A major bottle manufacturer is using a Trackstar guide-rail system manufactured by the Efson Division of Fenner Drives in Wilmington, N.C., to reduce changeover time. Time-consuming replacement and readjustment chores cut deeply into productivity. In the extreme, manufacturers could be forced to build expensive dedicated filling lines. The Trackstar guide-rail system uses coded plastic spacers that match the various product sizes being conveyed. As a result, guide-rail changeover is easier and faster than with many conventional systems.
Personnel press the spring-loaded arm, freeing the spacer already in place.
The spacer is removed, the new spacer is dropped in, and the arm is released, locking the spacer. A single operator can make this change without any tools. Because the spacers are color-coded, a simple visual inspection along the line confirms that the proper spacers are installed. Continuous Mechanical Systems With competitive pressures forcing shorter product-development times, computer modeling has become more important than ever. Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn, Mich., used the Advanced Continuous Simulator Language in a software package called ACSL, supplied by MGA Software Inc. in Concord, Mass., to analyze a valve-drive mechanism and eliminate problems before the device was put into production.