TPT January 2025

HANDLING, BUNDLING, PACKAGING & LOGISTICS

Dan Lawrence, president and CEO for MAC, said: “Our relationship with RGM epitomises MAC’s technique: we will actively seek out and solve difficult customer problems through a collaborative solution and focused approach that provides our customers with the lowest total cost of ownership. This technique has served us well for nearly 100 years and we expect it to continue to serve us well for the next 100 too.”

simple button press moves the bar from the calibration support station to MAC EZ drop rollers that catch the bar and lower it onto the inlet conveyor, where it is automatically fed through the testers, reversed and returned to the station. Calibration checks are usually done during setup, between bundles and after the production run. With MAC’s calibration station, this becomes a simple, efficient operation that avoids the wasted effort and inefficiency common in many mills where reference bars must be brought by crane from another part of the building every time a calibration is specified.

BÜLTMANN bundling and packing lines are used for both tubes and bars. In addition to the use of Bültmann production lines, adding bundling and packing equipment is the next step to creating fully automated production. Tubes and bars that have been separated are not reassembled in layers for bundle forming, but are fed individually to form the bundle. Depending on the application, this is done either via specially designed feeder arms, or vertical handling systems using vacuum technology. This avoids relative movements or line contact between the tubes and bars. As an additional positive effect, both solutions result in a very low noise emission. In addition, it is possible to bundle the products in either rectangular or hexagonal bundle shapes. The bundling lines are automatically set to the pre-selected bundle shape by means of the machine control system. For this purpose, the operator is provided with a clearly structured Bars ranging from 20 to 100mm diameter are loaded from the input tables, with no size adjustment needed. MAC’s EZ drop rollers place the bar on the conveyor channel rolls where it moves smoothly through the testers. On the output side, tested bars are automatically sorted into accept or reject. Each accepted bar is lifted by sorting rollers and moves to an intermediate station to be raised by alignment rollers. The MAC Aligner unit, designed for this installation, pushes the end of the bar to line it up correctly before being released onto the accumulation table and into the accept pocket, making bundling much easier. Stops can be activated to accumulate bars while the pocket is emptied, without stopping the testing. RGM found these features useful, as they enhance the bundling and packaging operation overall, demonstrating the benefits of the joint innovation between the two companies. A new calibration station was designed to hold and feed reference bars used to verify tests are operating within specifications. In this system, a

Magnetic Analysis Corporation www.mac-ndt.com

The relationship between MAC and RGM shows what can be achieved when two industry leaders combine their expertise. By leveraging MAC’s advanced NDT technologies and RGM’s commitment to precision and quality, the partnership has transformed quality assurance processes and ensured the highest standards in bar production.

MAC’s Aligner ensures the accepted rod or bar ends are lined up for easy bundling

Bültmann automatic bundling and packing lines for tubes and bars

The Bültmann bundling and packing lines can be individually combined or enhanced, for example with automatic strapping, labelling, plastic wrapping and bundle storage equipment. They are also available as turnkey solution in complete plant concepts.

visualisation system, which makes it possible to pre-select individual bundle, shape and quantity specifications. The programs created in this way can be saved as a recipe and can therefore be reproduced at any time. In addition, data interfaces enable the linking to higher level production control systems and thus also fulfil further requirements regarding the ubiquitous topic ‘Industry 4.0’.

Bültmann GmbH www.bueltmann.com

Bültmann production lines make it possible to bundle the tubes in either rectangular or hexagonal bundle shapes

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JANUARY 2025