James Dawson

Machinery Upgrades to Increase Production ​

Machinery Upgrades to Increase Production

Responding to changing marketplaces and demands requires a dynamic manufacturing process and machinery. James Dawson continually looks to improve its product offering through upgrades in machinery and processes. Once such product area that was highlighted as in need of upgrading was our Flexible Ducting product line.

The aim of the upgrade was to streamline the existing process which required a high level of operator interaction which could be minimised through increased automation.

Thermoplastic Extrusion Line

Key to our flexible ducting product line, is the thermoplastic extrusion machinery that manufactures it. The legacy equipment previously being utilised was unfortunately starting to show its age and due to the complexity of the process, required an extensive and time-consuming training period for operators.

The decision was made to upgrade the existing machinery with a newer more robust set of equipment. The half a million pound investment has brought about improved productivity, functionality and safety through closed loop tension controlled wire feed and PLC controlled speed regulation ensuring real time feedback during the application of the thermoplastic to the metal wire.

This greater control has not only improved our consistency but also allows for greater manufacturing speeds as a result of the enhanced stability in the wire coil. The new molding equipment was also introduced to allow for greater throughput with the addition of multi part tooling. This allows more than one product to be molded per cycle effectively doubling our throughput for those products.

Additionally we have also began developing a recycling systems where the mold flash is reused to ensure that material is reprocessed to reduce scrap and in turn reduce material costs. The newer more automated equipment has reduced operator interaction and vastly sped up training times, freeing up staff to carry out more complex manual tasks in other areas.

“The implementation of the new equipment has presented a number of challenges which given the broad range of sizes and bespoke nature of the equipment has required a team effort to overcome. We are very fortunate at James Dawson to have such a dedicated and supportive work force that work alongside our engineering team to deliver these complex systems. I am proud of the efforts and contributions of the team in delivering this key piece of equipment, which is modernising our process and improving efficiencies.”

Investment in people, processes and machinery is a core driving force at James Dawson, investment in all three allows us to provide the best possible product and service to our customers whilst improving efficiency of our manufacturing processes.  For more information on our range of hoses click here, or for more specific requests get in touch by clicking here.