Abbey Well Natural Mineral Water:

Case Study – Dry Lube Conveyor Lubrication

Company Name: Waters & Robson Ltd

Written by: Peter Stobbs, Engineering Manager

Location: Morpeth, Northumberland

Industry Sector: Natural Mineral Water

Production Lines Converted:
Two PET Lines using Acetyl Slat conveyors (0.25 - 2 litre PET)
Two Glass lines using Stainless Steel and Acetyl (0.25 to 1 litre Glass)

The Problem:

Before Dry Lube, Waters & Robson Ltd (Abbey Well Mineral Water) used a Detergent and Water Slat Lube lubrication solution. We were keen to move away from this traditional method of lubrication to achieve the following results;

• Remove all soap and water residues and drip trays from production lines to improve working conditions and eradicate bacteria traps.
• Transfer the maintenance of the lubrication systems to a service contract.
• Reduce the stock holding of lubricant.

The Solution:

Following in-depth surveys of our four production lines by Dry Lube Engineers they were able to design and install two dry lubrication systems - one system on two glass lines and another system on the two plastic lines to improve the overall hygiene and efficiency of the production lines.

The Result:

Installation of the Dry Lube systems has allowed us to remove all drip trays from under the conveyors. This has improved hygiene, reduced soap and water spillage onto the production area floor, and minimised effluent to drains.

The removal of the drip trays also allows better access for cleaning of the conveyors by our hygiene team and has also stopped slat lube deposits on the production machinery. The slat lube running to waste has now ceased and the dosing rates for the oil are so low that we have not had problems with oil deposits on the floor.

The cost of the system annually is equivalent to the cost of running the old slat lube system with the added benefit of regular service visits by Dry Lube to inspect, service and top up the application systems, changing the application brushes where necessary. This has eradicated the need for intervention by our own production maintenance staff and constitutes a saving.

On the glass lines we have made a few modifications to the full bottle single lane conveyors lines to reduce the build-up of back pressure. On the single track conveyors we have changed the stainless slat to plastic slat. This has only been necessary where single lane conveyors feed into the machines with full product; the multi lane conveyors have better line control capabilities and have required no alterations to run on dry lube.

We have not lubricated the conveyors running into the packing machines to avoid carry over onto the packaging. This has not been an issue.

Summary:

The system is now saving the company money and has improved hygiene with a small initial investment. It has removed a maintenance operation from our own personnel and is running without any intervention by ourselves. We have had no issues with blockages or lack of lubrication following the installation of these systems.