News

Universal Converting Equipment at DRUPA 2016

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Drupa bannerUniversal Converting Equipment will be exhibiting at DRUPA 2016 in Dusseldorf.

The exhibition stand has been booked in response to the rapidly increasing industry interest in the Universal X6 Slitting Machine. We have enjoyed several strong years of growth and increasing our presence at Converting and Packaging exhibitions worldwide consolidates our recent expansion. In the last two years we have doubled our manufacturing space, established a showroom and service centre in the USA and installed a range of CNC machining centres to manufacture our own mechanical parts.

Universal offer free online and telephone support to customers to back up the comprehensive machine diagnostic systems. Universal are committed to providing customers excellent ongoing support wherever the machines are located worldwide.

At DRUPA we will be demonstrating a Universal X6 Slitter Rewinder, a Universal CCA Automatic core cutter and a Hot Melt Adhesive Coating Station.

DRUPA 2016
Dusseldorf
Hall 12
Stand 12D12
May 31st – June 10th 2016

Universal Converting Equipment invests in support centre and showroom in USA

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Universal X6 Slitter with cores

Universal Converting Equipment is a fast-growing supplier of slitting machines and other converting equipment. Established 20 years ago, Universal has expanded its sales in North America and has now secured a dedicated facility for a showroom and service centre. The centre will be the focus for servicing the market in both North and South America.

The new building is due for completion in March 2016 with plans to install a Universal X6 slitting machine and other equipment in June 2016.

Alan Jones, Managing Director added, “North and South America has become our second largest market outside of Europe. We have invested heavily in developing our X6 slitting machine to be highly productive and reliable with comprehensive diagnostic systems. However, we realise that our ability to provide ongoing support to our customers is vital to ensure that they achieve productivity benefits for years to come. We already offer FREE telephone and internet-based support to our customers to give confidence that we will provide support throughout the entire life of the machine. Having a local stock of spare parts will increase our ability to react quickly to customer needs.

Secondly, we will provide an easily accessible location for potential customers to view our range of equipment. The new facility is located in Florida within easy travel distance of both Tampa and Orlando airports with extensive national and international flights. In addition to our high productivity X6 slitting machine, we will also have a range of our other products on show.”

MIke Wilkinson added, “I joined Universal almost two years ago. Having worked in senior positions for two of the major worldwide suppliers of slitting machines, I was excited by the potential of the equipment produced by Universal. Adding a demonstration facility in the USA will allow potential customers to truly understand the cost savings and productivity benefits that will result from the innovative technology developed by Universal. I have been tasked with expanding sales to major companies worldwide. This investment is another step in this expansion.”

Universal Converting Equipment manufacture the X6 Slitter Rewinder. The X6 is designed to slit a wide range of flexible materials and has been particularly popular in the flexible packaging and converting industries. Features include automatic knife setting, automatic core positioning, closed loop tension control and comprehensive on-screen and remote diagnostics. The Universal X6 is simple to set up and operate. The automation features make changes between jobs very fast, typically less than two minutes, maximising machine uptime.

Universal also manufacture a range of salvage winders, core cutters, roll handling and hot melt adhesive coating equipment.

Universal Showroom

Don & Low expand production with a Universal X6 Slitter

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slitter rewind
Universal X6 Slitter (rewind section)

 

Don & Low are an international supplier of innovative polyolefin based woven and non-woven materials for a range of specialist applications. As their business has grown over the past few years, they found their existing slitting capacity could not keep up, so they took the decision to invest in a Universal X6 slitting machine.

The investment followed extensive research by Don & Low into the machines available. The range of non-woven materials produced by Don & Low have very specific handling requirements. Their prefered slitting method is shear slitting, but they needed to reduce set-up times. It was essential that the chosen slitter had the ability to automate as many processes as possible. The machine needed to produce slit rolls up to 1000mm in diameter with precise control of tension.

