equipment - pre-feeders

Why use a pre-feeder?

A troublesome area of running a folder gluer can be manually feeding blanks into the gluer feed box.

Factors such as the die cutting process, the board composition, printing or coating, and the plant's environment (temperature and humidity) may require carton blanks to be "fanned" to feed properly and efficiently.

Another factor is the weight of the stack. If too many blanks are put in the feed at one time the additional weigh compresses the belts slightly. This can allow two blanks to slide under the feed gate - resulting in a double feed, a skip or a jam.  The larger the blank (and subsequently the stack weight) exaggerates the problem as the stack height varies while feeding the gluer. .

An ergonomic issue to consider is the ability of an operator to comfortably feed the gluer at high speeds. Since the operator must take care not to feed too many blanks at one time, or let the stack height vary too much, slower overall feed rates may result. Throw in the need to have the operator fan the stack because of "sticky" blanks and production speeds can really drop.

A pre-feeder eliminates these problems by delivering a consistent stream of cartons into the gluer. Blanks are pre-conditioned by the shingling action of the pre-feeder and a constant stack height in the gluer feeder is automatically maintained.  A pre-feeder increases overall throughput on a folder gluer by merely decreasing jams, skips, and doubles.

On high-speed production runs of conventional style cartons, adding a pre-feeder can often increase production by 20% to 30%.

Ergonomically, loading a pre-feeder is faster and easier than directly feeding a gluer because the operator no longer needs to manually pre-condition blanks or maintain a constant stack height.

A pre-feeder can help in many instances but it is not the answer to all feeding problems. Since additional set up time is needed, a pre-feeder may not be beneficial on very short production runs. And, a pre-feeder may not improve production on blanks with intricate die cutting or flap designs.

To evaluate the benefits of using pre-feeders in your operating environment, contact WSI and arrange to have carton samples reviewed.

WSI manufactures and assembles all parts and equipment in the USA