The majority of straight-line folder gluers are running below their potential, limiting carton manufacturers and reducing profit margins. Regain that loss by switching from traditional glue wheels to the fully enclosed AutoWheel solution. Due to their open pot design, glue wheels require cleaning that cuts into valuable production time, create waste, and limit production rates. The glue system is only part of the equation. Without proper inspection, defective cartons can move through the line undetected. The result is stalled production, costly returns, and damaged customer relationships. These are not random problems. They are realities most facilities have accepted as the norm, and they don't have to be.
This two-part series covers targeted upgrades that address both directly. Part 1 focuses on the glue system and how the right replacement can increase throughput, clean up the facility, and deliver a more consistent finished product.
Your Glue Wheel is Costing You
The glue wheel’s open pot design comes with a set of disadvantages that consistently chip away at production efficiency. Glue wheels are the traditional way adhesive is applied on folder gluers, and that familiarity makes it easy to accept those problems as a fixed cost.
The most immediate concern is machine speed. Run an open glue wheel too fast and it slings adhesive onto cartons and surrounding equipment. That creates stickers, cartons that are stuck together and will need to be scrapped. These lines can never realize their full speed potential or actual production capacity because of the glue wheel.
Cleaning adds another layer of worry and additional tasks for operators. An open glue pot has to be cleaned out regularly, running 20 to 30 minutes per cleaning cycle, once per shift or once per day, depending on the operation. On top of that, whatever adhesive remains in the pot at the end of the shift gets disposed of, adding daily glue waste and increasing disposal costs, without even considering adhesive contamination.
The final constraint is manual refilling. Someone must monitor the pot and keep it topped up. Forget to refill or get held up and the line keeps running, but without applying any adhesive.
While there are a lot of problems the industry has learned to live with when it comes to glue wheels, there is a better way. Innovative solutions that remove the open pot entirely, focus on increasing production, and clean up the process are available, like the AutoWheel from Valco Melton.
Sometimes You Need to Reinvent the Wheel
AutoWheel is a complete drop-in replacement for the traditional glue wheel, designed to fit existing folder gluer lines without modifications. Because it is a contact gluing system, just like the glue wheel it replaces, the learning curve is minimal.
The key benefit is the ability to run at any machine speed. AutoWheel applies adhesive consistently at any speed without slinging or splashing. Lines that were previously throttled to keep glue contained can now run at full capacity. The result is more cartons per shift, with the machine and surrounding area kept clean.
Another benefit of a fully enclosed system is the elimination of an open glue pot. The daily cleaning cycle is gone, recovering 20 to 30 minutes per shift that was previously lost to a maintenance schedule. Glue disposal at the end of the shift is also gone, removing both the material waste and the disposal costs that come with it. The Auto Glue feature automatically applies the correct line of adhesive, while the enclosed design removes the open pot along with the risk of it running dry completely.
The savings across all of these areas make the ROI period for the AutoWheel easy to calculate, and for most facilities the payback period much sooner than they might expect.
Other Areas to Consider
Replacing the glue wheel with the AutoWheel is one of the quickest ways to increase production rates, simplify operator tasks, and deliver a more consistent product, but it is not the only one. Sensors and cameras are now being used to automatically inspect every feature of a carton, ensuring your customers only receive products that meet your specifications. In Part 2, we will cover how inspection technology can help you produce better cartons and strengthen customer confidence.
Categorized in: Folding Carton