Asset care is a critical element of any production environment. In the last decade the emphasis has shifted from reactive actions to adopting a proactive maintenance approach. For a fixed price (including travel to and from site) injection moulders can now have every Sumitomo (SHI) Demag NC5 machine in their fleet thoroughly checked and certified to ISO 9001 and VDA 6.4 standards, increasing reliability and enhancing production performance.

Providing early warning signs of any potential machine issues, activeCare helps to break the cycle of reacting to emergency maintenance tasks and poking around at a problem until it is resolved. Issuing a clean bill of health each year and covering all the critical machine components, highly skilled engineers physically check and document the performance of each Sumitomo (SHI) Demag injection moulding machine on site.

Changing filters, exchanging and testing batteries and checking everything from the toggle system to terminal tightness, screw concentricity and dosing speed, activeCare ensures a machine receives a complete service, including lubrication, annually. A £150 discount is available if two machines are inspected in the same day.

Applying the same logic to machine asset care as vehicle MOTs, regular servicing helps to bring an element of predictability to mass-manufacturing injection moulding facilities notes UK Managing Director Nigel Flowers. “For many of our customers, the COVID pandemic has reaffirmed the cost and inconveniences that are incurred by machine downtime. The increased disposition towards predictive maintenance is high up on customers’ priority list during these uncertain times. Being able to monitor, test and check all critical areas of machinery assets, using equipment that is calibrated to ISO 9001 and VDA 6.4 certification standards, helps instil confidence and provide early ‘red flag’ warning signs of potential problems.”

Using thermographic equipment, condition monitoring is included in the annual activeCare check. Rather than a ‘best guess’ diagnosis, activeCare engineers provide quantifiable measurements to determine when equipment or parts are likely to fail in service. With the global machine condition monitoring market size projected to reach USD 3.9 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 7.0%[i], activeCare is an important leap forward towards higher machine availability and consequently improved OEE.

“The benefit of this thermographic data is there is no bias. The facts cannot be manipulated. It’s a real-time report of the condition of each machine and all of the critical components, solving issues in the fastest possible time before a worn part causes more damage,” adds Nigel.

Product PR: ActiveCare

A certificate and cabinet sticker is issued at the end of each check, as well as a copy of the condition and measurement monitoring reports.  If a machine fails to meet the original factory settings, customers receive a detailed report and quotation, breaking down the steps needed to bring a machine back up to specification.

In addition to the standard tests and checks and a complete lubrication service on all machines, the unique features for each machine in Sumitomo (SHI) Demag’s portfolio are assessed too. For the IntElect, this includes checking a grease sample, belt tensions, fan and load cell. Engineers perform a full filter change, oil sample and check the ejector and injection pressure on Systec and El-Exis systems.

To book your activeCare service check, or for more information, please email sduk.service@shi-g.com