Lightweight Change Parts

The requirement for well-made but also lightweight change parts has become an increasing trend over the last few years, not only to reduce injury but to also reduce change over times.

There are a number of considerations to take into account when designing change parts for a bottling line. How quick can you have them turned around? Will they increase production outputs?

But one question that is coming increasingly more common is; how light can they be made?

In today’s day of automation and industry 4.0, there are still some tasks that require manual handling. The changeover of container handling equipment on bottling production lines in one such task.

This means, not only are manufacturers looking for parts that can endure high-capacity filling but parts that are also light-weight which will improve manual handling and OH&S in tasks. With an ageing workforce, it is important to make sure the physical needs of the employees are taken into consideration. The lighter the change parts, the easier the changeover becomes.

Production downtime during container handling changeover can also have an impact on production output. The lighter the change parts, the quicker the changeover and the faster production will be running again. That is why it is important to ensure all parts are being changed over in a timely manner – this is where Alternative Engineering can assist.

Assisting Asahi with lightweight change parts

Asahi Tullamarine contacted Alternative Engineering to assist them in manufacturing a range of change parts which were reduced in weight.  Asahi wanted them to not only be lighter and easier to pick up but reducing weight can also eliminate possible injuries from weight bearing. For OH&S purposes, the requirement for not only well-made change parts but also light-weight change parts is an increasing trend.

Our engineers and account managers worked closely with Asahi to significantly reduce the weight of new sets of change parts for their Tullamarine bottling plant.
We revered engineered existing their parts for a range of bottling lines in lightweight two-piece parts. By using the ROMER Arm we were able to take exact measurements to replicate change parts to  We were successfully able to reduce the weight of the new change parts by 40%, making the end products to around 8kg each.

How does Alternative Engineering do this?

By using a blend of light and durable components, it allows the change parts produced to be significantly lighter than OEM equipment.
The lighter change parts offer a significant improvement on changeover times, as they can be removed with east allowing production to start running again in a timely manner.

Not only are the parts are designed for quick release, the impact that this has on manual handling also improved. The lighter we can manufacture the change parts the better flow on effect this has towards manual handling safety for the employees.

Heavier components not only require more time and people to complete changeover, but can increase the probability of injury.

With the ability of our specialised engineers to visit onsite allows us to gather vital information. Our engineers and account managers make onsite visits to measure up existing equipment and machinery to get exact information and have in depth discussions with our clients about best solutions for them.

**Change parts are also called: guides, stars and guides, star wheel, container handling parts, container handling change parts, changeover parts, quick change handling parts, quick change parts, and exchange parts.**

Alternative Engineering: Expertise and service you can rely on

Alternative Engineering is a leading Melbourne based engineering and manufacturing company that specialises in high-capacity production environments with particular expertise in the Pharmaceutical and Food & Beverage sector. With an impressive and growing client list, Alternative Engineering has built a reputation for exceptional customer service, technical expertise, reliability and quality engineering outcomes.