Latest Issue

Diary and Events

Industry 4.0 Summit

Manchester Central Convention Complex(M2 3GX)

31/03/2020 - 01/04/2020

The UK’s leading conference gathering of senior level executives from the UK manufacturing industry (more)

Drives & Controls Exhibition

NEC, Birmingham(B40 1NT)

21/04/2020 - 23/04/2020

The show brings together key suppliers of state-of-the-art equipment representing the multi-tasking culture (more)

UKIVA Machine Vision Conference 2020

Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes(MK1 1ST)

14/05/2020

Vision solutions have been applied in almost any industry you can think of. Food, beverage, pharmaceutical, (more)

PPMA Show 2020

NEC, Birmingham(B40 1NT)

29/09/2020 - 01/10/2020

PPMA Show 2020 is the UK’s largest ever event dedicated to state-of-the-art processing and packaging (more)

Advanced Engineering 2020

NEC, Birmingham(B40 1NT)

04/11/2020 - 05/11/2020

The UK's largest annual advanced manufacturing trade show, Advanced Engineering is your opportunity to (more)

Download Free brochures and white papers

Compact actuator delivers reliability for film winding

When bpi.films needed to replace worn out and obsolete actuators at the end of a process line they were faced with a few problems. Their replacements needed to match the fixing centres and diameter of the failed mechanisms and be sufficiently compact so as not to impinge on the nearby drive system. The Framo Mini 3 actuator from RA Rodriguez proved to be the ideal solution.

Part of British Polythene Industries, bpi.films is the UK's leading manufacturer of shrink films, converter film and pallet stretch film. Its continuous investment in the most advanced film manufacturing technologies has allowed the company to produce an innovative and diverse range of films which package, protect and secure a wide variety of products in a host of industry sectors.

The Framo Mini 3 actuators are responsible for transferring a fully wound roll of film, weighing approximately 1,000 kg, from the process line onto a trolley for further handling. For the winding process the roll is held on an expanding mandrel which releases its grip when the roll is full. This allows the finished product to roll down guideways into moon shaped locators at the end of two radius arms. The two Framo actuators work in parallel at either side of the machine.

With the roll safely cradled in the locators, the operator initiates the actuators that expand, lowering the roll by 45° onto the waiting trolley for despatch. The actuators then return to the waiting position. They both have a 300mm stroke length, operate at a speed of 47mm/sec and with a stroke force of up to 8,000N. For this application, it is critical that both actuators travel at exactly the same speed - this is achieved by integrating an inverter between the actuator and power supply.

For bpi.films the compact nature of the Mini 3 was vital as it allowed the actuator to be retrofitted with minimal modification. Whilst many actuators have bulky external motors, the Mini employs a powerful coaxial motor to achieve the required stroke in minimum space. A number of features ensure the Mini's reliable operation. These include a thermally protected motor, life time lubrication and integral safety switches. This reliability is complemented by economical operation, low maintenance and a long service life.

RA Rodriguez

Other News from RA Rodriguez

Autonomous mobile robots support a lean approach to operations

Latest news about Linear acctuators

Additional Information

Text styles

Compact actuator delivers reliability for film winding

Other News from RA Rodriguez

Latest news about Linear acctuators

Document request