CN
A Plug & Play Plant for Dash Insulators
THE WELL APPRECIATED MINITANDEM CONCEPT , DEVELOPED BY CANNON 20 Y E A R S A G O , H A S B E E N N O W REDESIGNED FOR A VERY FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING APPROACH : IT CAN BE EASILY EXTENDED TO DOUBLE THE PRODUCTIVITY , OR MOVED TO ANOTHER FACTORY , IF THE LOGISTICS DEMAND IT . MINIMUM DOWNTIME IS GUARANTEED FOR ITS INSTALLATION AND START-UP .
The Cannon MiniTandem was developed at the end of the past century (… it sounds old , does it ?) to allow for high-productivity in production of large sound deadening elements made foam-backing an heavy layer ( usually a filled EPDM ) with a Polyurethane flexible foam . A shuttling double lower platen allows for external loading service on one lower mould half while a similar one is closed in a polymerisation press , curing a part injected few seconds before . Numerous of these plants have been supplied by Cannon in these two decades to the leading manufacturers of sound insulation solutions for the automotive and trucking industries .
Repeat Order of a Satisfied Market Leader One of these clients – a major Tier 1 supplier producing parts worldwide for the most important car makers – after having experienced for many years the benefits of using Cannon wet and dry solutions for its Polyurethane plants , has just committed to Cannon Ergos a revised version of the MiniTandem for a hot forming application : dash insulators of 1,800 by 1,000 mm size . Working from large sheets of EPDM or PVC , picked automatically from palletised stacks , the equipment is pre-heating them at 160 ° C prior to transferring them into the forming press . Here the dispenser unrolls the hot layer of thermoplastic over the mould , following carefully its threedimensional profile with a vertical adjustment of the front part of the dispenser . This movement provides a high precision of deposition , needed to guarantee a crease-free moulded part , especially when it features a very deep draw . Once the heavy layer has been vacuum formed onto the lower mould , the shuttle enters the press for foaming . At the same time a second mould half enters in the forming area from the opposite side , ready to receive the deposition of a new hot sheet and to vacuum – form it . This method provides the highest exploitation of the forming press ( the most capital intensive piece of the plant ) limiting to one the number of preheating ovens .
Let ' s Move It , Quick ! The client ' specifications were quite clear in terms of flexibility : the plant – initially composed by one hot press – had to be easily doubled in case of increase in demand , without perturbing the production . On top of that , the whole equipment had to be easily moved among the various production plants located in different European countries , should the demand of parts suddenly rise there .
A F l e x i b l e E n g i n e e r i n g Approach Cannon Ergos redesigned the MiniTandem according to both these needs , providing their customer w i t h a v e r y f l e x i b l e p l a n t configuration : when needed , a second forming press can be installed on either side of the existing one , according to the factory layout available at the moment . The whole set of interconnections between the various elements of the plant and the central logics and electric control panel , as well as all the mechanical fitting points , have been engineered with a Plug & Play concept , allowing for prompt dismantling and re-installation hundreds of kilometres away , in the shortest time possible and with minimum loss of production .
A revised version of the Cannon MiniTandem is used for the hot forming production of Automotive dash insulators , made with large sheets of EPDM or PVC .
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