For years, companies in a wide variety of industries have relied on hot melt adhesives to help manufacture their products. As the years have gone by, companies find ways to fine-tune their systems to make them as efficient as possible. Here are a few ways that you can either maintain or improve the efficiency of your hot melt adhesive system.
Preventative Maintenance
Preventative care and maintenance is always a wise choice. Yes, you will have to shut things down while you perform regular maintenance, but it’s also the best way to avoid repairs that will cost both time and money down the line. Roughly every three months, or each time you change your adhesive, you should clean your system and all of your equipment. Doing this helps you stay on top of any wear and tear to your equipment, which helps to optimize the efficiency of your system.
Use the Right Amount of Adhesive
This may sound obvious, but it bears repeating. It’s important to know how much adhesive is required for each application and then track usage so you know that you’re using the exact right amount. If you use too much adhesive for an application, you’re throwing money away and hurting the quality of your products. If you’re using less than the right amount, you’ll end up having to fix the problem later, which hurts your overall efficiency by wasting time.
Check the Temperature
Make sure you’re remaining vigilant with regard to the temperature of the adhesive you’re using. Obviously, adhesives need to be warmed to a certain temperature to be effective, but you don’t want to go any hotter than you have to. Temperatures that are too hot can lead to charring, just like low temperatures can lead to the stringing of adhesives. Either one can damage your equipment, leading to additional costs and hurting your efficiency on the assembly line.
Switch to Automated System
If you’re serious about improving your hot melt adhesive efficiency, the best thing you can do is switch to automated applicators. Sure Tack Systems offer extrusion applicators, spray applicators, and slot coating applicators that are all either partially or fully automated, helping to drastically reduce both the cost of labor and productivity losses due to human error. While automation may not work for every product, as some still need a human touch, for most product assembly lines, an automated hot melt adhesive system will be the best thing for your bottom line.
Contact us today for more information about our hot melt systems.
