Pneumatic components and systems configured for a leading supplier of solids handling containment systems have the objective of reducing costs and shortening time-to-market.
Festo has been selected to provide pneumatic components and systems for the latest product development cycle for Matcon, leading supplier of solids handling containment systems. With the objective of reducing costs and shortening time-to-market, Festo is supplying standard, rodless and special design cylinders, along with tubing, fittings and control cabinets. By providing next-day delivery direct from its Northampton manufacturing site, the pneumatics specialist will cut lead times as well as Matcon's costs, as the company can reduce its inventory.

As with many of its customers, Festo has helped to cut costs further by deploying its extensive pneumatics application expertise to improve system performance and reduce the number of parts.

'We selected Festo based on several criteria, including its specialist experience with telescopic actuators, its application-led development expertise, the convenient fast-turnaround of its UK manufacturing capability, and the minimised risk exposure by choosing an industry-proven Festo design,' explains Ed Piepereit, Matcon's Research and Development Manager.

In a prime example of its expertise, Festo has developed a stainless steel actuator for Matcon based on a standard corrosion resistant hygienic design cylinder, but customised with special features to suit the unique operation of a special applications solution - the Containment Transfer Unit (CTU) cylinder.

The CTU actuator has since been retrofitted to a number of Matcon machines to improve reliability, as the double-acting cylinders provide positive motion monitored by integral position sensors to open and close the transfer unit, reducing both waste and downtime.

The stainless steel construction of the Festo actuators and accessory products also fits the philosophy of the Matcon Clean In Place (CIP) process, which is fundamental to the productivity of its equipment, especially in fully automated 'lights out' plants.

Festo pneumatic innovation also features in a new system under development at Matcon for the handling of delicate tablets.

These are often transferred between parts of the manufacturing and filling processes in large polyethylene containers.

Great care is required when transferring the tablets from the bins into processing hoppers as drops of as little as 200mm can cause unacceptable chipping, marking and damage.

The new Matcon-patented product is designed to gently lower tablets, within a completely sealed solid tube, thus eliminating tablet damage.

Gloucestershire-based Matcon patented its process over seven years ago, and now has over 150 solids handling machines providing high containment, discharge and filling for primary and secondary pharmaceutical companies.