This is a story about a Fortune 100 company and the need to improve their machines’ capabilities. If they couldn’t get their lines to run faster than ever before and accommodate narrow slits, they would need all-new machines. For solutions, they came to Goldenrod. The result? Faster speeds and double output using Goldenrod multi-bladder carbon pultrusion shafts.
A Customer Challenge
A major OEM in the Northeast US took on a challenge from one of their best customers to upgrade two lines for maximum production. The ultimate goal was a 20% increase in output. Widening the lines was cost prohibitive and so the OEM needed to find a way to increase machine speed. The product run was a light tension non-woven wound up on 6″ cores.
To complicate matters, the customer wanted to add the capabilities of slitting in-line (2″ narrow slits). The OEM went about calculating what was needed to update the drives/control package and all other items on the current machine for the increased production. The top three shaft manufacturers were contacted and only Goldenrod was able to offer a shaft design that would meet the speed & balancing requirements and offer continuous grip along the face of the shaft. Conventional leaf or lug shafts just couldn’t make the grade.
A Goldenrod Solution
Goldenrod offered a new 6″ thin walled aluminum extrusion and coupled it with the patented “pultrusion” process that pulls carbon fiber into the hollows of the aluminum extrusion. Not only did Goldenrod have the answer in providing the OEM and customer a low inertia expanding shaft that met their speed and continuous grip requirements – but the Goldenrod shaft balanced out at over 3000 fpm allowing the customer to exceed their original goal by more than 12%!
Conclusion
In addition to not only meeting, but exceeding its customers goals, Goldenrod saved this customer substantial amounts of money since the customer did not need to purchase all new machinery to meet their output requirements. It is this type of consultation and solution that is a Goldenrod specialty.