09.29.2015
With its tesla family of innovative glue application heads, Baumer hhs is setting new standards on the hot melt market in terms of reliability, productivity, user-friendliness and economic efficiency. At FachPack 2015, the company will be presenting a high-performance hot melt application head for connection to Baumer hhs controllers under the name tesla, as well as 24 V hot melt application heads for PLC operation under the names tesla red and tesla blue, for standard packaging applications. The common feature of all these hot melt application heads is the high-performance electromagnetic module, a completely new development that opens the door to hitherto unknown dimensions in performance. Robust, durable and environmentally friendly electromagnetic heads can now be used for many applications that could previously only be realised using delicate, electropneumatically operated heads. The new hot melt application heads of the tesla family also set new standards as regards safety.
In the form of the tesla blue, the new family of application heads from Baumer hhs includes a 24 V head that can be used to replace existing hot melt application heads by the Plug & Play principle. It takes next to no time to replace the previously used electropneumatic application heads with the new hot melt application head, which is compatible with most of the plug-and-socket connectors available on the market. Since the tesla blue – and equally the tesla red – can moreover be operated by any PLC, no further modifications are necessary on the existing production equipment once the application heads have been replaced. This means that end-of-line packers and packaging producers can switch their hot melt application to the latest technology with a minimum of installation effort and investment. That offers them decisive advantages. For example, being an electromagnetic hot melt application head, the tesla blue – like all the heads of the tesla family – is characterised by a much longer service life compared to electropneumatic hot melt application heads, something that significantly improves the reliability of glue application in day-to-day production. End-of-line packers and packaging producers can ultimately better exploit the productivity of their production lines. In addition to which, the tesla heads guarantee the familiar, high application quality of Baumer hhs gluing systems when applying both hot melt beads and hot melt dots.
tesla is the name of the high-speed application head from the tesla family. It is operated via a controller from Baumer hhs and can process high viscosities at an adhesive pressure of up to 80 bar. The wider viscosity and pressure range makes it possible to use electromagnetic hot melt application heads even in segments that were previously reserved for electropneumatic heads. The maximum frequency of up to 600 Hz offers plenty of room for increasing productivity and for saving adhesive by applying dots instead of lines.
“When developing the tesla family of application heads, our experts specifically focused on pushing back the previous boundaries in hot melt application on packagings and other products. Ultimately, the hot melt solutions of our new tesla family enable end-of-line packers and packaging producers to achieve a new level of performance on their production lines in almost every respect – and that at a favourable cost. In turn, the manufacturers of machines for packing and packaging processes particularly benefit from the high reliability and productivity of our new tesla solutions. They can now offer their customers even more efficient machines than ever,” says Baumer hhs Managing Director Detlef Engling, summing up key advantages of the new technology for the different target groups.
The decisive feature of the tesla blue and tesla red with 24 V control is the ease with which they can be integrated into existing production lines. As these 24 V heads can be operated via any PLC, they do not need controllers from Baumer hhs. Instead, third-party 24 V controllers are perfectly sufficient, which is why the tesla blue and tesla red require only a minimum of installation effort, compared to conventional electric heads. In other words: neither end-of-line packers and packaging producers, nor machine manufacturers face any technical obstacles regarding the use of packaging adhesives that could prevent them from switching to the high-performance hot melt application heads from Baumer hhs.
The service life of the tesla heads is up to ten times longer, this being due to the fact that, in contrast to electropneumatic application heads, these electromagnetic hot melt application heads do not need any dynamic seals, which are usually subject to severe wear. As a result, end-of-line packers and packaging producers “consume” fewer heads. And they need fewer spare parts. So, the tesla eliminates critical cost factors.
In addition to which, owing to the higher wear resistance of the tesla hot melt application heads, there are fewer production stoppages, because hot melt application heads have to be replaced less often. Production runs more smoothly and there is less downtime. At the end of the day, production output is higher. At the same time, there is less of the waste that comes with production stoppages. Those are important economic advantages in production processes that are geared to efficiency in absolutely every respect.
Another factor is the high energy efficiency of the new heads. Unlike electropneumatic hot melt application heads, the tesla heads do not need a compressed-air supply with its high energy consumption. Nor do they need compressed-air lines anymore, where compressed-air losses were so far almost inevitable. Those are further economic advantages of the new hot melt application heads from Baumer hhs for end-of-line packers and packaging producers. At the same time, they can impress their customers with better energy balances.
The tesla hot melt application heads also point the way with their low noise levels. Their noise emission of 65 dB(A) means that they operate 30 dB(A) more quietly than electropneumatic hot melt application heads. So, the tesla heads are well below the new limit of 75 – 85 dB(A) that new machines are not allowed to exceed today. In contrast, conventional electropneumatic hot melt application heads generally produce noise levels above 90 dB(A). In this way, the new hot melt application heads from Baumer hhs contribute to reducing noise emissions at the source in packaging processes.
A further important feature of all tesla heads is the innovative, integrated overtemperature switch. It is the first to meet the requirement for hot melt systems for packaging machines according to the latest safety standard DIN EN 415-10:2014, harmonised according to Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. In the event of a fault, this technology interrupts the power supply if the temperature rises beyond the maximum permissible value. That means greater safety for machine operators and avoids fire risks.
Last but not least, the new hot melt application heads give end-of-line packers and packaging producers greater flexibility regarding the adhesives that can be used. Thanks to the high pressure of up to 80 bar, the tesla can even reliably process relatively high-viscosity adhesives at very high speed.
To supplement the tesla heads, Baumer hhs also offers matching monitoring equipment. HLT sensors reliably monitor glue application. In combination with the tesla blue and tesla red, there are also HLT sensors that can be controlled and read out via the PLC. So, end-to-end monitoring is ensured for all applications.
Baumer hhs developed its new products in close cooperation with customers. Packaging machine manufacturers are increasingly opting for solutions from Baumer hhs – particularly when a combination of speed and reliability is called for. That is why more and more manufacturers and packers in the pharmaceutical sector are putting their faith in the Tamper Evidence solutions from the Krefeld-based company. In the tobacco industry, on the other hand, Baumer hhs has long been the market leader with its hot melt solutions, e.g. for cigarette packs. Both of these market segments impose particularly high demands on the productivity, reliability and quality of their gluing systems.
As the market and technology leader in the cold glue market, Baumer hhs moreover supplies demanding machine manufacturers in the folding-carton industry, where it is the OEM for almost all market-leading makers. On the other hand, thousands of end-users worldwide opt for the reliability and high performance of the solutions from Baumer hhs.
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