Commodore Absorbent Tray Technology

In response to the global demand for absorbent foam technology, Commodore has developed two different tray solutions.  As you would expect from Commodore, both innovations in absorbent trays are unique, cost-effective methods for producing trays to meet the demands of the marketplace.  These proprietary methods are the pre-padded foam trays, utilizing our patented A-Tray pad, and our auto-absorbent tray, which features open cell structure in a single layer sheet. 

Both types of these trays can be produced on standard Commodore equipment with a few key upgrades.  There are no changes to your thermoformer or extruder that will affect your ability to produce regular closed-cell foam, so you can easily switch between both types of foam with minimal waste.  Unlike other processes, our absorbent foam does not require additional lamination equipment and material, as we are able to control the skin layer on the sheet to effectively mimic the properties of a lamination layer. 

There are many elements to successfully producing these products.  On the extrusion side, optimizing the chemical recipe and process conditions is critical, as is our proprietary die design that allows us to make our single lamination sheet, with skin on two sides and open cell in the center.  Our thermoformers and tooling are designed to optimize the characteristics of the open cell sheet, maximizing secondary expansion and utilizing engineered venting and vacuum paths for optimal tray forming.  We are proud to be able to offer these technologies to our customers so they can stay one step ahead of the demands of their marketplace. 

Here is a comparison of the two types of absorbent trays, demonstrating the advantages and disadvantages of both approaches:

Trays with Foam Pad (A-Tray)

Advantages

• Maximum absorbency, as pad is all open cell.
• Maximum tray strength, as tray is all closed cell foam.
• Lower weight than paper padded trays.
• No leaking of purge through tray edge like absorbent trays

Disadvantages

• Additional cost of making two separate parts, tray and pad.
• Additional labor required for padding operation.

Auto-Absorbent Tray

Advantages

• Consumer demand is increasing.  60% of foam trays in European market are absorbent.
• No separate pad reduces production cost.
• More absorbent surface area for more potential absorbency.

Disadvantages

• High open cell count makes for brittle trays.
• Higher weight required to compensate for brittleness.
• Purge is prone to leaking out from tray edge.

Typical Absorbency – 4D Tray

Padded Trays

• Paper pads…15-50 grams/tray
• Foam pads…30-65 grams/tray
• Polyacrylate pads…120-180 grams/tray

Auto-Absorbent trays

• 80-110 grams/tray

Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have about this exciting technology, or visit us at the K Fair in Dusseldorf next week.  

The Commodore Difference

As I was walking through our assembly department a few minutes ago, I stopped to talk with Pat, who was plumbing a vacuum system on one of our thermoformers.  As we talked, he continued to work, and I observed him wrapping a threaded fitting with Teflon tape.  One would expect that after wrapping the threads he would assemble the part and move on to the next one, but he didn’t.  Pat opened up his can of thread sealing compound and coated the threads with it, right over the tape.  As he explained, either the Teflon tape or the pipe sealant, when used alone, gets us a leak-proof connection over 99% of the time.  Using the tape and the sealant, however, results in a seal that Pat has never seen leak during initial testing. 

At first glance, it might not seem like a big deal to take the extra step of applying the thread sealant, but when plumbing systems that have hundreds of fittings to be assembled, the extra steps really add up to a lot of time.  It would be an easy shortcut to eliminate this step and save some money, and odds are, our customers would never know the difference.  At Commodore, we feel that this extra time is worth the 1% improvement to our product.  Most manufacturers would be happy with 99%, but we feel that we need to strive for 100%, each and every day.  This is just one example of the difference you get with Commodore thermoformers and extruders. 

Commodore Summer Picnic

A few weeks ago, Commodore hosted a company wide on-site employee summer picnic.  A big top tent was set up in our center courtyard and King’s Catering prepared a picnic feast for all three shifts.  Commodore owners, managers, and supervisors all got involved as they helped serve our hardworking production staff.  Burgers, dogs, beans, salads, and more were served at 12 noon for B shift (including all staff from our Technology Divison), 8pm for C shift, and then 4am for our A shift personnel.  Adding to the fun every employee randomly drew an envelope from a hat, each envelope containing a scratch off lottery ticket. Some lucky employees also had a $20, $50 or $100 surprise inside their envelope!  Delicious home made deserts were provided by Sherry Carey, Julie Fox, and Judy Rosenbauer.  Special thanks to Sherry, Julie, and Leigh for organizing the picnic and, of course, thank you to George, Jeff, Brad, and Anne for encouraging and supporting this fun event!

More Extrusion Capacity for Commodore Plastics!

Commodore Technology has just delivered a new 3½-4½ tandem extrusion line to our sister company, Commodore Plastics.  As has become standard practice, this extruder features numerous technological advances in order to improve the extrusion process to produce the best foam at the lowest cost possible.  

