Jyoti Cero Rubber shifts to PU Casting with Twin’s Machine
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Improved PU Casting Quality gave us the much needed Competitive Edge. Learn How Twin’s Automation Helped Cero to gain a Competitive Advantage!
About Jyoti Group
Jyoti Group is a leading provider of conveyor belt accessories for the steel and mining industry. Jyoti Cero Rubber, is a company of Jyoti Group, has developed innovative PU products and manufactures idlers, CRM rollers, screen panels, stub cones, dirt valves etc. used in conveying systems. The company has earned the distinction of winning the President’s award for R&D and holds joint patents with Tata Steel for Hybrid Idlers used in the steel industry.
Here, we speak to Suresh Kumar, General Manager – R&D and production at Jyoti Cero Rubber about automating PU casting process for its highly innovative Hybrid Idlers.Suresh comes with over two decades of experience in polymer science and PU castings. He is has earned masters in polymer sciences and has taken technology upgrade courses at IIT-Kharagpur. .
Interview
Why did you opt for automation?
Hand casting posed several challenges, especially in case of hybrid idlers. First, and the biggest challenge, was occurrence of bubbles. Secondly, inconsistent mixing meant reactions with chain extender were poor. Third, the mixing in hand casting is performed in open and the moisture from atmosphere got in-touch with the reacting materials, affecting the mix.
In case of Hybrid Idlers, we were not able to achieve the desired structure, as hand casting did not foster the inter-molecular attraction, that was required to produce the strength in the idlers to withstand tension and impact in operations. So, we decided to consider automation in order to overcome all the shortcomings of hand casting.
What was your approach in automating PU Casting?
We met the team from Twin Engineers at PU Tech in Delhi. I have been thinking of automation since 2006. With Twin, we found an experienced solution provider who understood our processes, knew about the materials and appreciated the complexities in quality and productivity.
To give you an example, when we ordered the machine, our process to manufacture Idlers used two components TDI. After several discussions with the
client, R&D at our end and inputs from material manufacturers, a three component TDI was found to be more suitable for the Idlers. Twin’s team quickly reconfigured the machine to suit our new process parameters, materials and quality needs. It’s this immense flexibility in automation solution that keeps us going with the project.
What were your concerns while switching from hand casting to Twin's System?
With hand casting, we felt that it could be done even with unskilled labor. For automation, we ourselves were not that aware initially, and thought that it would need skilled labor. That was a major block.
While hand casting gives you a sense of control, the quality of products was being compromised. The moment we realized it, we started consciously moving away from hand casting. Twin’s management instilled the confidence among us about making it a success, together. As we joined hands with Twin, we realized that the machine is also easy to operate and operators can be easily trained to work on it. Additionally, Twin’s team was there to support our workers all along.
How did you find a solution to these challenges automating casting process?
In addition the company’s investments in buying high-tech solution, success of Automation depends on the in-house team’s ability to re-engineer existing processes. From the beginning, we invested heavily in training our workforce.
Twin’s team stood by us day in and day out, solving every problem, difficulty faced by our team in implementing the solution. Twin’s relentless efforts and in-depth application understanding were very crucial in ensuring our smooth transition from manual mixing for casting to automated dispensing process.
Key Benefits
What are the key advantages in automating the casting process?
Cero Rubber specializes in three areas – selecting the right materials, ensuring high-performance for PU products, and guaranteeing a longer life. Twin’s solution has helped us to get better on all our specialties.
For instance, we were able to improve the productivity and quality, significantly as compared to hand casting. Our biggest castings (ranging up to 200 to 250 kgs), were poured in small batches in case of hand casting. This created several challenges in achieving homogeneous mix and adversely affected the physical
properties of the end products such as Idlers, rollers etc.
Twin’s Meter Mix System ensured that we always had a homogeneous mix, effortlessly, no matter how big the end product. In case of screen mats, Twin’s systems helped us to improve the tear strength of our mats by over 150% as compared to hand casting, there by increasing its life and giving us an competitive edge.
Further, with the automated process, we expect the labor costs to reduce by one third while improving our production capacity by multi-fold.
On choosing Twin Engineers
knowledge, proven technology and expertise. Even after the significant changes in process, material and product composition at our end,Twin’s team always helped us to maintain a very positive outlook towards automation. Twin’s specialists conducted multiple trials using actual materials and molds in the presence of our team. This not just proves the process but gives us a huge confidence of running it in our premises.
Also, all of Twin’s team, including the senior members, are always available and accessible for our help, all the time. It’s this human touch to automation, in addition to all the advanced technology, that makes Twin our perfect partner. We now have a lifelong relationship with Twin Engineers.