WHEN it comes to packaging machines, the high wear, and cost of replacement parts, can create long downtime and inefficient production figures.
The increasing use of low-friction engineering plastic parts to replace traditional stainless steel and aluminium is becoming more prevalent in both locally made and imported machines.
Increased demands on machine productivity figures and higher production rates call for more advanced materials to ‘share the load’.
Paper is one of the most abrasive substrates any component can experience.
Carton board and associated materials create high-speed paper movement, so the wear capability of parts is critical.
Originally carriers were manufactured from aluminium, but the high-speed environment created premature wear and misalignment of the product.
The metal has been replaced widely by Ertacetal and Polystone 7000SR, both available from Alternative Plastics .
Both materials have much greater wear capabilities than aluminium when encountering high-speed paper movement.
Reduced friction translates to decreased wear and downtime, and increased part life.