X6

FFP Packaging Solutions win ‘Investment of the Year’ at UK Packaging Awards with the Universal X6

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FFP Packaging Solutions has won the prestigious ‘Investment of the year’ award at this years UK Packaging Awards. FFP is a packaging company that focuses on designing and manufacturing sustainable packaging solutions for food, beverage, pharmaceuticals and other industries.

Established over 50 years ago, FFP have grown to become one of the leading flexible packaging suppliers in Europe with many distribution sites across England, Scotland & Wales.

Their products are designed to help businesses grow by increasing efficiencies while reducing costs through innovative design solutions tailored to their customer’s needs. FFP have significantly invested in new machinery, including a Universal X6 Slitter, which has led them to winning the ‘Investment of the year’ award.

An FFP representative explained,
“In October 2020, we commissioned our latest investment, a new laser system which is a collaboration between Coherent and Universal Converting Equipment.

The new machine consists of a high productivity slitter from Universal Converting Equipment combined with a state-of-the-art laser machine from Coherent. This new machine represents an investment of £700,000 for FFP and has significantly enhanced our laser profiling capability and increased capacity.

Not only has the new equipment had a huge impact on the capacity of the factory allowing us to respond to customer and market demand, but it also brings with it enhanced capabilities and efficiencies.”

The positive profile of the Universal X6 continues to develop at a pace in the Flexible Packaging industry, due to a reputation for speed, reliability and many eco-aware features. When integrated with laser equipment from Coherent the Universal X6 is able to score, inspect and slit at speeds that leave competitive machines behind.

The UK Packaging Awards judges noted that,
“A great combination of investment in machinery, increasing capacity, and sustainability with the Esterseal development. Marvellous work!”

Everyone at Universal Converting Equipment would like to congratulate FFP Packaging Solutions on winning this important award. If you would like to find out more about how the Universal X6 can increase efficiency and reduce costs please contact us.

Universal X6 Slitter Rewinder

Find out more about FFP Packaging Solutions…

Find out more about the award on the Packaging News website…

Parkside Flexibles invest in two Universal X6 slitting machines for Malaysia and the UK

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Universal X6 Slitting Machine

Parkside Flexibles are a leading edge flexographic printer with manufacturing in the UK and Malaysia. As a supplier to global brands, Parkside uses advanced processing systems to create value added packaging. This requires the highest quality slit rolls to send to its customers. In many cases, the complex structures are difficult to process and required a long setup to achieve satisfactory results.

Parkside invested in two Universal X6 slitter rewinders to meet these developing needs. The Universal X6 slitting machine has a range of features to ensure product consistency and minimise changeover times. Some of the Parkside laminates, including aluminium foil based structures, were particularly difficult to achieve satisfactory results. Key to the success of the project were the following machine features:

  • Tension control – The Universal X6 has closed loop rewind tension control with load cells providing feedback. This ensures that the winding tension is exactly as required, especially through machine acceleration and deceleration. Once the ideal settings for the material were found on the first machine, they were copied to the recipe system of the second machine which then worked immediately.
  • X-Slit slitting system – This system uses automatic positioning to control the position of knives and anvils to very tight tolerances. It can also automatically position razor blades. A closed loop measuring system is used to set the sideload on the shear knives. A tension zone through the slitting section allows the slitting tension to be optimised. Adjustable height rollers are used to set the amount of wrap around the cutting shaft to suit the material type being processed.
  • Wrinkle free operation – The Universal X6 slitter rewinder has a “Quad” wrap material drive system to isolate tension between the unwind and rewind. Unlike nip roller and vacuum roller based systems you do not have slippage, scratches, noise, energy wastage or crease formation.
  • Constant geometry contact rollers – unlike pivoting lay on rollers, the constant geometry contact rollers move horizontally as the rewind roll increases in size. The rollers are built into a rigid structure so they always stay parallel giving the best quality finished rolls.
  • Print repeat measurement – built into the X6 slitter rewinder is a system to measure the length of each print repeat and then generate a report and graph showing the variability through the roll

Both X6 machines were delivered on time with a Universal engineer commissioning the machines and providing training. Both machines have FREE telephone and internet based support for the life of the machines.

Commenting on the installations, Alan Jones, Managing Director of Universal Converting Equipment said:”Parkside challenged us with some of their requirements. Although the Universal X6 machines supplied to Parkside were our standard model, some of their specifications had tighter tolerances than normal. It was very satisfying when Parkside visited for the machine acceptance trials that the products were all processed without problems. The X-slit slitting system provides a lot of flexibility as well as fast and accurate set up. Rather than dedicating products to machines, Parkside found they could run their range of materials through the X6 without problems. Precise knife setting and closed loop control ensures reproducible results.”

