For more than six decades, Nason has provided pneumatic and hydraulicΒ pressure devices to a variety of industries. More than a decade ago, Nason tookΒ the knowledge gained from designing and manufacturing custom devicesΒ for quality, long life products and applied it to pneumatic and hydraulicΒ automation products. Nasonβs expertise and customization capabilities areΒ what drew a North American provider of pneumatic automation and motionΒ control solutions, to work with Nason on a cylinder solution for part of aΒ product rejection application in the beverage filling industry.
Challenge
Nason and partners were challenged with finding a high-speed cylinderΒ solution that would be incorporated into the design of a product rejecter.Β As beverages are filled within the manufacturing facility, each product has aΒ specific fill level it must achieve. To ensure precision and accuracy, a productΒ rejecter must be used to eliminate any bottle or can that does not meetΒ the standard. To achieve this, a beam is used to judge the fill level of theΒ containers as they proceed down the line. If the beverage is filled too low,Β then the device is triggered and the product is rejected from the batch.
Although product rejection technology is not new, the precision of theΒ rejecter in the high-speed production line must keep up with the increasingΒ demand in manufacturing. If the device does not activate and catch theΒ product at the exact moment, then production can be interrupted, costingΒ time and money. As part of the rejecter design, a customized cylinder isΒ needed to keep the filling line moving. In this application, an automationΒ solution that is precise, high-speed, and smallerβyet just as powerfulβwas needed.
Solution
Nason and team began to work together to develop a solution. Over aΒ period of 12 months, the team was able to concept the design, createΒ a prototype, conduct testing, adjust the specifications, and find the rightΒ combination for a customized, high-speed cylinder that had an edge.
βQuality and speed were key elements for this application,β states DannyΒ Dehler, Nason Sales Manager. βThe client was looking for a cylinderΒ that could handle the speed of the line, as well as the ability to be easilyretrofitted to existing applications.β
While this automation solution was custom, all cylinders designed byΒ Nason have a compact design, yet provide the same level of power.Β Additionally, all Nason cylinders are made in North America, so lead timesΒ are shortened and quality is maintained.
Benefits of the cylinder include:
β’ Cost effective
β’ Uses less space
β’ Easily retrofits to existing applications
β’ Quality design, yet not overly high-tech
β’ Aesthetically pleasing within the rejecter
Result
Before the rejecter that incorporated Nasonβs high-speed cylinder couldΒ be incorporated into the production line, it had to be able to be able passΒ the product rejection test. A typical test includes being able to reject 1200Β bottles or 2200 cans in one minute without failing to repeat. The rejecterΒ with the Nason cylinder incorporated was able to meet and exceed thisΒ requirement. While Nasonβs cylinder is currently being used in just theΒ beverage industry, there are other opportunities in medical and foodΒ applications.
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