Going the extra mile: Project report of TDO chain track system upgrade
One of the largest BOPET film supplier in China today, entered the BOPET market with a 6,7 m film production line from Brückner in 2006. After 15 years in operation, the line suffered from heavy wear in its roller chain system FOK 5.5.4, which caused frequent film breaks. Therefore, the line speed had to be lowered from 300 m/min to around 270-280 m/min to maintain the film quality. However, it was still not satisfying. A chain and clip refurbishment became necessary.
Encouraged by the good results of other FOK 5.5.5 refurbishments by Brückner, where the chain and clip systems could be recovered to deliver top performances and were back running at maximum speed. The customer decided to upgrade the line’s TDO chain track system from FOK 5.5.4 to FOK 5.5.5 to get the same excellent performance as other lines plus enjoy simplified spare parts management.
Although the upgrade parts arrived onsite at the customer in April 2021, the customer wanted to keep the line running to take full advantage of the good BOPET market at that moment. But on June 30, chain problems appeared again, and the line could not run anymore. The upgrade was requested immediately!
On such short notice, facing extreme manpower shortage, the team of Brückner Group China started urgent coordination and made every effort to have the upgrade experts onsite the next day!
The task began with a site inspection: unfortunately, more damaged parts were found. The situation was worse than expected, which made this upgrade even more challenging. Quick action had to be taken to get additional necessary spare parts onsite as soon as possible. With the fast support from Brückner Maschinenbau in Germany, a new TDO sprocket tooth lubrication assembly was transferred to the customer from another new line. Furthermore, Brückner Servtec and Brückner Group China coordinated the procurement of spare parts to replace the damaged connectors, hydraulic stop valves, and dosing units. Finally, all needed parts have been successfully organized, also with the help of the customer’s local source.
The initial plan was 30 days for the upgrade. The team worked in shifts and made overtime every day to catch up with the tight schedule, also with big support from the customer. Enduring the continuous 37°C high temperature, and the hard-working conditions, Brückner specialists dedicated themselves to the task with only one goal in their mind: The sooner the upgrade is completed, the sooner the line can be back into operation.
After only 22 days of overloaded work, the teams finally made it! 8 days shorter than initially planned. Great thanks to everyone of the upgrade team for their efforts and contribution. They turned a huge challenge into a great success!
Today, the BOPET line is running smoothly at full speed and the customer is very satisfied with the excellent performance and enthusiastic about the team’s hard-working spirit.
We are serving your success! Brückner has once again fulfilled its commitment with professionalism and dedication. This upgrade showed: It pays to go the extra mile.
