NEWS & EVENTS

Customer
Commodore Technology, Bloomfield, NY
 

Application
The customer’s thermoforming equipment was using two opposing vertical hydraulic cylinders that came together to compress polystyrene sheets into foam trays at a high rate of speed.  These trays are commonly found in grocery stores mainly in the meat department for meat and fish, fast food containers (Big Mac), restaurant take out containers, etc.
 

Customer Challenge
The customer wanted a “green” solution that eliminated the undesirable traits of hydraulics – such as mess from hydraulic fluid leaks, constant maintenance, etc. They were also seeking a higher production rate and improved product consistency.
 

Solution
The Exlar industrial electric actuator proposal consisted of an Exlar® FT35-0410 with high capacity screw, 2:1 parallel mount, oil ports with site gauge and a Schneider servo motor / drive. Since the Exlar system met or exceeded all specifications for the application, and it was viewed by the customer as the leader in rod style electric actuators, no other alternatives were considered.

Other factors that influenced the customer’s decision were Exlar’s industry experience, the FT Series high load capacity and long life, and that Exlar is a domestic manufacturer.
 

Results
The Exlar actuation solution significantly increased thermoforming production, nearly doubling the production rate from 20 cpm to 37 cpm.  It also provides significantly better consistency of the finished product.
 

Future
Now that Exlar has been established as a solid supplier, and the FT35 has exceeded all performance expectations, Commodore is looking to use the Exlar GSX60, an integrated motor / actuator on new applications.