 oz. to 1 gallon) of filled pickle jars to the pasteurizer and down from the cooler at maximum efficiency. Comparisons with other elevation solutions: A single file Gripper Conveyor would have required additional single filing equipment added to the already limited floor space. Further, required speeds for handling a 10 lb. jar in this application would not be attainable on a Gripper Conveyor. An Alpine Conveyor system, while being able to handle the capacity, would take up more floor space than available in the facility.
While these Live Drum Spiral were fitted to the Pasteurizers/Coolers at the customer site, Nercon merged the two systems together at the factory in order to better simulate production flow for the customer approval.
High Tension Spirals would not be able to make the pull for the weight of the pickle jars and the height required. The Live Drum Spiral Conveyor was the best solution for elevating and lowering these mass flow heavy, filled jars. The jars traveled through elevation changes at a safe, gradual rate with no changeover required to handle the various product sizes. Designed for 20 lbs. per linear foot at 80 feet per minute, this mass flow elevation solution provided the pasteurizer with continuous product to maximize its capacity. To watch these Live Drum Spirals in action, visit NEWS at www.nercon.com and scroll to this article! Also visit. www.nercon.com/spiralconveyor for more movie footage, white paper and brochure.
New Trough Conveyor Design Meets Sanitary Standards The quick belt release system.
The cantilever (C-shape) frame design on this new ceiling hung trough conveyor allows for ease of belt removal for access to inspection, maintenance and cleaning. There are no special tools required for the quick belt release. Continuously welded, polished, stainless steel square tubing construction allows cleanability of this conveyor to a microbiological level. The food grade belt is driven by a shaft mounted drive to the pulley and the V-guides allow for positive belt tracking. This flexible design also allows for other belting options to meet custom process and sanitary requirements. Meat, dairy and confectionery, baking and process handling standards are met with this sanitary trough design. The cantilever frame and sanitary construction provides reduced cleaning cost, minimized down-time and avoidance of contamination.
C-shape frame design allows for access.
ENG. & MFG., INC. 3972 S. Hwy. 45 Oshkosh, WI 54902
Saving Costs ... Design-to-Order Benefits continued from page 1 The benefit of specially designed systems is the tangible cost savings in maximizing production. Every minute your system is down results in lost profits. Another tangible cost savings is to increase capacity. Can you decrease changeover time? What types of down-time are causing reduced output? Can operating costs be alleviated? Production increases are measurable and can be calculated to determine the pay back for the cost of the packaging conveyor line. Failure to properly assess the production line environment can result in waste, excess costs and higher cycle times. Nercon offers the services of Nemco Design Group on projects that would benefit from line efficiency studies and line audits, packaging line design engineering and project management. Reduced or delayed products-to-market are an intangible cost to the project. To protect the customer’s investment on their conveyor system, Nercon offers factory testing and installation services. A comprehensive F.A.T. is the most cost effective means to ensure that the equipment operates efficiently and prevents major costly modifications and time-line disruptions on-site. Also consider Nercon’s Installation Services to facilitate smooth installations with faster up-times. To Start Saving, Know Your Requirements Start by checking the requirements for your conveyor project with Nercon’s modular conveyor line or Nercon’s standards. Whether the category is ATO, MTO or DTO, the quality and performance of the conveyors and components are the same. The difference is in the customization required for the application. Beyond these offers, the next best way to save cost is to know the changeover, down-time and maintenance costs of the existing system. With this information, the purchasing team can assess the level of time, effort and expense needed for a specially designed conveyor system to reach the performance parameters needed so the system pays itself back.