Perhaps the biggest single change on this line is the screen changer.  Although we are big fans of the Beringer/Dynisco/Xaloy slide plate style screen changer, we have long wanted to experience the benefits of rotary filtration.  We have been familiar with the Gneuss brand for a while, and the time was finally right to purchase one of their SF60 units to try out. The ever-present challenge of achieving greater process stability should be aided by this awesome piece of equipment.

Looks good, doesn't it?  We are currently preparing the line for startup, and will be making foam next week.  We will report back on our initial impressions of the Gneuss, along with some other highlights of the new line soon. 

New Thermoformers from Commodore

Over the past few years, there has been an ever increasing demand from our customers for an all-electric thermoformer.  As a result of this demand, we are pleased to announce that we are going to introduce two different electric machines.

Kurt Bartosch, our Engineering Manager, has spent quite a bit of time researching how to best build a machine with servo actuated toggles.  Sure, this type of machine already exists, but current designs on the market are both complex and expensive.  Commodore's philosophy on thermoformers has always been to keep it simple, reliable, and economical.  Thanks to technological advances in servo motors, drives, and actuators, we are finally comfortable offering an all electric thermoformer that adheres to our ideals. 

At this time, we plan on making servo-actuated form stations for our SX-44 and SX-28 machines.  After all of the design details are worked out, we will most likely build a 28 for our own foam plant, along with our first ever high speed trim press for 30" wide sheet, the TP-30HD.

With a form station capable of over 50 cycles per minute at full stroke length and a trim press that can operate up to 150 CPM, we feel that this machine will please anyone that needs a high-speed all-electric thermoformer.  Keep an eye here for more details over the next few weeks.

Thanks for reading!

Congratulations to Verrol Wheeler!

Last week marked the final days at Commodore for George's first employee, Verrol "Steve" Wheeler. After 30 years of service, Verrol has decided to hang up the tool belt and move on to bigger and better things.

Last Tuesday, Commodore employees enjoyed a fully catered BBQ lunch, along with a big cake featuring the Commodore logo. Pretty cool! After George got done roasting Verrol for a few minutes, Verrol was presented with a nice retirement gift, a beautifully framed map of the world. A fitting present for someone who has travelled to all corners of the earth representing Commodore and helping our valued customers.

So, once again, congratulations to you, Verrol. We all hope that your next 30 years are as great as the last 30 have been!

SX-28 Testing

The new SX-28 thermoformer is done!  The completion of this machine represents a major milestone in our efforts to revamp our product line.  Now we have a former that competes with anything else in the marketplace at a 28" mold width.  We have taken all of the best features of the time-tested 730-28, simplified things where we could, added some great new features, and made a thermoformer that will be as productive as anything in the market.



Thanks to the entire Commodore Technology team for such a great job in designing and building our first SX-28.  Here's to many more to come!

Commodore Delivers!

Well, actually, Commodore is preparing to deliver.  As you can see in the photo, our assembly shop is full (some might say over-full) of machinery that is all in the final stages of production.  With two SX-16 thermoformers, one SX-28 thermoformer, and a tandem extruder all nearing completion, there is lots to do, and not much space to do it in.  Despite the space restrictions, our assembly team has been doing a great job building all of these machines.   The electricians are also proving their worth, wiring the equipment, installing programs, debugging, and testing.

One challenge we recently encountered for the first time was testing multiple machines simultaneously.  Our existing power distribution would not allow us to run more than one machine at a time in the assembly building.  Realizing that powering and testing serially would be extremely inefficient, we took some time to upgrade the electrical service in the building.  Bill Bezek, our Electrical Engineer, designed and specified a system featuring a multiple tap buss with three 150A taps, along with a dedicated 300A multi-voltage line for testing extruders.  Under Bill’s supervision, our electricians, Jim and Ken, installed and wired the system in just a few days.  Now we have no problem running multiple pieces of equipment at the same time, which has already proven valuable.

Do you have a need for upgrades in your facility?  Keep in mind that Commodore offers more than just the equipment you need to make expanded polystyrene foam.  We have the personnel and know-how to overcome any challenges you might face in your production environment.  If you need someone to take a whole-system approach to the needs of your plant, give us a call, or stop by our site at www.commodoresolutions.com

5S in the Foam Plant

A few years ago, Commodore undertook an initiative to implement 5S in both of our divisions.  Looking back on the process, it is interesting to see how the changes that 5S brought have become routine here at Commodore.

5S, for those not familiar, is a method of workplace organization.  Originating in Japan, each of the five S’s relate to a part of the organization process.  Here is a brief summary of the 5S’s:

• Sort:  Removing all nonessential items from the work place.
• Straighten:  Arranging all tools and equipment in a manner that promotes work flow.
• Shine:  Keeping the workplace clean; and more importantly, putting things back in designated places so they can be found when needed.
• Standardize:  Consistent work practices; operating in a consistent fashion.
• Sustain:  Maintaining focus on the previous four S’s.  

