same productivity of a fast Paternoster system, on one fifth of its footprint, only 3 by 2 m each Drum, with access on the 4 sides.
· The foam rises vertically in the door cavity, with a positive effect on the thermal insulation: the elongated cell ' s structure produces more cells within the thickness of the door than those obtained when foaming it horizontally, and placing more cells( thus more obstacles) in the direction of the heat transfer improves the Lambda value – the insulation capacity- of the door.
· All the air contained in the door cavity is rushed out through the narrow top side of the mould, avoiding any risk of air entrapment on one of the two aesthetic sides: The same good quality is available on both side of the door regardless of the way it is loaded into the mould. No more issues about plastic liner on top or bottom side, we talk now about left and right side.
· The distribution of densities within the foam is optimal, with a
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maximum difference of 0.5 kg / m between the heaviest and the lightest sample. This saves a lot of foam, at the end of the year! The VertiDrum is a real breakthrough in the industry especially when the reactivity of the foam is high and when the door shall contain additional inserts, moreover it can also be used for any kind of thin, rectangular insulating panel. We just applied for some patents regarding a new production solution based on free-riding moulds running in a track where they are kept closed, during the polymerisation period, by a continuous series of steel rolls mounted on rails. The line is conceived with a number of service stations, an injection point and a polymerisation area. Each station is dedicated to only one simple action that can be executed in very few seconds. Initially designed for a given polymerisation time, when the chemistry will allow for faster production cycles the line can be adapted simply removing a few polymerisation stations. Mould change can be performed in a dedicated station during the cycle time, without stopping or delaying the production. Fast, flexible, simple … the new system is now going into production at Electrolux Mexico in their Ciudad Juarez factory, and we are constructing another plant for delivery by the end of this year.
CN: Several news concerning the doors, it seems: anything new for the production of cabinets? AO: No, nothing new in the past … 6 months, I ' m afraid! For the cabinet production we are consolidating the supply of our VAI( Vacuum Assisted Injection) system which makes use of vacuum during the injection of the formulation and the expansion of the foam in the cabinet ' s wall cavities. This method provides a quick demoulding time, improved thermal insulation capacity, optimum adhesion of the foam to the metal structure and lower consumption of energy during the cabinet ' s life.
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We built to perfection the VAI version of a RotoPlug 2 foaming fixture, that allows for a model change in Zero-Time: when one size of cabinet has to be temporarily replaced by another in the foaming process, the rectangular platform holding the male plugs, on the upper side of the station, rotates by 180 degrees. The new male plug, already thermally conditioned to the correct temperature, is brought on the lower position of the platform, ready to start its cycle of foaming processes. The plug going off-duty is sent on the upper side of the platform, where it can wait for its new cycle of injections or it can be manually replaced or adapted to a new cabinet design. The adjustment operation on the upper plug can be executed while the lower plug is regularly producing. The major advantage of this system derives from the increased flexibility guaranteed to its users: a very small production series of a given model can be easily inserted with a very short notice without perturbing the output cadence. Stocks of finished cabinets can be dramatically reduced, since it ' s no more necessary to produce numerous units of each model only to justify the loss of time deriving from a mould change operation. And to finish with the innovation on cabinets, we supplied to Fisher & Paykel Thailand the RotoJig, a foaming station with a rotating platform that holds two fully-functioning polymerisation jigs, in its original VAI configuration, to work with vacuum. The service operations occur at the lower level, while foam injection and polymerisation are performed at the upper. This innovative design allows for both types of foam injection: it can be used with face-down refrigerators with multiple heads on the top, or with single injection from the compressor side, made on the lower position of the RotoJig. Double productivity per meter square of factory! The rational design of our VAI foaming plant, including loading and unloading fast system and the mechanics of the jig have been so appreciated that we are asked to apply the same concept even for non-VAI production methods!
The Cannon RotoJig is a foaming station with a rotating platform that holds two fully-functioning polymerisation jigs. It can be supplied in a configuration suitable to work with VAI( Vacuum Assisted Injection).
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