Vulcan Information Packaging Leaps into Ultrasonic Technology

Vulcan Information Packaging (VIP) has taken a leap into ultrasonic technology with the addition of the Widmann RB 45 U Ultrasonic Sealing Machine. The team responsible for signing off on this new investment included Josh Brasher, plant manager, Mike Wood, engineer, and Chris Smith, lead person, who all completed extensive training on the machine in Germany. Their diligence secured the Widmann’s place at VIP where it seals clear overlay binder material together at more than four times the current production speed and offers several other benefits to VIP’s production processes.

The new Widmann allows VIP to use polypropylene (PP) material, which is more eco-friendly than traditional polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Although not all business at VIP is shifting to PP, this technology is still a great asset as it will also maintain the existing production speed for PVC film binders.

The new PP material is fed through the machine from a roll where the roll feeders are equipped with automatic splicing units. Two rolls of material are loaded at a time, and when one runs out, the Widmann will automatically seal the second roll and start pulling from it. This process takes approximately eight seconds to accomplish, which is much faster than the existing process of loading and feeding the rolls by hand. Additionally, most production adjustments are made with servomotors that are driven from a local controlling computer.

Widmann Facts and Figures

• Manufactured in Germany
• Largest machine to date at VIP; measures 70’ x 25’ and weighs approximately 16.5 tons
• Currently one of only 12 machines of its kind in North America
• Runs up to 46 binders per minute versus 10 binders per minute on the older equipment
• Project setup is complete on the Widmann in less than one hour versus a five-hour setup on older equipment
• Less down time so the machine is constantly producing instead of sitting idle