Bericap UK and Sumitomo (SHI) Demag present findings from 18-month collaborative development project testing every performance aspect of the latest PAC-E machine in a real production setting. Results corroborate the 50%+ energy savings, market-leading all-electric fast cycle times and 1.5 year ROI claims.
It is uncommon for companies to embed end-users in the creation of a flagship innovation, especially in large-scale machinery. Defying convention, Bericap UK and Sumitomo (SHI) Demag rigorously tested the new energy-efficient, fast-cycle PAC-E machine for caps and closures using high-pressure production conditions. Through this collaborative approach, both organisations established a new industry benchmark, demonstrating the significant advantages of integrating operational insights from end-users throughout the development process.
“With razor-thin margins, processing speed is everything in the packaging industry. We never imagined all-electric could meet our performance demands until the PAC-E machine proved otherwise. Utilising our high-demand production environment as the proving ground, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag delivered on their productivity promise, giving us the competitive edge to take our business even further,” explains Bruce Margetts of Bericap UK.
“Working so closely with the Sumitomo (SHI) Demag team has been incredibly valuable. It led to a game-changing machine that is not only transforming our operations but could reshape the entire packaging industry,” adds Bruce. After observing the performance advantages and energy efficiencies throughout an 18-month testing period, Bericap UK proceeded to place an order for a serial production 350 ton PAC-E.
High pressure testing ground
Already conceptualised with significant input from Sumitomo in Japan and the German product engineers, the PAC-E development faced one major industry challenge. This new machine would have to demonstrate and convince packaging manufacturers that it could match the previously unparalleled performance of Sumitomo (SHI) Demag’s El-Exis SP series, but deliver the environmental, cleanliness and efficiency benefits of an all-electric system.
Bericap UK in Hull provided the real-world, demanding production environment to validate and optimise the machine’s capabilities. Accommodating a 350 ton PAC-E in active production, over 18 months the machine ran over 11 million cycles. This enabled the Sumitomo (SHI) Demag engineering team to fine-tune cycle speeds, further-improve component resilience and reduce energy consumption in cap production by over 50%, all while delivering on Bericap’s live commercial orders.
“In fact, the machine was running continuously and proving to be so energy efficient and reliable, it was challenging to persuade the production team to switch it off to make adjustments,” notes Bericap UK process engineer Dean Bramley.
For the entire duration of the project, engineers, process managers, directors and technical specialists from both companies hosted regular on-site reviews, bi-weekly development meetings and weekly technical calls. This continuous feedback loop allowed PAC-E to evolve through live production insights rather than lab-based testing.
The end result has changed the landscape of plastic packaging production for the benefit of all mass manufacturers, claims Sumitomo (SHI) Demag’s UK & Ireland Managing Director Dave Raine. He expands: “With Bericap’s demanding production environment, we were able to analyse hundreds of application datasets, engage with mould makers and ultimately refine the machine to meet the precise production and user safety requirements.”
Ecological meets economical
Given the urgency of Net Zero and the emphasis on sustainable design, PAC-E drew upon its extensive all-electric expertise. Specifically, the all-electric direct drives designed by Japanese parent company Sumitomo Electric, served as a springboard to initiate faster machine developments for sectors traditionally served by hydraulic and hybrid machines, reports Dave Raine.
With an advanced model ready to market, PAC-E’s functionality underwent months of live tests at Bericap UK. Production parameters such as cycle time stability, dosing consistency and thermal loading on the drives and spindles were just several of the focus areas. By the end of the testing programme, the collaborative team had generated all the production data required to prove that PAC-E consistently achieved speeds and energy savings once considered unattainable with all-electric injection moulding.
Sumitomo (SHI) Demag engineer Aaron Driver reflects: “Cycle time, energy consumption and machine uptime are the biggest variables in ROI, so they became our core development priorities. By zeroing in on these performance indicators and continuously refining every element that influenced them, we were able to break through innovation limitations.”
Towards the end of the testing programme a full injection profile linearity study was conducted by Bericap UK. This helped to distinguish the differences between the El-Exis and PAC-E to build up a portfolio of evidence as to why the PAC-E significantly benefitted the company’s production strategy and provided proof of the benefits.
One of the key highlights of this impartial study drew attention to the re-engineered motion system optimised for short-stroke, high-precision applications. Although the maximum injection speed is lower (550 mm/s vs. 1000 mm/s), the dynamics are significantly higher. The result is sub-2-second cycle times, fast enough to support production of over 1 billion caps per year on machines running 24/7.
“Customers are signalling that they want absolute certainty before they make a purchase decision. The development has to be mature, the performance excellent, the energy savings significant. PAC-E was co-developed with and for the customer and with this programme we have proven that PAC-E delivers on every count. In Bericap’s case it made 500 million caps per annum, more than halved energy consumption, equating to a 1.5 year ROI,” states Dave.
Operations Director Chris Hood concludes: “The level of cooperation and desire to succeed on this project was exceptional. The Sumitomo (SHI) Demag UK team went above and beyond in their availability and determination to take learnings from the installation and implement solutions and improvements. These can be seen on the final production machines installed by the Bericap Group.”
For more information visit: sumitomo-shi-demag.co.uk