ENDOLINE Automation has revealed details of a project to help Denroy adapt a line originally created for packing face masks to work on the Northern Ireland company’s flagship hairbrush line.
As an innovator in the design and manufacture of engineered polymer components and solutions, Denroy is the supplier to sister company Denman. Sales of Denman’s D3 and D4 hairbrushes reach over 1.6 million every year and are sold globally.
During the pandemic, Denroy began manufacturing and supplying FFP3 face masks. Due to the scale of demand and restrictions on manual labour at the time, the business reached out to Endoline Automation for a solution that met immediate needs but also paved the way for long-term efficiency in their hairbrush line’s packing operation.
Endoline designed a fully automated end-of-line packing operation incorporating its fully automatic 221 case erector and 602 case taper systems, conveyor systems and integrated Endoline Robotics systems to pack and palletise the cases.
Ahead of the installation, with demand for face masks beginning to reduce, Denroy decided to switch the line to automate its D3 and D4 hairbrush lines.
“We recognised that the line would deliver significant operation efficiencies, and felt it would be better suited to our hairbrush line which would deliver long-term results” said Steven McCord, process engineer for Denroy. “We discussed this with Endoline and they quickly adapted the line to meet our needs.”
Endoline reconfigured the line to transition from packing face masks to hairbrushes, which involved a collaborative effort with Montech. The process now involves the forming of cases by the 221 case erector which are then transported via a conveyor to an Endoline Robotics Delta Robot where a cylinder pushes down into the formed case to make the packing of the brushes ‘seamless’. Each brush is manually sleeved before being packed into the open case by the robot in two rows of three.
The filled cases are transported via a second conveyor to the 602 case sealer for closing and tape sealing, before flowing down a roller conveyor to an Endoline Robotics palletising system, incorporating Montech’s Spider technology and a stretch wrapper.
Endoline revealed the line is capable of sleeving and packing a hairbrush every two seconds – a significant improvement from the 20 seconds previously recorded.
Packing two separate case sizes, Endoline programmed the different dimensions into the systems and educated operators on quickly reconfiguring the machines to switch between the two sizes.
“We have been delighted with the solution Endoline has provided,” Steven added. “As with all manufacturers we were facing issues sourcing manual workers to operate the line. Since automating the process we have been able to upskill workers while significantly increasing efficiency and meeting global demand for the hairbrushes quickly. We now also have the ability to increase production if required.”
