Process optimisation takes China out of the loop

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jun 26, 2006

Worldwide manufacturing group BMP has used Delmia software to develop a revolutionary new manufacturing process for polyurethane components for office automation products.

Worldwide manufacturing group BMP has used Delmia software to develop a revolutionary new manufacturing process for polyurethane components for office automation products.

BMP's plant in Accrington, Lancashire, supplies the world's best-known makers of printers and photocopiers.

Specifically, the factory specialises in producing exceptionally high-grade polyurethane blades, which wipe excess toner from these machines' printing transfer drums.

As the product demands a variety of different specifications of accurately cut, clear sheets mounted onto metal blades, it was thought that only manual labour would be able to provide the kind of flexibility required.

BMP's Accrington plant is in operation round the clock, seven days a week.

Seven years ago, the opening up of the Eastern Bloc and availability of cheaper labour there led to BMP opening a satellite factory in China.

The labour intensive production process is shared between the two factories, with the UK casting the polyesters and prepolymers into sheets before cutting and packing them for shipping to China.

After the six-week journey, the Chinese work force carries out further cutting prior to adding the metal brackets and then cleaning and priming.

Although several key customers have now developed their own Chinese plants, a substantial proportion of BMP's Chinese factory output is destined for European markets, so has to be shipped back, adding an additional six weeks to the total manufacturing process.

In a largely secret (patent applied for) process, BMP has developed a flexible, automated production line in the UK that negates the need for Chinese shipping and enables the company to produce a component from its principal product line in just 30 minutes.

Patrick Pepperday, BMP's Engineering Manager, takes up the story: "We had a rough idea of what we wanted to achieve - the ability to cast directly onto metal blades, thus avoiding the need for cutting and the extra adhesion processes".

"In order to develop the process, we took on three more engineers all of whom were devoted full-time to this project".

"However, as the project continued, we assimilated a greater understanding of both the potential of the new system and also its potential problems".

"A highlight was the realisation that high frequency, infra-red was the perfect heating method once properly calibrated, but at the same time, we began to recognise that it might prove impossible to co-ordinate the sequencing of the nine different processes on the production line".

One month into developing the groundbreaking process and with challenges that were beginning to look intractable, Pepperday remembered a demonstration of Delmia production line simulation given by Northern Technologies that he had once attended.

He commissioned Northern Technologies to create a virtual model of his proposed manufacturing line using Delmia Quest software.

Paul Bateson, Manufacturing Specialist at Northern Technologies, explained: "During the two weeks that it took me to develop a comprehensive Quest model, I managed to spot even more potential snags with the line, but almost all of these were solved by variable speed drives, enabling the conveyors to run at variable speeds".

"This prevented the logjam effect that can occur when some processes take under a minute, while others take nine minutes".

"The Quest model also proved that instead of the originally planned six workers needed to run the line, just three were needed, and this was despite deciding not to build in automated blade fitting".

"Delmia Human allowed us to analyse the cycle times of the workers without trial and error try out sessions".

Patrick Pepperday concluded: "Quest addressed all our trouble spots with the result that we have a production capability able to fulfil all our initial expectations and considerably more besides".

"We envisage that our automated line will be able to produce 3.6 million blades per annum at the same time as flexibly manufacturing our new range of feed tyres".

"We had not even considered diversifying into this product until we realised the possibilities our new line presented us with".

"We expect to produce in excess of a million of these in our first year without working at full capacity".

"Next year, the line could be flexibly expanded or even duplicated, as it has, since its inception, managed to decrease the work content of blade and feed tyre production by around 80%".