Many of our customers have extensive machine shops. So why is Slideways machining their plastic parts? It’s a few things that add up to a better solution for our customers.
PackExpo International 2022 was a great success for Slideways and the Packaging Machinery industry. With masks and social distancing behind us, it was so nice to share a smile and a handshake with visitors to the Slideways booth. Component suppliers and machinery OEMs pulled out all the stops with extensive booths showing their products and machines loaded with the latest technology.
Here are 4 observations from the show.
Plastic sprockets are a fundamental part of any food conveyor system or food processing machinery. Plastics have long been identified as some of the safest and most efficient materials for use in the food handling industry. Plastic properties such as wear resistance, wide operating temperature ranges, and superior tensile strength offer many benefits. Plastic sprockets are lightweight, durable, and easy to clean, which provides food handling equipment manufacturers with a reliable and versatile component for use in a variety of food preparation and transportation systems.
Slideways manufactures precision plastic parts for conveyors and packaging machinery. This market encompasses a variety of unique applications that require different part tolerancing considerations. Factors affecting part tolerance include application, part size, and material. This blog will explain the typical applications and materials Slideways works with when designing conveyor and packaging machinery components.
UHMW (ultra high molecular weight polyethylene) plastic is the choice material for conveyors and packaging machinery. Its unique properties, ease of fabrication, and low-cost make it the optimal selection for this industry. Its ability to handle abrasion, impact, corrosive cleaning solutions, and wet environments enables UHMW to stand up to extensive wear and tear. Additionally, its dampening properties reduce conveyor noise and vibration. Made in large sheets for big or long parts, UHMW machines easily and can be extruded into complex profiles with thick or thin cross-sections. All these attributes make UHMW a great option for machine builders and maintenance personnel that are concerned with price, extending the life of initial installations, and repairs.
Slideways frequently fields quote requests for parts made of Teflon™, the brand name for PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene). Once learning more about the application, we usually determine a UHMW (ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene) part is needed. Teflon has a place in packaging machinery, but it is not the go-to material until some specific operating conditions are met.
UHMW is difficult to pick out in a pile of HDPE plastics, but it is a totally different thermoplastic.
Virtually every manufacturing and distribution operation uses conveyor systems to move parts and finished products from one location to another and from one process to the next.
Regardless of the products being conveyed or the processes with which the conveyor system interacts, all conveyor systems have the same basic components: belts, rollers, guides, bearings, and drives, to name a few.
These are the components that provide the power and motion that enable the conveyor system to function.
Every manufacturer focuses on improving productivity. That's why figuring out how to increase productivity in manufacturing company has brought about lean manufacturing strategies which continue to gain popularity.
Companies are constantly looking to minimize downtime, maximize operational efficiencies, and reduce costs to efficiently improve manufacturing. What some manufacturers fail to understand, though, is that productivity can only be as good as your equipment.
Plastics have long been identified as some of the safest and most efficient materials for a variety of uses in the food industry. Plastic sprockets are a fundamental part of any food industry conveyor system and processing machinery because their physical properties including wear resistance, wide operating temperature ranges, and superior tensile strength offer a number of crucial benefits.
Slideways is a manufacturer of high quality engineered plastic extrusions and wear components since 1994.