Brian Harper, Global Technical Manager, Parkside Flexibles added “At Parkside, we take on technically difficult projects. Universal rose to the challenge and we have been extremely pleased with the results. From day one, the machines have been producing product of a quality we could not achieve consistently on our other slitting machines. Universal have worked with us to optimise the settings and due to the closed loop control systems we can swap recipes between machines and achieve identical results.”

The future of Slitting

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Over the last four years, Universal Converting Equipment has invested heavily in the development of a range of systems to improve the productivity of slitting machines. The key target has been to reduce downtime or the time the machine is not running. If you analyse the operation of a slitting machine, it can often spend more time not running than running.

The two main areas of downtime are due to a job change and a roll change – either finished rolls or parent roll. However, even within these causes, there are many items that build up to contribute to the total downtime. It is also necessary to ensure that the machines are producing good and consistent quality when they are running. To understand the approach that Universal has taken, it is easiest to move through the slitting process from unwind to rewind.

Fast Loading Unwind
In common with most slitter manufacturers, Universal offers a shaftless unwind with floor pick up on its X6 range of slitting machines. The Universal unwind moves vertically up/down to pick up the roll from the floor. Unlike pivoting pick up unwinds, the roll will always be in the same position on the floor, regardless of diameter, for the arms to engage with the core. The operator is provided with a remote control to operate the unwind arms so they can easily check that the chucks are entering the core correctly. This may only save 30 seconds per set up, but over a year, that adds up to a lot of time.

Automated Slitter Rewinder - X6
The Universal X6 Slitter

Automatic shear knife and razor knife set up
Correctly positioning knives, especially shear knives, can result in considerable downtime. Universal have developed an automatic knife setting system that can set 20 male and female shear knives in under two minutes. By the time a new parent roll is loaded into the machine, the knives are already in the correct position. The system can also position the guiding sensor so the material will be lined up with the knives. As well as saving time, the accuracy of the setup is improved and as the knife position is known, the cores can be accurately positioned to line up with the knives. Although shear knives take the longest to set, these benefits still apply to razor slitting. The male knife holders used as part of this system can be hold either razor or shear knives making it quick to change cutting system and allowing a mixture of shear and razor if required.

Closed Loop Tension Control
Most slitting machines are supplied with differential friction shafts to control rewind tension. These shafts rely on the control of friction to give you the correct winding tension. This can change with time. Using load cells to measure and control rewind tension is the only way to ensure your finished rolls are wound at the correct tension. Correct winding tension is essential to ensure good quality rolls are produced. The actual winding tension profiles can be recorded as part of the quality assurance record for the rolls produced. Universal also add an extra tension zone through slitting so you can increase the slitting tension without changing the rewind tension.

Fast Finished Roll Unloading
When a set of rolls is complete, the machine comes to halt and the operator then unloads the rolls. To reduce this downtime on a duplex slitting machine, Universal now offers a system that reduces the time from when the machine stops to when it starts winding again to under a minute. This is a huge time saving compared to the time an operator normally takes to remove finished rolls, re-core and re-start. The machine will repeatedly run at this speed – the machine doesn’t get tired or need to go for a break. As well as saving time, the system ensures the cores are always lined up accurately with the slitting knives and manual handling of the finished rolls is reduced.

The fast unloading technology can be incorporated into Universal’s X6T turret slitter for the ultimate high productivity machine. However, for most applications where flexibility is required, the system is supplied with the Universal X6 duplex slitter giving the level of performance which could only previously be achieved with a turret slitter.

The Future of Slitting
We believe that this is the future for slitting. It will not suit all applications, but for a large proportion of slitting requirement it offers the chance to greatly increase the output from a single slitting machine and also reduce the labour required to run the machine. The technology has been cost engineered to make the system affordable.

How much is this technology worth? As an example, if you saved 30 minutes per set up and you have four set ups a day, you now have two additional hours of production per day. If that time is worth £100/hr you have saved £200/day. If you assume that the machine operates for 250 days a year that is a saving of £50,000 per year. Over a ten year period the technology has saved £500,000.

This is why we think this is The Future of Slitting

Universal offer free lifetime support on all slitters

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X6 Slitter photo
The Universal X6 Slitter – with free lifetime support

Universal Converting Equipment manufacture class leading slitting machines and other converting equipment that is sold worldwide. The Universal X6 slitter offers a range of technically advanced features to ensure production of high quality product while minimising the amount of time the machine is stopped.

However, to achieve repeat sales, Universal decided they must also offer excellent reliability and customer support. To achieve this, Universal has focussed on four areas within its business:

Designing reliability into the machine.
Our approach is to focus on future reliability as part of our initial design process. We do not make our own drives or circuit boards – we buy our drives from a global supplier with worldwide support.

