IMPROVING PRODUCTION

7 April 1999



Special automation can significantly boost large flatwork finishing performance. Philip Garner reports.


Laundry operators working at sheet feeding workstations face the exhausting, on-going task of hauling individual sheets from a compacted mass in a trolley. Even with overhead bag distribution, and the contents discharged on a conveyor, the physical effort is only marginally reduced. It is fatiguing work so little wonder that overall performance is adversely affected by the end of the day.

On the other hand, the fatigue element can be dramatically reduced now that Kannegiesser has introduced the PU12 pick-up and transfer unit. This is designed to break up and open out continuous washer charges of any weight into an easily accessible supply for each of a laundry’s remote sheet feeding operators.

The unit was seen at work at RWV Textil Service of Reburg-Loccum, Germany, where it is employed in conjunction with a Kannegiesser Ergomat automated system.

Since the introduction of the PU12, operator performance has been significantly improved and is now sustained throughout a shift.

The PU12 first made its appearance at the Kannegiesser factory show in Vlotho last year. I was impressed by the way sheets were picked up as single items—or at least no more than three at a time—and ejected onto the conveyor supplying the feeding stations. The task of feeding sheets to the automatic feeding unit on the ironer became a much easier and more relaxed task than I had witnessed on many previous plant visits.

The version seen at Vlotho was a prototype at the pre-production stage. In the past, there have been occasions when I have been impressed with new machines embracing new ideas and/or techniques and have said so in print, only to be disillusioned when I have seen the production model in operation on site. This was not so with the Kannegiesser PU12.

The PU12 in use at RWV Textil Service not only worked faultlessly, but it was more effective than the prototype had been. I consider this machine to be an essential unit.

With the PU12 in place, there is no turning, stooping, pulling or disentangling to be done. The operator merely takes a sheet by the corner and attaches it to the transfer conveyor clamps for movement to the automatic sheet feeding unit at the ironer.

The design concept of the PU12 pick-up and transfer unit is surprisingly simple. It is a neat, compact and well-designed piece of engineering and makes a significant contribution to large flatwork finishing performance.

In principle, a bag load of sheets discharges into the pre-storage receiver and from there it is deposited into a shaker container where the cake of sheets is loosened. A pneumatically-powered ‘grabber’ descends, grabs up to three sheets and lifts them level with the conveyor outlet. The sheets are released and a blast of compressed air blows them onto a conveyor. This then transfers them to the supply line conveyor to take them to the individual feeding work stations.

A simple, long life, compact unit, the PU12 has a dramatic effect on the overall performance of large flatwork finishing systems. Since its introduction, production at RWV Textil Service has risen by 22% per cent for sheets, 15% for draw sheets and 8% for duvet covers.

At a special section for table linen, two operators are now achieving a production rate of at least 600 starched tablecloths per hour. The improvements in production have been achieved without additional labour.

Along with the benefits which have accrued from its purchase of the PU12, RWV Textil Service has gained others through Kannegiesser systems, particularly from its Ergomat automatic system.

Operators of the Ergomat take two sheet corners from the opened-out delivery on the conveyor and secure them to specially designed, easy to handle clamps. The sheet transfers to the buffer zone from where it is called forward. The buffer zone accommodates sheets, draw sheets, single sheets and duvet covers separately.

Each classification of article is transferred to the feeding machine spreader system, where it is measured on a vacuum transfer table. A vacuum shaker chute, a spreading plate and brushes ensure that the leading and trailing edges are straightened and the area of the sheet is flattened and stretched while under tension.

The result is a presentation to the ironer feeding bands which ensures the production of a consistently high quality finished article, accurately folded and of pleasing appearance. Each item then passes from the folder along a conveyor to the quality inspection point where trained inspectors watch for flaws.

The combined Kannegiesser flatwork finishing system in use at RWV Textil Service is extremely versatile, reliable and produces linen to a standard of which the company is entirely happy.

In a market where quality is often discounted, this approach is very much appreciated and is one reason why the company is expanding. Its PU12 and Ergomat system should carry RWV Textil Service into the future, confident that it will maintain its share of the rental market.

  



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