Packaging
Meech set to clean up At ICE
Tuesday 29. September 2009 - At ICE Europe in November, Meech International will demonstrate two brand-new, exciting and ground-breaking products for the converting industry.
The ShearClean, a revolutionary new non-contact web cleaning system, and the 977CM, an innovative technology in the field of electrostatic control, will offer Meechs customers the opportunity to significantly increase their process productivity, flexibility and subsequently, profitability. Both products are set to provoke further excitement as they compete for top prizes at the renowned “ICE Europe Innovation Awards”, the results of which will be revealed on the second day of the exhibition.
The Meech ShearClean, the latest addition to the Witney, UK manufacturers line-up of web cleaning systems, firmly positions Meech as a major supplier of web cleaning technologies. The non-contact system opens up a whole new range of applications where contact cleaning systems may not be the method of choice, and addresses the growing emphasis specifiers place on equipment flexibility.
“ShearCleans principle of operation is unique in the converting market and we believe its ease of installation, its effectiveness in removing dust and debris from an extensive range of materials and its low running costs, will make it attractive to companies looking to improve the productivity and quality of their lines,” says Adam Battrick, International Product Manager, Cleaning Systems.
ShearClean can be supplied to match any reel width up to 2 metres and equipment speeds of up to 500 metres per minute. Simultaneously cleaning both sides of the web the ShearClean incorporates two cotton-covered rollers positioned 0.5 mm either side of the web. These rollers spin at high speed – 4,000 RPM and upwards in the opposite direction to that of the web and the air currents generated break up the boundary layer on the surface of the web, allowing the highly effective vacuum system to remove particles that were held in that layer.
The company has also made use of its expertise in static control and has incorporated static elimination equipment into ShearClean, which significantly improves the effectiveness of the cleaning process.
Representing Meechs static control technology, the pioneering 977CM Pulsed DC controller provides converters with a true closed loop static control system for the first time. Boasting a sensor bar that detects residual voltages on web paths and rewinds and communicates with the 977CM unit, the controller can accurately tune its output to ensure the best possible charge neutralisation for the current operating conditions, thereby compensating the adverse effects of contamination. Should contamination increase to a preset level, further deterioration in bar performance will alert the operator of the need to clean the bars.
Adam Battrick comments, “The 977CMs unique technology plays an important role in decreasing the time required for cleaning ionising bars, a key component in any static control system. By tuning its output to minimise electrostatic charges on the production line, contamination of the ionising bars can be drastically reduced and the uptime between cleanings significantly increased.”
Uncontrolled static is one of the most common reasons for poor productivity in the converting industry, yet it is often overlooked as a potential cause. The easy-to-install 977CM and can be quickly connected to existing Meech Pulsed DC static elimination systems and can therefore play a fundamental role in the reduction of downtime and the improving of productivity and hence, profitability.