Foster’s upgrades coding equipment

Foster’s sought to upgrade some of its ageing fleet of ink jet coders. It sought an advanced ink jet coder, with performance characteristics not previously offered on the market. The system will be used for printing information such as the use-by date detail on shrink-wrapped cluster packs.

The idea was to see how the advances in ink jet coding units related to greater efficiency, easier replacement of ink cartridges and lower operating costs at the company’s Abbotsford plant in Melbourne.

After evaluating several alternatives, Foster’s Abbotsford chose the Tronics Videojet 1510 ink jet coding system.

“We could sum up by saying low maintenance, very low downtime and highly reliable,” said Russell Fisher, Reliability Assurance Team Leader at the company’s Abbotsford Brewery in Melbourne.

“If I had to highlight anything, it is the ease of changing ink cartridges with no risk of mess or mistake.

“A person not entirely familiar with the system can do cartridge changeovers with no mistake,” he explained. “Our selection at the time was based on a number of factors.

“First, we have enjoyed a 20-year history with Tronics, the company distributing the coders in Australia. We could be confident about their recommendations and after-sales support network.

“Second were the performance characteristics.”

A big thing was the system for changing over ink cartridges simply, easily and fast. But above all mistake and spill free. The ‘smart’ cartridge fluid delivery system eliminates spillage - no gloves needed - and ensures the unit won’t accept incompatible inks.

“There’s nothing worse than ink everywhere,” added Russell.

Experience on the line, at the Foster’s plant, has been one of a set-and-forget nature.

“The print head calibrates and cleans itself and that helps us achieve long runs with no interventions in between changes in code detail.

“The Videojet 1000 line series are designed to go longer between planned maintenance. Whilst also making it simpler and more predictable,” explained Tronics’ Dean Rockstro.

“Typically, you can expect up to 18 months of operation between planned maintenance events. Maintenance is as simple as changing the unique system core.

The machine automatically alerts the operator when a new core is needed. It only takes about 30 minutes to change a core. This known time span for maintenance makes planning very simple/predictable; this was one of the factors that prompted Fosters to go with the Videojet 1510,” he added.