News & Notices
- HOME
- News & Notices
- How Nozzle Technology Can Reduce Manual Work and Production Bottlenecks
How Nozzle Technology Can Reduce Manual Work and Production Bottlenecks
What’s slowing down your production process?
If manual cleaning, air blow-off, cooling time, or other routine work is creating a bottleneck, the right nozzle solution may help.
Automation doesn’t always require a robot—or a major equipment overhaul. Many tasks on the production floor can be made easier with relatively simple changes to the process.
Here are four real-world examples of how manufacturers reduced manual work, shortened process time, and simplified routine operations.
#1. Air Knife Automates Debris Removal and Reduces Cleanup Work
At a seismic isolation rubber plant, operators manually removed shot-blasting debris from steel plates using air blow guns. The manual blow-off also scattered debris across the floor, creating an ongoing cleaning burden.
A long slit air nozzle installed across the conveyor automatically blew debris off the plates with a thin, sheet-like stream of air. This eliminated the manual blow-off operation and prevented debris from scattering across the floor.
▶ Read: Shot Debris Removal in Seismic Isolation Rubber with Air Knife
#2. Automating Release-Agent Application on a 2-Meter-Wide Roll
Applying release agent evenly by hand across wide rolls was difficult and labor-intensive. Uneven application could also lead to unnecessary use of expensive silicone oil.
What changed when a nonwoven manufacturer replaced manual application with automated fine spraying?
▶ Read: Automating Uniform Release-Agent Application in Nonwoven Production
#3. Cutting Cooling Time from 20–30 Minutes to About 9 Minutes
Sometimes the bottleneck is simply waiting.
At a transportation-equipment parts plant, cast-iron workpieces had to cool naturally for 20–30 minutes before operators could handle them in the next process.
A portable automatic spray system shortened the cooling time to approximately 9 minutes, reducing overall cycle time without a major equipment overhaul.
▶ Read: Automatic Mist Cooling Cuts Cycle Time in Cast-Iron Parts Production
#4. Jet Auto Backwash Strainer Reduces Release Agent Disposal Costs by 80%
At a particleboard plant, disposal of used release agent cost ¥7–8 million (about US$45,000–52,000) a year, while filters also required manual cleaning three times a day.
How did our ARS Filter solve both problems?
Could a small change make your production process easier?
Reducing manual work or process time doesn’t always require a large-scale automation project. Sometimes, the right spray nozzles, air nozzles, or jet-assisted self-cleaning filters can make an existing process more efficient.
If there is a task or bottleneck you would like to improve at your plant or a customer’s site, talk to IKEUCHI to see how we can help.