Tecomet Choose Amber For A Vertical Lift With Integrated Transfer Unit

10^th March 2018

Tecomet is the world’s largest contract manufacturer of medical implants and devices, they specialise in manufacturing and engineering solutions in Forging, Casting and machining of medical as well as aerospace & defence products. The company has a global presence with over 16 sites across 3 continents. The Sheffield site is the largest outside the United States. The Casting Department at Tecomet, Sheffield recognized a need to improve their existing processes and efficiencies to accommodate their current and future production demands. A key improvement area identified was the offloading of the final castings.

Their original process was to transfer a total of 20 individual final castings, one at a time from the existing drying line overhead conveyor, which was located on a 3m high mezzanine floor onto a second Offload overhead conveyor. The transfer between the two conveyors was completed using a standalone transfer device mounted on the mezzanine floor. Once the products had been placed onto the Offload conveyor they would then be transported through to a separate offload area some 25m away. Not only was transporting the 20 products over this distance less efficient, it also took the products from a ‘controlled environment’ to an ‘uncontrolled environment’.

Amber Industries were invited by Tecomet to consider these problems and propose an alternative solution that would not only upgrade their process but would offer a cost-effective solution that would support their production demands well into the future.

Amber’s solution was to replace the existing transfer unit and Offload overhead conveyor with a new vertical lift with integrated transfer unit. This solution would enable products to be transferred from the drying line conveyor, onto a waiting Lift carriage and delivered to a new product offload position, located directly under the existing Drying line conveyor.

The improvements to the process were quickly recognized by the Casting team and they committed to the installation of the new equipment. Michael Durband, Casting Manager explained their reason for selecting Amber Industries ‘they offered an ideal solution supported by a detailed and competitive quotation, and as a 24/7 operation with no real shutdown periods, they were also willing to work around our production demands during the installation’.

Amber designed the Transfer and lift at their Oldham facility together with the bespoke control system which was fully capable of interlocking with Tecomet’s existing control system. The unit was fully tested in-house before being delivered to site and installed during a small installation window, all during full production.

Michael Durband, added, ‘we are very pleased with the new lift and transfer, and the benefits of Amber’s solution see that all products now stay in a controlled environment, leading to quality benefits. We have also been able to lean our production flow in this area around the new transfer and lift system. It takes up less room and has freed up valuable production floor space’.

‘Working with Amber Industries has been a positive experience, they offered excellent service and communication throughout the project and we are now in discussions with them regarding the next phase of work.'

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