150% increase in productivity.
Pursuit of heightened efficiency
In the pursuit of heightened efficiency and increased production capacity, a transformative journey that resulted in a remarkable surge of +150% in productivity.
The Challenge:
Companies in the frozen pancake industry consistently aim to enhance production efficiency and cut costs. Encountered challenges in packaging more frozen pancakes per minute, impacting profitability. AES aimed to increase the wrapping speed while preserving product quality and reducing maintenance costs. Initially, The Client packaged 60-80 pancakes per minute, hindered by the infeed's inability to stack pancakes neatly with their existing flow-wrapper. This inefficiency resulted in higher production costs and reduced profitability.
The Solution:
AES provided a tailored solution, introducing a Smart Belt Infeed with 8 belts driven by One Motion Mag-Drives. This advanced technology operates in an open-loop configuration, ensuring precise movement with an error margin under 1.5 mm. The system detects products, compares their position with PLC requirements, and corrects any skew. Integrating the Sapphire Flow Wrapper further enhanced the process, featuring an accessible film tree for automatic tracking and slicing, reducing downtime. The Sapphire's "no product, no wrap" feature prevents crushing by holding the knife when products are out of position, minimizing waste in both product and packaging.
The Results:
The Garnet, handling 4" pancakes in stacks of 2, 3, or 4, creates stable stacks for the Sapphire, preventing falls and jams, unlike the previous pendulum design. Using 8 smart belts automates feeding into the Sapphire, reducing manual labor. The Sapphire's fin-wheel design ensures a reliable seal. The Client increased production from 60-80 to 140-200 pancakes per minute, marking a +150% improvement. This success prompted continued partnership, with The Client adding four more machines, boosting productivity, reducing downtime, and cutting labor and material costs.