New system for removing packaging straps

The Bergs Engineering AB Company in Falun, Sweden, a subsidiary of hpl Neugnadenfelder in Ringe, Deutschland, has developed a system for the fully automated removal of packaging straps and is now seeking a patent. The product will be sold under the name DE-STRAPPER.The new system solves an old problem.

Up until now our customers who operate rolling mills and strip processing lines have carried out this task manually, states Mats Eriksson, engineer of the ney system: a worker cuts the packaging strap by hand, a potentially dangerous procedure that is no longer up-to-date. There is high tension on the packaging straps which can suddenly snap and hit the worker. In addition, high forces are built up in the coil during the winding process. Therefore, strong forces are released when the packaging strap is removed from a coil that is made of high-strength material, especially since the end of the coil can repel with great energy. For this reason several packaging straps are sometimes used together.

The next task after removal involves the handling of the packaging straps. There are made of high-strength steel and costly to dispose of. Quite often large containers must be provided, because the straps are very difficult to bend by hand.

The new system performs the task fully automatically

• All packaging straps are cut in one process step (independent of the number).
• The straps are wound-up into small compact coils which are easily disposed of or recycled.

The machine consists of a main module that cuts the packaging straps, pulls them off the coil and winds them up into compact rolls. The main module is variable and can be mounted nect to the coil car, on the de-coiler, on the floor roller station or on a separate substructure for easy integration into any existing plant. Safe handling of the coil and threading of the strip into the rolling mill or processing line is ensured when the module is used in combination with a hold-down roller for the head end of the strip.

Several well-known companies have already displayed great interest since the prototype of the system was shown at the Tube & Wire in Düsseldorf in April 2010.

The advantages of the system are obvious

The amount of risk exposure is dramatically reduced for working personnel and the safety of the production process is increased since manual intervention is no longer required and the operation of the system is fully automatic.