While we use 5S here at Commodore Technology, our sister company, Commodore Plastics, has benefitted greatly from the use of 5S.  Most noticeably, we have had measureable improvements in downtime reduction, and the cleanliness of the plant is outstanding.

One key area where 5S was first implemented was the foam roll storage area.  Before 5S, foam rolls were set in the warehouse for aging in whatever order they were produced.  While this would not be a problem if all of the rolls were the same, our multiple sheet types meant that it could become very difficult to locate the correct rolls for any given thermoformer run.  Today there is a system in place that keeps the foam in a dedicated space (sort) where it is arranged by sheet type (straighten).  Maintaining the warehouse in an orderly fashion (shine) and always following the procedures for storing the foam (standardize) means no more downtime while our operators are waiting for the correct material.  As this system has become a normal part of our routine, we are aware of the need to keep at it (sustain).

Although implementing 5S can be challenging, in some ways the most difficult part of the 5S method is sustain.  Human nature tends towards reverting back to old methods and practices.  One useful tool that is a part of our routine is the 5S Checklist.  Performing daily and weekly audits using checklists ensures that all of the elements of 5S are being consistently applied.  Here is a copy of the daily checklist for the foam warehouse:

As you can see, there are numerous items that get reviewed each day.  Thanks to the checklist, any deviation from the 5S standards can be quickly identified and corrected.  Problems are documented, and over time we can see if there is a particular issue that needs futher evaluation or a change in procedure.  Another aspect of the 5S and the use of the audit checklist is that we can score the performance of the plant personnel against the 5S standard.  We have not only created a cleaner, safer, and more productive work environment, but we have the tools to measure our employees' performance against the standard.

In a future post I will discuss some details about how we use the 5S performance data as a part of our employee incentive program.  In the meantime, let us know if we can help you in any way, whether with your 5S initative, or any other aspect of your plant operation.

Implementing NX CAM Software

In our last post, we told you about our recent success in delivering a tooling order to a customer in record time. While there are many reasons that we were able to exceed our customer’s expectations, without a doubt the biggest factor was our recent CAD/CAM software upgrade. While the whole process is fairly complicated, we thought we might share some of the developments on the manufacturing side, and demonstrate how they have helped us reduce tooling delivery times.

Commodore’s recent investment in new 3D modeling software from Siemens PLM has been a major step forward for our tooling design department. The implementation of the NX (formerly called UniGraphics) software has delivered increased productivity and accuracy in our tooling design process. Now that we have made our way through the learning curve on the design side, we have begun to realize some benefits on the manufacturing side.

Our CNC programmers have transformed their NC programming and machining processes, reducing waste and increasing productivity. Utilizing feature based machining, NX automatically creates the CNC programs directly from part design models. Process templates and wizards ensure the use of preferred and proven tooling and machining methods. According to our senior programmer, Dave Simmons, “The programming of tool paths to be used on the CNC equipment has become more efficient. We are saving time on programming, and at the machine.”

Another great feature of NX that helps our productivity is machining simulation. Once the program is complete, NX gives us the ability to take it and immediately replay the tool path to simulate material removal. This allows the programmer to verify that the machine tool will be creating the exact part required before the program is actually run. This feature all but eliminates costly damage that can occur when there are errors in the program.

All of these time savings are beneficial in providing thermoformer tooling to our customers at competitive prices, within a very small delivery window.

Custom Tooling in Seven Days

Commodore recently completed what we believe to be our fastest delivery to date on a custom meat tray mold and trim tool - seven working days!

Yes, seven days from concept to delivery of platen-ready tooling for a Comco 730-28 Thermoformer. It took a coordinated effort and lots of hard work, but we managed to do what for most would not be possible. Although this project went extremely well, the ability to pull off this feat certainly did not happen overnight.

Commodore is constantly looking for, and investing in, ways to improve our processes. From our recent Unigraphics CAD/CAM upgrade, to our 5S implementation on the shop floor, from the improved internal communication to outstanding relationships with our key vendors, we are always looking for ways to create the products you need as efficiently as possible. While it is very satisfying to see the results of our efforts, we will never be satisfied with the status quo.

Congratulations to the entire team for coming together and delivering!

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Commodore Plastics Receives "Superior" Plant Rating from AIB!

Commodore Technology's sister company, Commodore Plastics, recently earned a "Superior" plant rating from the AIB International Consolidated Standard for Food-Contact Packaging Facilities Program.

AIB International is committed to protecting the safety of the food supply chain. Through rigorous inspections, superior audits and training, and shared expertise AIB empowers clients to lower their business risk and strengthen their reputations. Learn more about AIB here: www.aibonline.org

Congratulations to the entire team here at Commodore for your efforts in making Commodore a world-class facility that we can all be proud of!