Machine Building

High-speed packing lines help to boost haggis throughput

Two specially constructed Endoline high-speed packing lines has helped Scottish haggis producer Macsween meet their objective in automating the production of a new Haggis brand to meet retail demand, and assisted in increasing output by 200 per cent - all within a compact area.

8th October 2015

'Never Obsolete' guarantee seals metal detector deal

Sports nutrition and health supplement manufacturer Nutrition Group PLC has installed six Stealth Pharmaceutical metal detectors from Fortress Technology on its tablet pressing lines as part of a major upgrade and expansion programme.

8th October 2015

Worldwide remote services have become more secure

ZIPPE Industrieanlagen is an equipment manufacturer that provides systems for the glass industry in 75 countries. This is a major challenge for service provision. The equipment manufacturer has been using remote services for the past 20 years. This enables them to react quickly when system errors occur, and to provide an additional range of services. This service is more now powerful and secure than ever before, thanks to new technologies.

8th October 2015

DTS2 driven track system underpins reliable carousel system

Colin Mear Engineering is at the forefront of innovation when it comes to the packaging industry. Amongst their most recent projects was a new, flexible, multi-purpose packaging machine that would enable a high product throughput, all within a compact space. The machine would need to take the product and pack it into a 2-piece container; this container would then be inserted into a foil envelope, sealed and offloaded at a rate of 84 pieces per minute. At the core of this machine, Colin Mear Engineering required a precise and reliable carousel system to perform the functions over long periods with minimal maintenance.

8th October 2015

Parker inverters support EV rapid charging development project

A major project to create a modular energy storage system that reduces the barriers to installing electric vehicle rapid chargers is making use of inverter technology supplied by Parker. The project is spearheaded by Future Transport Systems and its subsidiary Connected Energy, a market leader in energy storage technologies and, along with Parker, involves a European automotive OEM giant, Renault, and Ricardo, a global strategic, technical and environmental consultancy.

7th October 2015

Automation at the heart of manufacturing

Since its formation nearly 1 year ago, HepcoAutomation has attracted many new customers keen to benefit from the wide range of automation systems the company can offer. Providing advanced automation from specialised tooling to complete turnkey systems, HepcoAutomation will deliver the complete product from design to installation.

6th October 2015

FANUC robots have a way with waffles

Sugar, vanilla, chocolate coated, soft or crispy; Belgian waffle house Biscuiterie Thijs knocks out thousands of batches of the batter snack every day. What started as a family business in 1976 has grown into a waffle empire supplying the likes of Aldi, Lidl, Carrefour, Jumbo and other European supermarkets. Catering to this growth, in 2013 the company's waffle plant in the Flemish province of Herentals acquired six new FANUC delta robots to perform the task of packing. With retail orders on the rise, it was an intentional move towards automation by Biscuiterie Thijs, with the six FANUC M-2iA robots packing over 150 more waffles per minute than human hands.

5th October 2015

Total and Parker set instrumentation manifold standard

Total RC, the refining and chemicals arm of French oil giant Total SA, is standardising on manifolds produced by the Instrumentation Products Division of Parker Hannifin. The decision follows several years' extensive temperature, pressure and corrosion testing of products from different manufacturers - Parker is the first company to have secured a 100 per cent pass rate.

5th October 2015

Coil winding machine features state-of-the-art control systems

Whitelegg Machines has just shipped a machine that will be used to wind body scanner coils for a Korean multinational company. This is the first machine of its type on which Whitelegg has installed state-of-the-art servo-controlled axes and a touchscreen HMI.

2nd October 2015

Easy access to condition monitoring data from marine gensets

M.A.C. Solutions (UK) Limited has provided an eWON VPN router and Talk2M remote access system to a manufacturer of marine diesel-electric generating sets so the company can download condition monitoring data as soon as the vessel is within reach of a 3G cellular signal, thereby saving the cost of sending an engineer to remote locations.

1st October 2015