The Universal X6 slitting machine was able to meet all of the requirements of Don & Low and more. The key aspects for Don & Low were:

  • Automatic setting of shear knives and anvils.
    A 20 knife set-up can be completed in under two minutes with no operator involvement. The precision of the system ensures the knives are in the correct position, with the required knife depth and the specified side load. Micrometer feedback confirms the position of the knives to the operator.
  • Closed loop tension control.
    The load cells are part of the control algorithm for rewind tension control, ensuring that the exact tensions requested are being achieved. Trend graphs are available to show actual vs set tensions through all the rolls produced. In simple terms, you always achieve the tension profile required per product.
  • Comprehensive diagnostic system.
    The 22 inch operator interface provides easy to read diagnostic information on the machine including Dynamic Circuit Diagrams. Using a secure Internet connection, all aspects of the machine performance can be seen remotely by Universal engineers when required. Universal also offer FREE telephone and Internet support for the life of the machine.
  • Fast loading and unloading.
    Although the machine can handle large diameter rolls, the high speed of the machine dictates that frequent unwind and rewind roll changes are required. The vertical raise/lower unwind (with remote control) is extremely quick to load parent rolls. On the rewind, the machine was supplied with a finished roll pusher and laser core alignment to minimise time the machine is standing still.
  • Small Footprint.
    The compact design and short web path of the Universal X6 was ideal for the preferred factory location.

Commenting on the investment, Keith Galloway, General Manager of Don & Low Nonwovens said “Don & Low is undertaking a major investment in new production equipment to expand capacity and increase the range of products we can manufacture. The Universal X6 slitting machine was one part of this investment. We talked to many companies about our requirements and Universal stood out as a company that could meet our technical requirements while still staying within our budget limits. Although the initial discussions focussed on the specification, what became clear was the commitment of Universal Converting Equipment to the ongoing support of their equipment. We are based in Forfar, Scotland and sometimes we can struggle for a fast response from our machine suppliers. Universal have invested heavily in developing their diagnostic systems so we have the comfort that if a problem occurs, we have the information available to solve it ourselves. The free lifetime support is a statement in the confidence Universal have in their equipment.

It is great to have a machine that can almost set itself, leaving the operator to focus on other tasks. The automatic knife setting system is a massive time and cost saver. Most knife set ups take just over a minute. Likewise, the closed loop tension control and gap winding capability ensures that we always produce high quality slit rolls.”

Alan Jones, MD, Universal Converting Equipment added “Don & Low have high expectations and they pushed us hard to achieve their objectives. Very quickly, they identified the benefits of having a fast changeover machine with automated set-up. However, with automation comes additional complexity so the diagnostic and support package ensures the high performance of the machine can be maintained. As a company, we have tried to look beyond just selling machines. The ongoing support offered to customers combined with the quality of machine supplied, is the best way to secure future orders. Does it work? We think so. Since supplying the Universal X6 to Don & Low, they have ordered two further machines for other operations within their factory to gain the same production benefits.”

More about the X6 Slitter Rewinder…

 

Universal X6 Slitter (unwind section)
Universal X6 Slitter (unwind section)

Universal Converting Equipment moves hot melt coating technology forward with new test facility

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Hot Melt Adhesive Coater

Universal Converting Equipment have supplied a new CL350 hot melt adhesive coater / laminator to sister company, Universal Adhesive Systems. This investment in the latest technology strengthens the position of the two companies as leaders in both converting machinery and adhesive application technologies.

The new CL350 coater is available for customer trials at Universal Adhesive Systems, Daventry facility. The machine has been built with a focus on flexibility. Despite the small footprint of the Universal CL350 is capable of multiple coating types, including slot die proximity coating, CrossCoat curtain coating, high speed intermittent coating, spiral coating, spray coating and Dynafiber coating.

In addition to the different coating types customers can trial on the CL350, the machine has been developed to handle a wide range of substrates including films, paper and non-wovens. The CL350 can operate at production speeds, so by running coating trials at the test facility in Daventry customers can prove hot melt applications will work in live production environment. The CL350 has proved popular with companies who wish to streamline and improve their current hot melt adhesive applications.

The automatic coating station on the CL350 was designed and built in Ipswich by Universal Converting Equipment. Drawing on their expertise in control systems the CL350 is simple to use and incredibly accurate. Adjustments on the coating station are made via a touchscreen and actioned by precision motors. The constant gap winding system ensures the best quality finished rolls are produced.

