Low-melting labeling solution ensures batch integrity.

Paulstra, a manufacturer of products that provide shock noise, vibration control and vibration management for automotive applications, recently improved its manufacturing processes with the use of a low-melting labeling solution for its rubber batch inclusion bags. This system is said to have greatly increased plant productivity and eliminated waste problems caused by mystery bags.

Because Paulstra's rubber mixing plant is producing thousands of rubber products each day, the rubber mixing process is one of the most crucial stages on the manufacturing lines. Plant engineers deal with hundreds of rubber mixing batches every day. In total, nearly one hundred separate chemicals are used, in powder and pellet form, including curatives and additives such as antioxidants.

For several years, the Paulstra plants have been pre-weighing ingredients in Lomel low-melt batch inclusion bags. After weighing, the bags are sealed to prevent spillage and loss. Several hundred bags are consumed each day.

Paulstra looked for a good method for labeling the bags. Initially, the bags were manually labeled using marker pens. The company also tried printed tags, using a thermal printer, but the tags could not be adhered to the bag, because paper material would contaminate the product.

The manufacturer of the Lomel bag was approached for a solution, and they recommended a labeling system using the Lomel Batch Labeling System, which uses labels made from the same 160 EVA film as the Lomel batch-inclusion bag, which allows the label to completely disperse, along with the bag.

The system prints labels on demand with all the relevant information in both human readable and bar code form. The system features the Zebra 105SL, a robust industrial printer especially designed to produce crisp and clear text and graphics on Lomel labels. The labeling system provider was integral in providing ideas and helping Paulstra overcome technical difficulties they experienced when developing a system to automatically record the weight of the bags, and to ensure that the label contains accurate information.

At the mixing station, the same system that tells the operator which compounds, and the amount, that are specified for the particular mix, also verifies the ingredients and provides a record. An Intermex Saber 1552C scanner is used to collect the bar code data and perform ingredient validation. A PC network is in place with PC stations located at each workstation. In addition, the labeling system provider supported Paulstra in the development of the software which integrates the entire system.

Plant productivity is said to have improved now that the inventory of pre-measured batch inclusion bags is tracked automatically, ensuring that the correct bags are available prior to initiating the mixing operation.

Paragon Data Systems

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