How does a RotaVal rotary valve reduce changeover times by 75%?

RotaVal’s Fast Clean rotary valves have transformed production efficiency for A Schulman, the international manufacturer of plastics, resins and masterbatch

With a simple, ergonomically efficient mechanism for cleaning the valve at product changeover with only a single tool required, RotaVal Modular Fast Clean valves require only four minutes per changeover, a reduction of up to 75% over A Schulman’s previous equipment. A Schulman have gained an incredible 2-3 hours of production time per month at their Gainsborough production site.

Cleanliness in production and the ability to guarantee that no material residue carries over when products change is a critical factor in A Schulman’s high-quality manufacturing process. At the same time, production pressure in a busy factory is ever-present, and it is vital that downtime is minimised.

At every changeover, the process is purged, and that includes dismantling and cleaning the rotary valves. A Schulman identified that this was a bottleneck in their production processes and contacted RotaVal for a solution.

RotaVal’s Modular Fast Clean valves are easy to work with, with patented RotAlign and bottom mounted sliding rails the valve rotor to slide out to be easily cleaned then slide back in with the minimum of fuss. All the operator needs to do is release the air supply and undo a few bolts, easily accomplished with a single spanner.

As Michael Ingall, A Schulman’s Production Manager, put it,

“The previous gate valve used a lot of tools and was time consuming. With the aid of the RotaVal quick release we have saved a lot of time and money”

He was echoed by Production Supervisor Richard Hodge,

“Time saving is 12-15 minutes and, with the amount of changeovers we have, it’s a fantastic saving.”

Time-saving is not the only one benefit.

A Schulman have also identified that they are enjoying better quality control, with no operator errors. Richard Hodge went on,

“A fantastic invention in what we do. Less risk of injury, it’s so swift to do, and clean.”

Minimal downtime, with better quality control. Increased productivity that’s safer and easier for the operators. Also, savings can seriously mount up – a site with 20 Fast Clean valves and ten changeovers per week would see an improvement of around 2600 production hours.

For more information and a video filmed at A Schulman showing exactly how easily Fast Clean technology works in practice, see RotaVal’s website www.rotaval.co.uk