Product category:
Production Services
News Release from: Spirex Plasticating Systems and Solutions
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 09 July 2003
Maverick to keep plastics processes
aligned
Maverick Systems Corp will serve as the field services partner for Spirex in providing extruder bore laser alignment expertise to plastics processors in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Maverick Systems Corp will serve as the field services partner for Spirex in providing extruder bore laser alignment expertise to plastics processors in the USA, Canada and Mexico According to Spirex President Paul T Colby: "Many extrusion machine operators do not check and realign machinery on a regular basis
Barrel misalignment causes a reduction in production throughput, shortens feed screw and barrel bore life, increases amperage load, vibration and noise, and will ultimately cause premature failure of key components".
Colby notes that the new relationship between Spirex and the Hurst, Texas-based Maverick Systems Corp is in direct response to the plastics industry's ever-increasing need for more sophisticated and accurate part production, which requires processing machines to be better maintained and more precisely aligned.
To meet such needs, Spirex Corp's field service partner, Maverick Systems Corp, uses several types of laser systems that quickly and accurately calibrate almost any kind of plastics machinery.
Using these lasers for the alignment of barrels, extruders and couplings have dramatically improved extruder barrel and screw life, injection-moulding-machine mould/tool life, part-flashing and reduced tie-bar expenditures.
Properly aligned extrusion system components prolong the life of expensive items such as the screw, barrel, motor, pump, bearing, gears and seals.
"In the majority of cases", says Colby, "alignment will pay for itself in less than 30 days.
Consider barrel and screw maintenance as an investment into the future longevity of production equipment.
Bore misalignment is a major cause of premature wear of extrusion feedscrews and barrels.
With barrels and screws sometimes costing thousands of dollars each, a Spirex-certified alignment will pay for itself very quickly.
You maximise not only the longevity of the barrel and screw but recover further costs by reducing motor power and energy consumption, and eliminating costly downtime due to unplanned maintenance and repairs".
Shelly Haffly, Senior VP, New Business Development for Maverick Systems Corp, expands on the scope of the services now being offered by her company and Spirex: "Optics (borescopes and transits) have been the traditional method for alignment in the plastics industry.
While doing an adequate job in the past, optics are no longer accurate enough for the tight tolerances required in today's marketplace.
Our laser alignment process is faster, up to three times in some cases, and much more accurate than optics.
Precise, computer generated readouts eliminate the reading errors typically associated with optics.
Optical alignment results will vary with the technician.
Laser alignment results do not.
This greater precision results in tighter tolerances, provides a higher return on investment on the overall life of the machine, extends equipment life and reduces the time between production failures".
Maverick Systems Corp's skilled alignment technicians provide the highest level of laser experience, the industry's best laser equipment and software, plus a complete understanding of design geometry, mathematics and equipment knowledge coupled with years of industry experience.
Each professional is a Hamar Laser certified technician who has undergone extensive training in the classroom and the field.
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