Front Loading Technology

In various industries worldwide, there is an ever increasing focus on integrated manufacture; increasing productivity whilst reducing costs and work in progress (WIP). This has placed an additional demand on impregnation systems, especially as conventional top-loading machines are not ergonomically suited to such requirements.

With the advent of ‘lean-manufacturing’, the requirement now was for impregnation machines that could not only handle smaller batches but also offer faster cycle times and be fully integrated into the production process.

The World’s First Front-Loading Impregnation System

Ultraseal International pioneered the world’s first front-loading impregnation system to complement conveyor based manufacturing. These systems offer greater speed and control and significant health and safety advantages, together with the key ability to be fully integrated into production lines.

The impregnation system can now be connected to the previous operation by a simple conveyor, with no need for auxiliary transport mechanisms. Furthermore, the loading of each module is simplified, with no requirement for an overhead gantry hoist.

These advanced modular systems offer high throughput with shorter cycle times, with each module accommodating a smaller number of components and so minimising work in progress.

Ultraseal front-loading machines were designed from the beginning specifically to work with the company’s acclaimed recycling sealants with all their related environmental and health and safety benefits. They also have closed tanks, with process fluids remote and covered, minimising emissions into the work area, and so enabling them to be placed in the main part of the factory alongside other processes.

Each compact module offers all the productivity and quality advantages associated with rotational processing, while unlike top-loading machines, the rotational drain process takes place within the autoclave, reducing the number of modules required and so saving cost and floor space.

Front-loading machines are designed to accommodate standard Eurotrays or similar sized baskets to minimise work handling. In many applications, the components are never handled at the impregnation process, being held in their own transportation carriers. This removes the potential for component damage created when parts are transferred to and from baskets.

A further advance by Ultraseal has been the development of fully automated ‘through’ machines for complete integration into mainstream production, offering the throughput required for high volume applications such as engine block or transmission case manufacture.

Some machines have been linked into production lines whereby, after machining, the components are leak-tested, with only those identified as requiring treatment diverted automatically into the impregnation machine. These are then leak-tested again to verify the success of the impregnation process before proceeding to the next operation.

For quality assurance, other manufacturers elect to impregnate 100% of the production and indicate that the cost to impregnate can be less than the cost to pre-leak test.

The Ultraseal Solution