Oshkosh, WI
Spring 2009
Where to Save and Prevent Costs on New Conveyor Projects Consumer product manufacturers are currently faced with higher costs of raw materials to produce their product or package and because of a slow economy, everyone is looking for ways to lower costs while maintaining quality on equipment purchases. Depending on the specifications and requirements for the conveyor system, Nercon can offer ways to save money up-front on capital equipment purchases as well as preventing unnecessary operating and production costs. System Requirements Versus Costs What are the challenges of balancing the requirements for a conveyor system with the cost and effort to produce it? In this article, Nercon’s projects are classified into three different categories and each of these offers either up front cost savings or other ways to save on production. Assemble-to-Order: Nercon’s Modular Conveyor Express line is a pre-engineered line of conveyors with common components kept in stock. When these orders are placed, the conveyors are readily assembled according to the order. Conveyors in this product line offer a robust, proven design at an economical price. As an added benefit, these conveyors are produced very quickly since the engineering process is bypassed and the components are already fabricated and kept in inventory. In order to save up-front costs, consider the requirements of the new conveyor system projects to see if these modular conveyors can fit into all or part of the product handling line. A new website was recently launched, which offers “how-to” downloads, Auto CAD templates, FAQs, and movies including “Express Install” featured on the home page. For more information, visit www.nercon.com and click on Modular Conveyor Express. Made-to-Order: Nercon offers proven, pre-engineered, standard assemblies and components that are modified to meet the specific requirements of the application. Using standard Made-to-order components reduces the amount of engineering time on the project. Whenever possible, Nercon will recommend standards on conveyor design, guide rails, brackets, motors, supports and even paint color. While it may require a change in system specifications, another way to save cost is to consider adopting Nercon’s standards for your next conveyor line project. Design-to-Order: The chart in Figure 1 shows that the greater the performance and efficiency of a system, the higher it’s cost. Design-to-order conveyors and equipment systems utilize Nercon’s proven conveyor engineering principles that are customized solutions to the customer’s specific requirements. Figure 1. This chart illustrates the capital cost comparisons of Nercon’s conveyor categories versus the customization needed to meet the requirements of the system. To review, ATO is Assemble to Order, MTO is Made to Order and DTO is Design to order. Continued on back (page 4.)
The Nercon Newsletter is published quarterly by the Marketing Dept. in order to educate customers on equipment and technology updates. Nercon Eng. & Mfg., Inc. 3972 S. Hwy. 45 Oshkosh, WI 54902 PH: 920-233-3268 FX: 920-233-3159 Email: [email protected] www.nercon.com COPYRIGHT 2009
Glass Handling Conveyors and Equipment
New Glass Jar Packaging Line Keeps Pasta Sauce On The Shelf DelGrosso Foods, Inc. is one of the oldest and largest family-owned producer of pasta sauce in the U.S., tracing its roots to 1914 and an Italian immigrant’s old-world recipe for pasta sauce. Perhaps the reason for a recent 60% increase in sales volume is attached to DelGrosso’s ultra-premium pasta sauce line, La Famiglia DelGrosso. Having expanded several times and as recently as 2000, the company partnered with Nercon to engineer a glass jar packaging line to dramatically increase production capacity within the confines of their existing facility. To allow for future growth, the high speed glass handling line was engineered to increase capacity by 50%. Nercon provided front-end engineering services for field verification, line layout design and concept. A second atmospheric spray cooler was installed to effectively double the jar cooling capacity. Nercon provided all the thermal engineering and hardware to update the cooling tower, heat exchangers, pumping and piping systems to the dual spray cooler arrangement. On the packaging floor, equipment bottlenecks were replaced with high speed or mass flow systems. An overview of Nercon’s equipment on the line started with a new high speed pressureless single filer handling empty glass jars. A live Drum spiral conveyor was integrated with a rotary jar rinser (600 jars per minute) in the field. The system included three heat tunnels (to prevent thermal shock) to pre-heat the glass before filling with 200 degree sauce. Next, hot-filled jars ran through the horizontal head space sterilizer. Then the full jar conveying system was engineered to demand divide and mass flow into two spray coolers. Out of the coolers, the flow of full jars was recombined using bi-directional tables and a high speed pressureless single filer, before conveying to labeling and case packing operations. Electrical controls were expanded and optimized to integrate all thermal controls including the spray cooling systems, and the high speed conveyor line controls. The system was fully automated and menu driven with multiple HMI’s (Human Machine Interface.) In addition to engineering the electrical controls, Nercon’s controls experts also provided start-up, commissioning and operator training. The 20,000 sq. ft. sauce line, including accumulation equipment, tabletop and mattop chain conveyors, was completely set up and tested at Nercon’s factory. The new line, producing 600 jars per minute to the case packers, will not only provide DelGrosso with the increased capacity it needs to keep up with present and future demand for their product; but will also provide minimal glass breakage and waste. Great expertise in thermal design, hot and cold glass handling and conveyance was put into the concept and engineering layout of this line to diminish thermal shock and other waste issues when handling glass.
