PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2017

INSPECTION 26 PET planet Insider Vol. 18 No. 03/17 www.petpla.net Beauty+home, food+beverage and pharma company AptarGroup uses Sesotec metal separators to protect its machines and avoid product contamination Metal detection Aptar’s beauty+home produc- tion plant at Neubourg, France, is certified to ISO 14001:2004 for the development and production of spray and dosing systems, as well as small packaging solutions. It is part of the Group’s fragrances, skin care and cosmetics business unit and uses injection-moulding machines to pro- duce components for perfume spray- ers. Packaging systems for beauty products have to combine perfect function with attractive aesthetics. Before it used metal separators, magnet grids were inserted in the material feeders of the company’s injection-moulding production lines. The magnet grids suffered from two vulnerabilities: magnets attract only ferrous metals – any non-ferrous materials would not be detected and removed; and they were not 100% efficient at removing even all the fer- rous material from the hot plastic. Aptar was advised to trial and assess an Aptar Protector system by French company Soufflet, which is best known for adding value to agricultural materials. These metal separators are installed directly above the material inlet of injection-moulding machines. They detect all magnetic and non-magnetic metal contaminants, including steel, stainless steel and aluminium, and can detect such contaminants even if they are enclosed in the product. Metal particles are removed by means of a “Quick Valve” reject unit. The six-month trial period was long enough to demonstrate that the Protector system offered a number of advantages to Aptar’s production processes. More effective removal of metal contaminants led to higher levels of quality output and, conse- quently, to a lower rejection rate and less machine downtime. The improved performance showed that the com- pany could achieve an attractive cost/ performance ratio and a rapid return on investment. The Protector series are designed to detect and separate all magnetic and non-magnetic metals and can be used in the inspection of bulk materi- als; material flow; and bulk material columns. Sesotec says that they can detect and remove even the small- est magnetic and non-magnetic metal particles from regranulated and virgin material, thus helping consist- ent processing. The company further asserts that the Protector offers high scanning sensitivity for all metals and the highest possible immunity against vibration and electromagnetic interfer- ence. It also maintains that its proven separating unit guarantees safe and reliable operation even in applications with high throughput rates or with a high flake or regrind content, with min- imal loss of good material. Its compact dimensions are intended to facilitate mounting of heavy conveying, mixing, and dosing units. Its preset para- meters are designed to provide high levels of ease of operation and it also has “auto-learn” and manual compen- sation features. Sesotec says that the Protector metal separator is ideally suited for the packing industry in the produc- tion of caps for beverages and other liquids, or in the production of plastic articles for medical technology. Metal separators prevent malfunctions and thus increase the productivity of plas- tics processing machines. Aptar has now been using Seso- tec Protector metal separators for over five years. The company’s plant maintenance engineer and production manager have said that they regard Sesotec metal separators as impor- tant components in quality assurance, and that daily performance tests dem- onstrate that the systems operate reli- ably, with fewer metal particles reach- ing the injection-moulding machines. Aptar has now installed more than 20 Protectors in its production lines. www.aptar.com www.sesotec.com Sesotec Protector AptarGroup, which is headquartered in Crystal Lake, Illinois, USA, is a leading manufacturer of dosing systems for a range of market applications, including solutions for the beauty+home and pharmaceutical business segments. Its product portfolio includes pump dispensers, caps and valves for skin care products, as well as spray pumps. It offers a standard range as well as bespoke packages and solutions. INSPECTION S P E C I A L