With the retirement of a 40-year thermoforming processing expert fast approaching, Meyer Plastics, Inc decided it was finally time to replace a 30-year-old thermoforming machine running at its Indianapolis, IN location with a technologically advanced machine.

Two main concerns were increased cycle and setup/changeover times. Meyer Plastics would run 5 to 7 jobs across one machine in one week, with each job requiring different setup specifications. The ability to recall those specifications at the push of a button was what Meyer wanted. And that's exactly what Brown Machine, of Beaverton, MI, provided in the form of a 4 x 6 ft Brown (R-223E-46) Rotary Cut Sheet Thermoformer.

Launched in 1950 as Meyer Materials, Inc, when Charles F. Meyer, Jr began selling crushed limestone throughout Indiana, Meyer Plastics has evolved into a family business focused on thermoforming, fabricating, and distribution of plastics. Serving industries ranging from automotive to boating to sporting goods, the company is 50% plastic materials distribution (sheet, resin, silicone, compounds, etc.) and 50% contract fabrication, according to Meyer. Half of the fabrication work uses vacuum forming processes and the other half is produced across the CNC routers.

"The only rhyme or reason as to what we make out there is that it starts as a plastic sheet and it can be made on a CNC router or vacuum forming machine," says company president Ralph Meyer, characterizing the parts as "impossible."

Upgrading to Modern Production Equipment

As Lorris Brown, thermoforming plant manager and a 40-year employee of Meyer Plastics, approached retirement, he recommended looking for a new, more advanced machine to replace their older thermoformer.

"He [Lorris] has a lot of secrets in his head as to how to run the jobs that we have," Meyer said. "Lorris told me we needed to modernize . . . a computer-controlled thermoformer could keep the job parameter recipes, key to facilitating an easier transition upon his retirement."

They wanted a machine that could be programmed to remember part specifications to cut down setup time and increase reliability. Meyer Plastics has operated a larger (5 x 7 ft sheet size) Brown Machine for 10 years.

"Our experience with that machine convinced us that we ought to spend the extra money and stick with the Brown label," Meyer said.

Purchase/setup went smoothly. Meyer Plastics requested that Brown Machine deliver the new rotary thermoformer before the end of 2004 and Meyer reports that "every deadline we set was met very well." Lorris added that they were able to get the new machine up and running production in only five days.

The Brown Rotary Thermoformer offers the rapid setup AL90 4-way adjustable clamp frame system, cutting the 3-frame clamping setup time to about 15 minutes and helping to eliminate approximately 45 minutes per job changeover, on average. Top and bottom ceramic oven elements with multizone control are more efficient and are equipped with infrared sensors that monitor the temperature of the plastic sheet, further allowing the cycle to be set by the sheet's surface temperature. Meyer pointed out that the machine's controllability helps them to heat sheets of varying thicknesses and material types properly.

When Lorris Brown first started in thermoforming, setup information needed to be manually logged into a master book, and this "black magic" knowledge was used to help tweak the machines and keep them running efficiently.

"We had to know when the sheet was hot enough, as well as remembering things that we don't today because we have the advanced technology that is already built into the pieces of equipment," Lorris said.

With the cost of raw materials and resources today, companies need to get rid of the trial and error factor. The Brown machine, said Lorris, allows them to create a profile of a part and then later recall it for another job.

"All the technology is here today that enables you to do a program and enter that program, save it, and reuse it repeatedly as long as you have a part to produce," Lorris said.

The machine's fully digital, computerized control offers a host of benefits. "This advanced control allows us to store hundreds of job setups online so that all we have to do is call it back up when we're ready to set up the next part," says Meyer. He expects numerous benefits for changeover times because of the control feature and AL90 clamp frames. They estimate the equivalent of a full shift's worth of saved time over a week's production.

The Brown thermoformer's control system offers numerous benefits, including:

• Open architecture design (and non-proprietary software/components used as a standard design);


• Allen-Bradley SLC-500 series solid state programmable controller for all process parameters and heater functions;


• Industrial PC (handles harsh noise and vibration environment) equipped with online diagnostics/troubleshooting, touchscreen monitor/mouse/keyboard combination, Ethernet port connection. Operator interface uses user-friendly National Instrument's Lookout software for menu-based color displays, unlimited recipe storage, troubleshooting, many more features.

Processing a Wider Material Range

With the Brown Cut Sheet Rotary Thermoformer, Meyer Plastics can process a wider range of materials. In the past, acrylic and black ABS were typically vacuum formed by the company, but now they can use materials like polycarbonate, polyethylene, polypropylene, and vinyl.

"We started a project two years ago that was the vacuum forming of a heavily filled vinyl part (70% limestone, 30 plastic -- deep draw part used as truck part requiring sound dampening) . . . and that's not the easiest material to form. The part had a very narrow processing window and required precise temperature control and cycle time control. We never would have accomplished success on that project without the capabilities of Brown's technology," Meyer said.

Another benefit was a large reduction in scrap. One specific example: a vinyl part that often ran at a 50% scrap rate has now been reduced to a less than 2% scrap rate. The oven on the Brown Thermoformer allows Meyer Plastics to have more control over the heating, which helps Meyer to succeed in forming the vinyl.

The Brown thermoformers provide 4 x 8 ft and 5 x 7 ft capabilities. Material thicknesses vary from .080 in. to ½ in. and draw depths, from an inch to 4 ft. Meyer hopes to be working with even more exotic materials with the new Brown machine.

"The confidence, control, and repeatability we get from the Brown machine allows us to work better with the material vendor and lets the vendor make changes to allow a wider window for production," Meyer said.

He is very optimistic about the benefits of the Brown thermoformer. "Many features on that new system will make us more reliable and I feel that as we can do a better job at the plant, we can go out and increase our customer base as a result of that," said Meyer. "To be more efficient, we need a shorter development time. And when you have equipment that runs well and gives you a clear indication how to handle a design, you're going to be able to reduce development time and costs . . . and the Brown equipment allows us to do just that. Our old machine was on its last leg and we had to service it every three days to keep it going -- and that keeps a man up at night. We're not missing those times at all."