INDUSTRY NEWS
Thermopac installs new System from GN of Canada offers energy and production scrap minimization Canadian company’s biggest yet, and also WITH the focus of thermoforming technolthe first of its kind in Africa. ogy having shifted in recent years to more To meet ever-changing customer deversatile solutions which offer both scrap mands and high quality requirements, Therand energy minimisation, Thermopac has mopac had identified installed a system from its prime machine GN of Canada which Optional chamber needs as systems meets all these requirepre-heater enables which are economical ments. Thermopac to produce to run, which generate Part of the Astrapak both mono and multi-layer the least amount of group, Cape Townproduction scrap and PP containers based Thermopac is offer in-mould cutting, one of SA’s top thermoas well as low mould costs. formed container manufacturers. It has up Thermopac has been increasing usage to now used a number of smaller machines of GN’s type of technology for some years. from GN Thermoforming, whereas the new The GN machines generate very low wastsystem – the GN 760 thermoformer – is the Eugene Fisher (master setter), Melanie Williams (electrician) and Catherine Voigt (production manager) during commissioning of the new machine at Thermopac in Elsies River
Bright future for thermoforming in SA We spoke to Tim Forshaw of BRE Sustainable Packaging, the agent for GN Thermoforming Africa, about the new GN 760 system … What are the main technical advantages of the system? The GN 760 is a plug-assisted thermoformer with cut-in-place tooling that has three main advantages: Tim Forshaw of BRE Sustainable Packaging 1. Material wastsays the thermoformage is reduced by ing industry in South 5-25% compared Africa has been growing to a form-cut-andsteadily at 5-10% p/a for an extended period stack system. The cutting system allows smaller gaps between the products: normal machines have 12mm gaps whereas, the 760 has already run product with 7mm gaps. One customer has developed tooling with a common knife edge in the machine direction, eliminating all scrap between the cavities. This is a significant advantage because material is approximately half of the cost of a thermoformed product; 2. Electrical power required to run the machine is 35-50% lower than competing equipment. This is achieved by using an energy regeneration system in the sheet heating, as well as the use of servo drives for plugging, material transport, stripping and stacking. GN measure savings in energy of $9000 per year for this advantage; 3. Tooling costs for cut-in place tooling can be very high. GN 760 tooling uses the forged 24
APRIL / MAY 2012
knife or steel rule and cut plate which significantly reduces the tooling cost compared with traditional punch-and-die systems. The alternative cheaper tooling of form-cut-andstack generates higher waste and energy costs which outweigh the gains of lower tool cost. Is the manufacture of larger machines a new area for GN? GN has for many years produced machines in its contact heat range with large forming areas, 1180 x 813mm being the largest. In the plug-assisted radiant heat technology, GN produced some smaller format, 320 x 150mm tilt mould machines for many years and about seven years ago started building an intermediate size machine, 480 x 355mm. The 760 forming area is 760 x 530mm, which is comparable with many of the larger machines on the market. It is certainly the most technically advanced machine from GN. How flexible is the machine, in terms of mould change times for short production runs? The tools can be changed by an experienced operator in less than an hour. This is very quick for such a large format machine. However, we do not see this as an important selling point as most users will be running long production runs on this type of machine. Despite its relatively low tooling cost, the GN760 is not an ideal machine for short-run
production: we recommend other alternatives for that sort of production requirement. In what way is the machine particularly suited to local conditions? All GN machines are built with durability and low maintenance costs in mind. The simple-to-use GN760 has a user-friendly control system and advanced diagnostics which permit easy troubleshooting, and the machine can be connected to GN for electronic diagnostics. The machine has an inbuilt robotic stacking system. A split conveyor for transporting stacks allows the operator to empty the conveyor without disrupting the stack count. GN also has a spares supply capability which is unmatched in the industry, meaning less downtime for customers. What is BRE’s view of the future of the thermoformed plastic packaging sector in SA? Thermoforming of packaging is the most cost effective process for many rigid products. The thermoforming industry in South Africa has been growing steadily at 5 to10% per year for many years. The most successful thermoformers are the companies with appropriate and up-to-date equipment. With the advantages that we can offer to thermoformers with the GN products and complementary materials, there is certainly a bright future for thermoforming in South Africa.