Tag: metal packaging

NEMA 4 Cabinet Cooler Keeps Vision Inspection Camera Cool

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment

Recently, I visited a packaging manufacturer who specialized in thin-wall, metal containers for such things as paint, oil, thinner, denatured alcohol, etc. On one application the process involved applying a small bead of rubber sealant to the underside of the top portion of a metal spray can to help in sealing the top of the can when assembled. After the sealant was applied, heated air was blown onto the bead to cure it prior to inspection.

The problem was that heat generated from the curing process was collecting in the housing for the inspection camera itself. The enclosure was mounted over top of the track on which the parts were moving by. This lead to overheating of the camera system and resulted in false rejections. The customer installed model 4708 (NEMA 4 Cabinet Cooler System) onto the enclosure to keep it cool for steady, effective operation of the camera. The photo below show the Cabinet Cooler System mounted to the top of the vision inspection system enclosure at the inspection stage.

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Model 4708 Cabinet Cooler System

Neal Raker, International Sales Manager
nealraker@exair.com

Super Air Knife Cools Welded and Lacquered Seam in Metal Packaging Production

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment
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Can form to be cooled by Super Air Knife

On a recent trip to Europe, I was invited to visit a packaging manufacturer who was using EXAIR equipment in a variety of applications. This particular application dealt with the cooling of metal spray cans after they were welded on the seam that runs the length of the can form and after that same seem had been sprayed with lacquer and dried using hot air to keep the welded seam from rusting.

The cans were formed into their round shape from a flat sheet that had all the artwork applied. Then, using a magnetic conveyor similar to the photo on the right above, the machine moves the can form past a welding head to secure the two sides together. The welding process puts quite a bit of heat into the metal and so the customer immediately cools the can with a 72” Aluminum Super Air Knife for that same distance along the travel of the conveyor. The can then enters an area where there is a small spray applicator to add the lacquer to the welded joint. After that, the can traverses through a heated tunnel to dry the lacquer. Finally, the can is cooled by another set of Aluminum Super Air Knives as you see in the photo below.

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Super Air Knives remove heat from the welded seam of a metal can

 

The heat affected area was quite small in relationship to the airflow area that was generated by the Super Air Knife at a few inches distance away from the can form. So, the cooling power that could be developed with a large quantity of regular, room temperature air was quite sufficient to get the can form to cool to the proper temperature before moving on to the next operation.

The Super Air Knife in this application was operating at 1 BARG inlet pressure and provided continuous coverage all along the cooling length of the conveyor. By cooling this metal seam quicker, the customer was able to increase their throughput on this process by roughly 30%.

Neal Raker, International Sales Manager
nealraker@exair.com