Integration, optimization & support of automated systems

ISSUES

ENCOUNTERED

In recent years, competition in the pulp and paper industry has been steadily increasing. Following market trends, several companies have had to adapt by adopting new manufacturing methods while modernizing some of their equipment. One of these companies that manufactures embossed folded sheets hired us to optimize a section on one of their production lines. The section of the equipment that was targeted was a pneumatic operated compression system whose task was to compress folded sheets before they were sent to a wrapper. The three major problems encountered by this type of system were: Slowdown in production rates when manufacturing packages containing fewer sheets, a time-consuming product changeover, and lots of adjustments to do to synchronize this section with the rest of the line. Also, when the pneumatic cylinders reached a certain linear speed, the impacts at the end of the stroke were really hard. This having for effect to cause several repeated mechanical breakdowns. Service and maintenance costs for this section of the equipment were steadily on the rise. Then, we also noticed that losses of production opportunies were frequent and often caused by improper installation of cylinders or improper repair of cylinders.