Following a year of intensive research and development, Automated Product Development (Pty) Ltd (APD), a participant in the maxum Business Incubator at The Innovation Hub - has announced it is ready to deliver an automated data pack for an innovative and highly sophisticated rotary bottle-filler. The product was commissioned by ELOFILL, a Switzerland subsidiary company of the Norwegian-based ELOPAK Plastic Systems.
APD Chief Executive Officer, Jannie Loubser, says the machine is one of a kind. "It is an ultra-clean rotary filler that stands over three metres high, three metres wide and four metres long. It will enable the customer to fill up to 12 000 one-litre bottles per hour, 24 hours a day."
APD's highly specialised team of designers will provide the manufacturer with a comprehensive data pack while keeping all the information under configuration control. The data pack contains up to 800 drawings, approximately 3 000 three-dimensional (3D) models, of which at least 1 000 are unique, manufacturing information and complete specifications for the product, as well as maintenance manuals and operating instructions for the manufacturer.
Loubser says an added benefit for the customer is APD's ability to offer product lifecycle management. "The system, developed at a cost of several million rand, enables us to assist the customer with any subsequent design or engineering changes and maintenance that is required from the minute they buy the product throughout its lifecycle. We are able to provide the complete design and development history of any component on any filler, the mass, price, supplier, maintenance and service requirements and various other factors at the touch of a button. Engineering changes are made on the computer model and adjustments can be made before the machine is physically manufactured."
APD uses the PTC Product Development System consisting of Pro/Engineer 3D CAD system and Windchill Data Management to make the information available via Internet in a secure way, where users who are allowed to have access to it can view detailed drawings and 3D models.
Loubser believes the ability to provide accurate and detailed information from an automated data pack within a very short space of time gives customers a competitive advantage. "This technology reduces marketing time, reduces design time, maintains accuracy and design integrity and lowers overall costs due to the lower design costs. The key advantage is 'associativity', which means that if we make one design change, the rest of the machine adjusts itself accordingly."
The term that Loubser's team has coined for this process is CARE - Change Anywhere Reflects Everywhere. It means that a new design variation with different throughput or bottle sizes can be generated rapidly and automatically.
Lead design engineer, Anton Greeff, is confident the company will soon extend its offering to include a sterilisation or rinsing unit linking up to the bottle-filling unit. With time, the whole system will move from being ultra-clean to fully aseptic. "This is a particularly significant element for high quality products, where the customer wants the product to have a long shelf life without the use of preservatives," says Greeff.
The company works with local and overseas manufacturers and expects its designs to have a significant spin-off for the South African manufacturing industry. As Loubser explains: "Not everyone can afford a 64-bit workstation with 8GB memory that our system has. Our team possesses unique skills in product automation that can be extremely advantageous for customers and partners. Added to this is the fact that the company is part of The Innovation Hub's maxum Business Incubator community, which provides the ideal environment for innovation, creativity and networking with other highly innovative individuals and companies."
For more information contact Jannie Loubser of APD on (012) 349 0481.
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