URC reduces waste and improves performance by upgrading Atlas CW960AP

Packaging Solutions

Following recent conversations with the upgrade department of Atlas Converting Equipment, URC Film Division decided to upgrade irs two Atlas CW960AP slitter-rewinders.

The two original Atlas machines were supplied in 1996 and 2002 and have delivered solid, reliable performance since they were commissioned.

However, due to improvements delivered by the upgraded film production plant the two slitter-rewinders were running at maximum capacity to keep up with the increased film production, so a decision was taken to upgrade both machines.

With the replacement of the now obsolete original AC drives, upgrading the winding method and adding anti-static bars, the machines are now capable of operating at a higher speed and delivering higher quality final packages. Aside from the performance upgrades, safety fences to the latest European standards were installed increasing the safety for the operators.

Whilst the machines were being upgraded the maintenance teams at URC Film Division teams took the opportunity to fully service the machines whilst working alongside the Atlas technicians, improving their knowledge and experience of the machines.

When the machines were re-commissioned, URC Film Division took out service contracts with Atlas Converting Equipment for both machines. The contracts will ensure that the machines are serviced at the appropriate intervals and deliver higher productivity due to reduced unscheduled downtime. Both machines have also been fitted with the Atlas Gateway remote access support which allows Atlas customer service engineers to interrogate the operating systems via remote access allowing for faster fault diagnostics and reduced down time.

After completion of the upgrades and re-commission of the two slitter rewinders, Ramon C Augustines, business unit general manager for URC Film Division, commented: ‘We have been exceptionally pleased with the upgrades performed by the Atlas team, the upgraded machines have met all of our expectations, we may look to further performance upgrades in the future.’

Kevin Murphy, upgrades sales manager for Atlas Converting Equipment, said: ‘These two machines had been in service for a good length of time and in that time the technology has moved forward, here we have a clear example of how our customers can benefit from upgrading their older machines at a lower cost than replacing them completely and still achieve the required performance.’