Pearl Technologies, an EDGE Industrial Technologies brand, recently partnered with a leading producer of squeezable fruit pouches to optimize their manufacturing process. The Pearl customer utilizes six lines to convert rolls of flexible film into food-grade pouches, each equipped with eight zero-clearance units responsible for corner cropping.
Challenge
The existing punch units, manufactured by a Japanese-brand machine, presented several operational hurdles. With 26 components, including eight wear parts, the machines required significant maintenance, which meant taking the unit offline – a process that could extend up to two hours and demanded precise tuning with a specialized jig. Also, all engineering support for the machines originated in Japan, leading to potential delays in receiving support and resolving issues. Lead times for replacement units and parts were also lengthy, typically ranging from 60 to 90 days, and sometimes even longer.
Solution
The Pearl team took their decades of experience in developing custom solutions for customers and went to work, developing a significantly simpler yet more robust zero-clearance unit. The innovative design incorporates only seven components, with just three designated as wear parts, and runs significantly quieter, even falling below OSHA’s threshold for requiring ear protection. Additionally, the Pearl units operate without the need for grease or oil, a considerable advantage in food processing applications.
Results and Benefits
The implementation of Pearl’s solution yielded substantial improvements across multiple facets of the client’s operations:
- Reduced Maintenance and Downtime: Pearl’s more robust design allows for fewer in-line failures, resulting in a significant increase in machine uptime. Also helping to boost uptime numbers is a significantly reduced maintenance time – 20-25 minutes – and no need for a special jig.
- Improved Support and Lead Times: Pearl offers U.S.-based engineering support, reducing lead times for parts to less than two weeks and delivering replacement units in under four weeks.
- Cost Savings: Total replacement parts costs are estimated to be reduced by an impressive 75% to 90%.
- Enhanced Performance: The Pearl punch design ensures the scrap slug is pushed past the die and into a vacuum removal tube, effectively eliminating the risk of it blowing back into the film plane.
- Operational Enhancements: Pearl’s punches demonstrated superior longevity, lasting nearly 11 months before requiring sharpening. In addition, the Pearl units consistently produced clean cuts without creating a “J-hook” on the plastic, which can result in a sharp edge on the pouch and potential user discomfort.
About EDGE Industrial Technologies
EDGE Industrial Technologies is comprised of three industry leading brands – TGW International, Pearl Technologies Inc., and Leverwood Knife Works. EDGE companies are leading producers of industrial machine knives and blades, industrial punches, and related equipment, for a variety of markets, including packaging, processing, converting, printing, and general industrial applications. EDGE Industrial Technologies is a global leader in the manufacture of these products, with plants in North America, and Asia.
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