Choice System, a new breed of hot-melt adhesive application, is beginning to catch on in the PepsiCo organization. Seven of these new systems from Valco Melton which feature all-electric operation rather than relying on compressed air more typically found in pneumatic dispensing systems, are being put to use in a PepsiCo bottling plant in Riviera Beach, FL.
According to John Fortini, Plant Director at the Riviera Beach plant, this new way of dispensing adhesive could represent a huge improvement. That’s because the pneumatic dispensing systems the firm has been using, which rely on EVA-based glues, historically don’t last much more than four or five years, he points out. He’s expecting a useful life of six or seven years with the Choice Systems, which utilize a glue from Dura Pro that has natural gas as its base. Fortini describes how his plant became one of the first to commercialize the all-electric adhesive application systems.
“We were in need of new hot melt adhesive systems, and we were in conversations with Pak-Tec, a distributor for Valco Melton,” says Fortini. “We agreed to a small trial using our pneumatically based equipment with a metallocene-based, rather than EVA-based, glue. This glue’s performance resulted in less charring, clogging, and maintenance. So that opened the door to look at Pak-Tec’s proposal to replace all our hot melt systems with Valco Melton’s pneumatically based dispensing systems. These new systems would have used metallocene-based adhesives from the start, which would eliminate the EVA adhesive charring and buildup in the pot and hoses. However, before we could move forward with it, Pak-Tec suggested that all-electric dispensing was starting to look like the technology of the future. When we took a look at it, I was really excited about it. You run without compressed air, and the number of moving parts is dramatically reduced. That means fewer repairs, and when repair is called for, it’s simpler when fewer parts are involved.”
A key to the Choice System is its positive displacement gear pump, supplied in this case by Viking Gear Pump. Driven by an electric motor from Bison Gear & Engineering Corp., it eliminates the need for constant air pressure. The gear pump can be engaged by a signal from the controller so that it only turns and pressurizes the lines while the “parent machine”—case packer, cartoner, tray packer—is running. This reduces wear on seals and promotes a safer operating machine.
Low pressure, large nozzles
Also important is that the use of an all-electric hot-melt system allows for the use of lower pressures and larger nozzles. The same amount of adhesive can be dispensed through a larger nozzle, and a larger nozzle means less clogging.