Our bearings and standard mechanical components are purchased direct from the manufacturer to avoid the risk of supply of counterfeit components. We provide easy access to lubrication points so it is easy to keep components correctly lubricate to prevent premature failure.

Internal manufacture of mechanical components.
Over the last three years, we have invested heavily in CNC machining centres to allow us to make our mechanical components ourselves. This has both improved product quality and reduced our manufacturing lead-time.

As the component drawings now go directly from our 3D CAD/CAM system to the CNC controller there is no risk of data entry error and it ensures repeatability. As part of this process, we have also standardised our components.

Should there be a need for a mechanical component, we will nearly always have it in stock and if not we can make it quickly. We also have extensive stocks of pneumatic and electrical components allowing us to respond to any need for spares quickly.

Comprehensive on-machine diagnostics.
The X6 slitter rewinder can be supplied with a range of automation systems to position the unwind, position the guider sensor, position shear knives and anvils and position the cores.

As the automation grows, so does the complexity of the control system. To make it easy for local engineers to support, we have developed the diagnostic system to give clear reasons if the machine will not operate.

We use a 22 inch colour touch screen as the main operator interface so all the information required can be clearly displayed. If the operator presses the start button and the machine will not start because, for example, a guard is open, a pop up will explain in simple terms what needs to be corrected.

We also provide dynamic electrical circuit drawings which are viewed on the display. They show the status of components such as inputs, outputs, voltages and current meaning that diagnostics which an electrician would do with a meter can be undertaken without even opening the control panel.

Remote diagnostic systems that work.
If we have completed the first three steps correctly then the need for remote support is greatly reduced. Universal is so confident in the reliability of its X6 slitting machine that it offers free telephone and internet based support for the life of the machine.

Sometimes a local engineer can struggle to resolve an issue. All our Universal X6 slitter rewinders have remote access capability via either VPN or port forwarding. The control system has been integrated to a level where when we connect to the machine remotely it is almost the same as being next to the machine. We can see the status of all the control components on the machine and look at the settings on the three touch screens. we can even watch as the operator changes settings on the touch screen.

Instead of the local engineer having to have a laptop with software and interfaces to connect to the machine, we offer this service free to our customers for the life of the machine.

Alan Jones, Managing Director of Universal Converting Equipment adds
“I am always amazed when talking to customers, the number of times I am told that they have purchased equipment that performs well but the ongoing support is poor. Since the launch of our X6 slitting machine, we have seen sales increase rapidly with orders from around the world. Although we will not stop developing the features of the X6 slitter rewinder, our biggest challenge is ensuring that we maintain our reputation for excellent support. Not only are we seeing repeat orders but some customers are ordering two or three machines at a time so the formula appears to be working. We have recently announced a showroom and support centre in the USA which will help consolidate are growing position the the Americas. We always have several X6 slitting machines in build so customers can visit and test their material on a machine. We will also have an X6 slitter rewinder at our showroom in the USA.”

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 appoint top slitter sales executive

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Mike Wilkinson with a Universal X6 SlitterUniversal Converting Equipment are pleased to announce the appointment of Mike Wilkinson as Sales Executive. Mike has a wealth of experience in the converting industry having worked in senior sales and general management roles for Titan, Atlas, Comexi and Kampf.

Commenting on the appointment, Alan Jones, Managing Director said, “Mike is one of the top salespeople in the industry. His experience and knowledge are second to none. He was responsible for Titan during its rapid growth phase and most recently he has worked for Kampf who are probably the largest worldwide supplier of slitting and rewinding machines. We have ambitious growth plans over the next three years and Mike will help us reach our targets.”

Mike Wilkinson added “When I first visited Universal, I was excited by the potential of their machine range and in particular, their X6 slitter rewinder. I could see the investment that has taken place particularly in the machine and control system design. It was good to see features being incorporated to simplify the operation and maintenance of the machines which others have talked about but Universal Converting Equipment has actually done. Although Universal has always had a reputation for high quality machines its sales effort has been limited. I intend to help Universal grow to be a major worldwide supplier of slitter rewinders.”
Universal Converting Equipment are a fast growing manufacturer of slitter rewinders, rewinding machines, hot melt coating equipment, core cutters and other ancillary systems used in the converting industry. These machines are sold globally. The Universal X6 slitter rewinder is a machine with a compact footprint that has proved particularly successful as a high performance yet cost effective slitting machine for slitting flexible materials. It incorporates automatic knife setting, core alignment, closed loop tension control, additional tension zone through slitting and constant geometry contact rollers to allow high speed operation, minimising changeover time, with consistent high quality output.