Please
see below a few examples of the Process Control Improvement projects
that we have implemented;
Project - Installation
of a vision system
Request; A plastic
component manufacturer required to reduce the amount of bad
product from a machine, the defects were causing losses further
down the production chain. A stop gap method was to site a
person on the exit of the machine inspecting the
product.
Study; Proplas installed
a camera vision system that could identify the defects
automatically, which in turn alerted the
operator.
Result; The system
detected 100% of the defects, the additional person was
eliminated and the number of defects being produced dropped due
to earlier detection.
Project - Product heating
system
Request; A manufacturer required a method
of heating an area of product, within a machine where space was
limited.
Study; Proplas investigated several heating
methods, and tested a few on the m/c. The most suitable and
efficient proved to be a pair of ceramic infrared elements
controlled by optical pyrometers, which we were able to control
within the existing machine control
PLC.
Result; The product is heated to
specification and meets quality criteria. The
installation fits easily inside the machine without affecting
the current assemblies.
Project - Position indicators to improve
quality
Request; A textile business required a
method of improving the accuracy of placing a fabric onto a
moving shaft.
Study; Proplas installed a couple of laser
line projectors, that clearly indicated the position, this
allowed the operator to verify the position whilst the machine
was in motion.
Result; The solution proved to be very
simple and cheap, and simplified the
M.O.W..
Project - Improved Planned Maintenance system
for ISO qualification
Request; A plastic component manufacturer
required to enhance the Planned Maintenance function, to achieve
ISO accreditation.
Study;
Proplas worked with the existing engineers to determine the best
solution. We purchased an "off the shelf" package and entered
all the information required to produce the necessary
documentation; Work orders, Planning's,
etc...
Result;
The PM system meets the ISO standards. The ownership of the plan
remains with the engineers through the involvement at the
development stage.
Project - Improving the output of
manufacturing unit
Request; A manufacturer required a large
production unit to improve its output rate. Investment had been
substantial
in an effort to achieve better results, but they had only
moderate improvements that put the plants viability into
doubt.
Study;
Proplas worked with the company for six months which enabled us
to fully understand the problems, during this period we made
many changes;
Simplification of the system, automating several
functions
Radically changed the scrap re-work
method
Removal of redundant plant, to improve
reliability.
Improved the operator
interface
Result; The output rate has increased by 40% and the
product quality is uniform. MTBF improvement - was 48 hours now
2 hours. The unit is still economically in
production