Commenting on the investment, Alan Jones, Managing Director, Universal Converting Equipment said “Universal Converting Equipment has grown rapidly in the last three years mainly driven by the introduction of our high productivity Universal X6 slitter rewinder. However, hot melt coating and laminating is an important and growing sector for us with machines being supplied on a worldwide basis. We are able to combine the high speed web handling and tension control systems developed for our slitters with the coating expertise of our sister company, Universal Adhesive Systems, to provide a complete package for our customers. The test facility at Daventry gives customers who may have little or no experience of this technology, the chance to test different materials, adhesive and coating techniques, so they can prove their product prior to investing in a machine. The close relationship with ITW Dynatec ensures we have the best hot melt feed systems and worldwide support. With both our slitting machines and our coating machines, we believe that being able to provide ongoing support for our customers is vital to ensure they are satisfied and come back to us with more orders in the future. The use of Internet based remote diagnostic systems, high quality components and our dedicated support team to ensure this support is available. ”

The Universal CL350 is part of a wide range of coating, converting and slitting machines designed and built by Universal Converting Equipment. As with all machines produced by Universal, the emphasis is on productivity, reliability and ease of use. All Universal coating machines have a touch screen operator interface and a drive and control system that can be connected to a secure internet connection for diagnostics. The hot melt coating systems are tailored to the specific requirements of the customer.

Universal Adhesive Systems are the exclusive UK distributor ITW Dynatec. A leading global supplier of technical adhesive supply and coating equipment for the converting and non-woven industries. Universal Adhesive Systems has its own team of engineers and coating experts to provide systems and support for coating, laminating, print finishing, packaging and other applications.

More about the Universal CL350…

More about Universal Adhesive Systems Ltd…

Watershed Packaging Install a High Performance Universal X6 Slitting Machine

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Watershed Packaging are a fast-growing adhesive label and flexible packaging producer with three production sites, including a recently completed custom-built factory in Leeds. Watershed needed a slitting machine with fast set-up times to slit material used within its conversion operation. Watershed chose the Universal X6 for its automatic shear knife set up, ease of operation and closed-loop tension control. The X6 automation systems and fast, easy job set-up enable Watershed to respond quickly to customers’ requirements with minimal downtime and reduced waste.

The Universal X6 slitting machine is designed for processing flexible materials. A typical specification includes digital web guiding, automatic knife setting (ComputaSlit), an additional tension zone through slitting, closed loop rewind tension control, constant geometry contact rollers, automatic core alignment (ComputaCore) and a running speed of 600m/min. The machine is designed to be simple to operate with a 22inch touch screen interface. A typical changeover, including setting 20 shear knives, can take less than two minutes; making the machine ideal for short-run work. The integrated drive and control system offers precision and repeatability with extensive diagnostics, including dynamic circuit diagrams. All this performance in a machine with a small footprint. The X6 is a high-performance slitter with a footprint considerably smaller than competitive machines.

Commenting on the investment, Stephen Walker, Managing Director of Watershed Packaging said “Our business is built on service and quality. Being able to produce high-quality slit rolls with a quick turnaround allows us to respond quickly to the needs of our customers. We had purchased a used machine but the quality and service was poor. The Universal X6 has been excellent since its installation We slit a lot of PET films which require shear slitting to obtain a good edge. The automatic shear knife setting system removes the need for our operators to handle knives and heavy shafts and is both very quick and very accurate. Job changes now take a few minutes. The recipe system ensures the operator always sets the machine correctly and closed loop tension control means all the rolls are wound at the correct tension. This raises the productivity of our converting operation as we always have good rolls.”

Alan Jones, MD, Universal Converting Equipment added “Watershed Packaging are a forward-thinking company and decided to invest in technology which both reduces cost and improves product quality. Many companies accept the downtime during set-up and the waste produced whilst the correct settings are found. Watershed wanted a better solution and we have proved the X6 slitter rewinder is the ideal machine. Load cell tension feedback, automatic knife positioning and core alignment dramatically reduce downtime and increases the time the machine is making money. By integrating the technology, we are able to offer a high performance machine at a very competitive price”

Slitter at Watershed Packaging

Converter Directory 2015 – 16

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Converter Directory Cover

The new edition of the Converter Magazine Directory (for 2015 – 2016) is out now, and we’re proud to be featured on the cover.  The machine shown on the cover is an X6 Slitter configured for converting flexible packaging films, this is the most popular configuration for this machine.

Other features in evidence on our ‘cover star’ X6 are the automatic roll-pusher and robotic unloader.  With both of these options the operator can unload slit rolls from the rewind shafts onto the robotic unloader, which in turn rotates the rolls and lowers them onto a pallet (or trolley).

Find out more about the Universal X6…