While more sophisticated machinery such as fillers and case packers typically drive packaging line design, smaller pieces such as coders and conveyors often present unusual opportunities to broaden a line's capabilities. A good example is paint manufacturer Valspar Corp., whose engineers created a unique coding solution for a new 1-gal canning line. Like a chess game where each move must account for several possibilities, its coding system was engineered to do the work of two other functions--automatic batch code verification and real-time production monitoring--beyond just applying a production code. The Minneapolis-based company's new Statesville, NC, plant, operational for a little over a year, manufactures 167 SKUs on two production lines, destined for outlets such as Lowes and Wal-Mart. When considering coding systems for the 1-gal steel can line, Valspar engineers sought a way to make sure that the batch code applied to the cans matched the code on the case. Matching codes are important in the event that product in the field needs to be traced back to its initial production origin. Obviously, mismatched codes would yield conflicting data about when the product in question was produced. In Valspar's other plants, marking systems for primary and secondary packaging are independent, stand-alone systems that do not communicate with one another. With the opportunity to create a new line from scratch, engineers at the Statesville plant chose to electronically link marking systems for primary and secondary packaging. On the 1-gal filling line, a Linx 4200 small-character coder from Diagraph (St. Louis, MO) applies a batch code to the bottom of cans after labeling but before filling. After cans are packed four to a case, a three-head PEL series large-character ink-jet printer, also from Diagraph, prints a UPC-SCS bar code, batch code and other production codes to the side of the case. Because the two printing systems are electronically linked, batch code mismatches can be detected and flagged for correction before any significant amount of product is miscoded. Statesville was also able to take advantage of more up-to-date ink-jet printing technology by using the high-resolution carton coder to print bar codes on cases, instead of using bar code labelers. Printer/applicators are used at Valspar's other plants since their older ink-jet coders possess neither the resolution nor print quality to produce bar codes. "We just felt we could do both steps with one piece of equipment," says Mike DiMaggio, plant engineer. "Plus in our other plants the ink-jets were more reliable than the label printers." Valspar uses case codes both for its own and its customers' inventory control systems. Another benefit of the system is automatic production data collection. Although the primary function of the Allen-Bradley (Milwaukee, WI) model 2755 bar code decoder is to verify bar code quality, it also forms the basis of a real-time production counting system. Custom software written by Diagraph counts each case of product as it's scanned, uploading data to the plant's host computer in real time. Detailed production data can then be used to analyze the line's uptime efficiency. A final benefit for Valspar is fast changeover. Case marking information for the case coder--which includes a manufacturer and sometimes customer part number, alphanumeric product description and UPC-SCS bar code--is stored on a database on a desktop computer for easy recall. Coding changeover can be done in about two minutes. Changing coding information at Valspar's other plants takes closer to ten minutes, according to DiMaggio.
Coding solution does double duty
Valspar Corp.'s ink-jet coding and scanning system provides automatic batch code verification and real-time production monitoring.
Mar 31, 1996
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