PAINT & POWDER
Tamlite Lighting Ltd .
Background
Tamlite Lighting Ltd are a UK based Company , manufacturing domestic and commercial light fittings . Their parts are manufactured completely in house utilising thin sheet metal steel , of which is formed and finally powder coated to be further processes into domestic and commercial light fittings of very high quality .
Through continuous success and growth they have increased output to a point where they ran a three shift system to satisfy demand . Tamlite Ltd . decided to invest in their process to increase production capacity with a view to reducing the shift pattern and working hours . FIT Infrared ( EU ) Ltd . were approached to provide a curing system for the powder coated parts , this was to be installed integral with a new automated powder coating facility and conveyor .
Define
Tamlite Lighting identified a target capacity of 105,000 units per year on a two shift bases , this was to provide an increase of 62 % and a reduction in operating hours of 33 %. The project objective was to install all facilities with minimum disruption to their existing production .
The oven capacity allowed the working hours to be reduced to a two shift system and also allowed production to increase by 40,000 units per year . The new FIT Infrared gas catalytic oven reduced the cost per part from original of £ 0.31 to £ 0.093 saving £ 0.217 per part ( 70 % reduction in energy cost ).
Working closely with the customer and the other contractors , a project plan was agreed which created minimum effect and risk to existing production and allowed the project to be completed in a safe and timely manner .
Improve
FIT Infrared ( EU ) Ltd . manufactured the oven to the agreed design , and installed it based on the agreed project timing plan .
Daily project meeting were held with the customer to discuss progress and sign off key stages .
Control
Following installation , the ovens were commissioned and various light unit sizes cured to provide the ideal curing cycle . Training was carried out for maintenance and operators .
All commissioning data was compiled within the technical file to ensure any variation or changes to the process over time would be easily identified and addressed .
A service agreement was drawn up to ensure the oven continuously runs to optimum levels .
Measure
The existing oven was the main bottleneck and was proving unreliable and inconstant . The oven was the highest cost contributor in the manufacture with an annual gas usage of 669,700 kW of Natural gas at a cost of £ 20,091 and a cost per part of £ 0.31 .
The existing oven produced 127 tonnes of CO2 / 34.69 tonnes of Carbon per year .
42 SEPTEMBER 2021 twitter : @ surfaceworldmag