If you’ve been trying to work out how to set up or upgrade your PU footwear factory, you may have come across the term “fully automatic PU shoe production line”. Which isn’t at all simple, of course—it’s a technical term for an all-in-one system—not just one machine. What’s actually included (or not) can save you quite a lot of time and money when you’re drawing up your plans.
What’s in a Fully Automatic PU Shoe Production Line?
As the name suggests, a fully automatic PU shoe production line is an all-in-one system which wraps up the entire moulding process with not much human touch in each step of the process, from mixing in the raw materials to demoulding the final result. Steps are linked and interlocked for fluid workflow and thus highly efficient production.
Typically you can expect the following to be included:
- Automatic PU dosing and mixing system for moulding
- High-precision mixing head
- Rotary moulding machine for moulding the shoes
- Temperature controlled mould for moulding shoes themselves
- Automatic demoulding and transfer of final product
The principle is that of batch-to-batch consistency. Once set, the system should run continuously with stable production values and consistent quality.
The Core Process: Converting the Liquid to a Finished Sole
Producing PU safety shoes and casuals is all about chemistry. Here’s the typical production line:
Feeding
Polyol and polyisocyanate (isocyanate) are stored in holding tanks in and fed to the system in precise ratios.
Injection into Moulds
The injected material is fully mixed then injected under pressure into pre-heated moulds that are situated on a rotating table or conveyor.
Foaming and Curing
In the mould, your material expands and cures to form the desired shape (either of a single density, or double density, as you decide).
Demoulding
The finished soles, or full shoes if that’s the route you pick, drop free automatically and go onto the next step.
So What’s the Deal with Automation in PU Production of Shoes?
The semi-automatic or manual shots can be made to “work”, but come at the cost of:
- Inconsistent products
- More wastes for material
- More reliance on labour
- Slower rates of output
When you automate completely, you stand to gain a whole lot of benefits:
- Your products are consistent – your mixing ratio, and resultant temperature, are carefully controlled and kept the same at every step
- Can run fulltime –plug that line and don’t unplug!
- Spending less on materials – less overdoing it, less wastage from bad pairs
- Less hard to plan more production
If your factory does any work for export, this consistency of your product is non negotiable.
What Should You Look for to Get a Good PU Machine?
With your factory stuffed full of PU machines to choose from, look out for:
Mixing Head
This is the brains of your setup. Get this wrong, and you’ll end up with zillions of miserable bubbles, weak bonding, or uneven density.
Dosing System
How much of this stuff is going where? If your accuracy blows, the thing could go haywire.
Make Stay “CSS” As Strong As Possible! (Rotary Machine Structure)
Your rototable should be even, but also stable, and, of course, well-balanced.
Temperature Control System
PU reactions are finicky about their temperature – a good machine gives each station tight contiguous temperature zones.
Layout and Planning Turnkey
A mammoth mistake a large number of novice investors make, they don’t organize the laying out of their machines, just whip out the sheets and then try to figure out the from in the factory.
For class PU production turnkey project, you’ll require:
- How you’re really going to spread everything out in your factory before buying what.
- How the materials will really go where in practice.
- How utilities like air conditioning, power, and temperature control are going to be spread.
- What training will give your operators.
- How you’re going to set your machines up.
Especially, because then people will be feeling so good things, and will even forget to remind they desire different names of all realize the breakdown electronics!
Good is better if the firm is planning ahead, and setting it all up.
Aftersales Support that’s Really an Option
Getting plugged in and “away we go” sometimes unfortunately the opposite automatically does not mean you won’t have to actually replace the entire PU machine right away.
You will probably need:
- Support for right and taking advantage of dieheads, especially mixing heads
- Maintenance and repair service for mixing head
- Supply of spare parts
- Support for making progress going
Too many more bad products, and you ruin your good a machine enough and its suddenly to late for even a good machine!
Closing Comments
A powerful pick-your-ant and fully auto PU shoe assembly line, isn’t just automated but one able to have a major difference the same to stable reliable quality.
Are you simply designing your first factory? Then, check the quality of equipment, floor layout and all the of other in a class PU production turnkey solution. Bad choices to start almost always equals expensively later.
If you are in the market for something look into, it’s states that you beyond ask what kind of type of product you plan in there before making choices.
