Author: pneu2016

With over 20,000 visitors and nearly 900 exhibiting companies, the China Glass exhibition, held from 11 to 14 April 2016 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC), confirmed itself as a must-attend meeting point for the glass industry in South East Asia. As leading supplier of centralized systems for the generation of vacuum and compressed air in glassworks around the globe, Pneumofore participated at the event with its local partner Ninesun Consulting to present the company’s latest innovations and product solutions for hollow glass sector, which include the UV100 vacuum pump and the A400 air compressor with 315 kW for pressures from 2,5 to 10 bar(g). Pneumofore is consolidating its presence in the Chinese glass manufacturing industry, with several projects to serve key customers oriented versus modern, environmental-friendly technology.

Despite climate change, which Pneumofore fights with any weapon, we observe with pleasure the flourishing of fruit trees, according to the present season, here in the Mediterranean area and as far as Japan. In order to contribute to the pleasure of botanic gardens and healthy food, Pneumofore is ISO 14001 certified in respect of the environment. More important, at the bottom of Pneumofore is the fact that our products reflect exactly this philosophy. On the picture are displayed the rough casting of large rotors for the A400 and UV50 rotary vane machines. It all starts with defect-free cast iron, according to severe specifications. Inspections at supplier sites in foundries are common practice to keep control right from the starting point. It is as if when we plant the seed, first we check the weather conditions, ground fertility and verify the moon phase according to ancient knowledge. All this for a bright future of the generations to come.

The new casting for the housing of the air ends that fits the new A150 air compressor and the UV24 vacuum pump is well defined. Presently we analyse precisely how to optimize the machine efficiency at different pressure levels. No lubrication pump is found in a traditional Pneumofore rotary vane machine; the oil circuit is kept “active” for cooling and lubrication by using the machine internal pressure differences. The picture shows the newly designed UV24 vacuum pump with vertical layout. The lubrication pipes have singular flow settings to inject the exact amount of coolant, depending on the operational value that can vary from 0.5 mbar(a) to 40 bar(g). Like this, every air-end housing has a different machining procedure, precisely set for a specific application.

In Pneumofore, continuous innovation comes from our people, a strong team of dedicated employees, each one with his own specialization and know-how. The human factor is a huge contribution to the way we do business and a key element in our production processes, which are not strongly automatized. Having so much hand-work involved in our assembly procedure, we must keep a strict quality control and machine testing sequence, to avoid any risk of human mistakes. These accurate checks make sure that our machines are delivered fault-free. As a measure of our production quality, at Pneumofore we traditionally divide the total cost of warranty by the yearly turn over. In 2015, this indicator was reduced to a very low 0,48% value, which means that hardly any customer asked a warranty replacement during the last year. We are extremely glad for this result, which reflects our passion for continuous improvements towards ever-higher quality standards, and strengthens our image as a manufacturer of highly reliable machines for the lowest environmental impact.

As a leading supplier of centralized vacuum and air systems for the can industry, Pneumofore will participate in Euro CanTech 2016, the technical conference and exhibition for the metal packaging industry that will be held in Berlin, Germany, from 4 to 6 April. Eng. Daniel Hilfiker, President and Owner of Pneumofore, will be among the keynote speakers of the event to demonstrate the advantages of centralized vacuum and compressed air supply in can lines worldwide with the presentation ‘No Cans without Vacuum’ on April 5th at 11:00 AM. Alongside the technical conference, Pneumofore will welcome the conference attendees at the concurrent tabletop exhibition. With references such as Rexam, Ball, Can Pack, Crown Cork, United Can and many more, Pneumofore ensures top pneumatic expertise to the global can industry.

Back from Tire Technology Expo, the leading tire moulding exhibition in Hannover. The update on innovations is relevant to speed-up manufacturing processes for optimized productivity. A note regarding vacuum in tire moulding factories: the traditional spikes on new tires are disappearing, replaced by round signs from minivents; the way that tire moulds are evacuated is improving. This alone brings the following advantages: vacuum is used only upon request by means of spring vents, which reduces the power consumption of the vacuum pump, as the suction holes are securely closed, when required. Secondly, stickers on tire fronts, as applied in large storages to identify the tire model, will stick and remain. Before, the rubber spikes were jeopardizing the long-term adherence of the stickers on the tire profiles. Pneumofore could observe the market and technology trends plus follow up interesting projects, besides those with long-term customers like Michelin and Good Year, now also with Continental. See you there again in 2017!