To watch our Glass Jar Handling movie, visit NEWS at www.nercon.com and scroll to this article!
Live Drum Spiral Conveyors Solve Elevation Challenge A large pickle producer replaced older pasteurizers/ coolers with larger, more efficient machines. In order to fit into the production space, these large pasteurizers/ coolers were vertically stacked. The challenge in this production situation was to elevate multiple sizes (10 oz. to 1 gallon) of filled pickle jars to the pasteurizer and down from the cooler at maximum efficiency. Comparisons with other elevation solutions: A single file Gripper Conveyor would have required additional single filing equipment added to the already limited floor space. Further, required speeds for handling a 10 lb. jar in this application would not be attainable on a Gripper Conveyor. An Alpine Conveyor system, while being able to handle the capacity, would take up more floor space than available in the facility.
While these Live Drum Spiral were fitted to the Pasteurizers/Coolers at the customer site, Nercon merged the two systems together at the factory in order to better simulate production flow for the customer approval.
High Tension Spirals would not be able to make the pull for the weight of the pickle jars and the height required. The Live Drum Spiral Conveyor was the best solution for elevating and lowering these mass flow heavy, filled jars. The jars traveled through elevation changes at a safe, gradual rate with no changeover required to handle the various product sizes. Designed for 20 lbs. per linear foot at 80 feet per minute, this mass flow elevation solution provided the pasteurizer with continuous product to maximize its capacity. To watch these Live Drum Spirals in action, visit NEWS at www.nercon.com and scroll to this article! Also visit. www.nercon.com/spiralconveyor for more movie footage, white paper and brochure.
New Trough Conveyor Design Meets Sanitary Standards The quick belt release system.
The cantilever (C-shape) frame design on this new ceiling hung trough conveyor allows for ease of belt removal for access to inspection, maintenance and cleaning. There are no special tools required for the quick belt release. Continuously welded, polished, stainless steel square tubing construction allows cleanability of this conveyor to a microbiological level. The food grade belt is driven by a shaft mounted drive to the pulley and the V-guides allow for positive belt tracking. This flexible design also allows for other belting options to meet custom process and sanitary requirements. Meat, dairy and confectionery, baking and process handling standards are met with this sanitary trough design. The cantilever frame and sanitary construction provides reduced cleaning cost, minimized down-time and avoidance of contamination.
C-shape frame design allows for access.
ENG. & MFG., INC. 3972 S. Hwy. 45 Oshkosh, WI 54902
Saving Costs ... Design-to-Order Benefits continued from page 1 The benefit of specially designed systems is the tangible cost savings in maximizing production. Every minute your system is down results in lost profits. Another tangible cost savings is to increase capacity. Can you decrease changeover time? What types of down-time are causing reduced output? Can operating costs be alleviated? Production increases are measurable and can be calculated to determine the pay back for the cost of the packaging conveyor line. Failure to properly assess the production line environment can result in waste, excess costs and higher cycle times. Nercon offers the services of Nemco Design Group on projects that would benefit from line efficiency studies and line audits, packaging line design engineering and project management. Reduced or delayed products-to-market are an intangible cost to the project. To protect the customer’s investment on their conveyor system, Nercon offers factory testing and installation services. A comprehensive F.A.T. is the most cost effective means to ensure that the equipment operates efficiently and prevents major costly modifications and time-line disruptions on-site. Also consider Nercon’s Installation Services to facilitate smooth installations with faster up-times. To Start Saving, Know Your Requirements Start by checking the requirements for your conveyor project with Nercon’s modular conveyor line or Nercon’s standards. Whether the category is ATO, MTO or DTO, the quality and performance of the conveyors and components are the same. The difference is in the customization required for the application. Beyond these offers, the next best way to save cost is to know the changeover, down-time and maintenance costs of the existing system. With this information, the purchasing team can assess the level of time, effort and expense needed for a specially designed conveyor system to reach the performance parameters needed so the system pays itself back.
