Upgrading Capabilities through Machinery

With a business as old as James Dawson, machinery that dates back over 50 years or more is extremely commonplace. However just because something isn’t broken doesn’t mean it can’t be upgraded or improved upon.

This is the attitude that the manufacturing team at James Dawsons took when reviewing existing machinery whilst looking to streamline processes and improve efficiency.

The existing machine identified for upgrade was a Negri Bossi moulder, which turned out to be the oldest operational example in the UK, over 48 years old! As with any machine of that age there were inherent issues that had been identified mainly regarding machine downtime.

In 2020 the total machine down time was over 250 hours and in the period Jan – May 2021 this was already at 246 hours. The levels of downtime were exacerbated by the age of the machine as spare parts were difficult to source with some requiring custom manufacture.
In addition, the machine was incredibly loud, reaching noise levels of more than 90Db when running which is the level at which sustained exposure may result in hearing loss.

The solution to all these issues and more, was in the form of a state of the art Negri Bossi Canbio sT Injection Moulding Machine. The investment, worth approximately half a million pounds has brought about a variety of improvements including;

• Live performance monitoring, with functionality to record material consumption.
• Regrind facility enables Sprue waste from the molding process to be reused. Existing moulding machine generated approximately 830KG of waste (based on 2020 volume)
• Safe noise levels – Lowered sound levels to 50dBa (comparable to a normal conversation)
• Increased safety – Door auto open/close facility with interlocks reducing operator interaction
• Reduced flashing which in turn minimises aesthetic after care requirements on finished products
• Increased productivity with the new machine reducing moulding time by up to 100 % on D40100389 & up to 300% on D40100443 JCB production parts.

Manufacturing Manager Alex Heaton said;

“This is a fantastic investment for the business, this equipment ensures the viability of the TPE product portfolio for years to come. There are further enhancements planned with the TPE extrusion line due for delivery and installation in Q4, with further opportunities planned for 2023. Improving Operator safety and wellbeing were key aspects of this project alongside improvements to operational down time, increased product throughout, and a reduction in both energy consumption and waste product.”