Automatic case erectors help boost productivity for sure, but in order for them to do that, the setup has to be adequate as well. Just buying and setting up case erectors will not boost your production unit’s capacity, unless you take the following points into account and understand all possible problems, as well as how to counter them effectively.
Understanding Bottlenecks
The reasons for the bottlenecks that often impede erector operations are plentiful, but they can be summed up as the following.
- Environmental factors such as temperature and humidity affect the performance of the case blanks
- Poor storage conditions may warp the corrugated material
- The original manufacturing quality of the case blanks are often not up to the standards necessary
- Certain batches of the corrugated material could have faulty dimensions, poor thickness, and inappropriate flute size
The Corrugates are Getting Thinner
Increased awareness and pressure regarding sustainable production, as well as the need for increasing gross margins, is leading case blank manufacturers to produce corrugates that are way too thin to be used successfully by older machines.
Overcoming Such Bottlenecks
Now that we have discussed some of the reasons why bottlenecks and machine jams hamper the productive capacity of older erectors, it is time to consider some possible solutions to the problems.
The solutions can range from partnering up with better suppliers for the case blanks, to implementing better quality checks in your own facilities. However, the most comprehensive solution would be to upgrade your automatic erectors and replace them with the revolutionary new robotic erectors introduced by INSITE.
Not only can these robotic erectors automatically correct paths of operation by simply calculating the outer dimensions of each corrugated, but they can make the entire process of erecting boxes faster and cleaner by eliminating many of the steps that conventional erectors must take in order to do the job. This is just an introduction and in order to understand the full scope of opportunities that INSITE SCARA robots bring to erector automation, you will have to visit their official website.
The Capacity of the Erector Should be Higher than the Primary Production Line
Experts advise investing in erectors that have about a 10% surplus capacity to what the primary production line demands. What the extra production capacity does is protect you against productivity lost through downtime because you already are producing in excess, which gives you a bit of extra time to accommodate for repairs, reconfigurations, blackouts, tape breaks, and any other technical issues with the erector in question. It is, after all, a machine which can break down without notice, and a wise businessman treats it as such.
What manufacturers and packers often forget about is the fact that an outdated automatic case erector can potentially decrease your productivity instead of increasing it. Every time the machine experiences downtime, your production will also suffer, making the investment counterproductive. Therefore, take heed of everything we just discussed and make the right choice even before you actually buy your erectors.
