Linear motion products bring machines up to date

A THK product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jan 11, 2007

High performance actuators and linear motion guides help Burnley Packaging Machinery to make considerable improvements to the performance of its packaging machines.

The latest high performance actuators and linear motion guides from THK, the leading global designer, developer and manufacturer of linear motion solutions, are helping Burnley Packaging Machinery to make considerable improvements to the performance of its packaging machines, enabling the company consistently to meet and exceed its customers' increasingly demanding and tight deadlines.

Perhaps as importantly, THK's linear motion products are helping to improve the speed, accuracy and overall operating performance of Burnley's latest packaging machines as well as dramatically reducing the number of components and engineering time required for system build.

Lancashire based Burnley Packaging Machinery is a leading designer and manufacturer of a wide range of innovative packaging machinery including shrinkwrapping, overwrapping and sleevewrapping systems.

The long established company combines traditional high quality engineering skills with the latest design technologies to develop products that deliver superior performance and reliability.

Burnley Packaging operates throughout the global marketplace via an established agent and distributor network, as well as providing total product support, from the initial assessment of a potential customer's packaging requirements through to comprehensive after sales services.

Burnley Packaging's latest machine, the technologically advanced SDO400 servo driven overwrapper, for example, operates using THK's high performance Caged Ball LM Guides, type SHS.

In addition the KR actuator, combining linear guide and ballscrew technology, provides an excellent level of accuracy and increased rigidity.

The innovative packaging machine, which can be used to wrap anything from boxes of tea bags to cigarette packets, wraps up to 70 packs per minute, using servo driven machine movements to ensure maximum flexibility.

The use of THK's KR actuator enables smooth and consistent motion at high speeds, with excellent levels of accuracy, typically to within 18um in every 100mm of travel.

The use of the Caged Ball LM Guide technology, means operating noise and heat is reduced to an absolute minimum, while operating life is extended to in excess of 40,000km without the need for maintenance.

Prior to using THK linear motion products, all Burnley Packaging machines used a mechanical cam, lever and bearing construction.

Craig Fallows, Design Director at Burnley Packaging, explains: "In 2004 we decided it was time to revamp all our systems and bring them up to date".

"So we redesigned all our mechanical machines transforming them into servo driven systems".

"This has had a huge yet positive impact on our production processes".

Fallows continues: "By comparison with the traditional cam, lever and bearing systems we previously used, the THK linear motion products we now use are modular and therefore include a minimal number of components, require no extensive assembly or engineering time and can simply be bolted into our packaging systems ready for immediate operation".

"Furthermore, this has helped us to reduce the volume of stock we hold by a considerable amount, while enabling us to consistently meet and sometimes even exceed our customers' deadlines, which are becoming increasingly tight as a result of various market pressures".

"Most importantly though, we have been able to achieve our ultimate goal of providing our customers with a much faster and more efficient service, with better quality and technologically advanced products".