A NEW CONVERT

SNAPSHOT

Matara manufactures aluminium machine guard framing for T S Converting, a world leading manufacturer of slitting, coating and lamination machinery. The Matara guard framing has saved the manufacturer valuable production time and looks highly professional, which is appealing to its customers.

ABOUT: T S Converting Equipment Ltd (Elite Cameron)

T S Converting Equipment Ltd (Elite Cameron) specialises in innovative solutions for slitting, coating and lamination of a wide range of substrates. The company provides tailored designs that suit customers’ requirements, often incorporating roll handling, packing and transportation solutions. Shipping all around the globe, T S Converting is a world leader and continues to grow, with teams both in the UK and USA.

THE REQUIREMENT: Machine perimeter safety guards

With machinery that takes continuous rolls of materials and processes them into a final product using ultra sharp cutting blades, hot adhesives and even, on occasions, high pressure water, safety is paramount. Ensuring people do not get too close to the machinery when in operation, and to ensure compliance with safety regulations, a physical guard needs to be placed around each machine. T S Converting supplies customers with a complete solution, which not only includes the machinery, but also the protective guard frame.

Before employing the services of Matara, T S Converting used to produce the guard frames in house. It would buy full lengths of aluminium extrusion and full sheets of mesh, and its engineers would cut it these down to size and assemble it themselves. Understandably, this was a very time-consuming process and also a costly one as the type of aluminium extrusion chosen was an unusual size (44mmx44mm) and of an expensive nature. Furthermore, it did not have a tapping hole in the end, meaning a number of accessories, such as screw in feet or castors, could not be used.

T S Converting turned to Matara in 2021 to outsource the guard frame production, saving its engineers valuable time to focus on their core work of machine building.

THE SOLUTION: Cost-effective, professionally produced machine guard framing

With a range of machines sold by T S Converting, and with each customer having their own set of requirements including premises’ size and layout, each frame guard system is bespoke. T S Converting supplies Matara with CAD drawings for each machine order, which our design engineers view on our SolidWorks solid modelling CAD software.

From here, we cut the aluminium profile to the correct size and then assemble the guarding panels to T S Converting’s exact specifications. Aluminium is our metal of choice for this customer due to its adaptability and speed of production, and for its cost-effectiveness when compared to steel.

T S Converting’s latest project with us has involved over 200m of 40x40mm aluminium profile, powder coated safety yellow (RAL1003). All sections of this guarding have been supplied with UK stocked 25×25 black powder coated wire mesh or clear polycarbonate panels.

A wide range of accessories has been included into the design, including feet for mounting the sections to the floor for stability, connecting plates complete with fixings, door handles and hinges. With T-slots pre formed into the aluminium profile, adding further accessories couldn’t be easier as they simply slide into these slots without the need for welding or drilling holes. This has enabled T S Converting to make further on-site adaptations, including adding switch panels to certain areas of the profile as well as safety switches on the doors of the guard frame.

Commenting on their decision to out source the machine guard frame production to Matara, James Self, Director at TS Converting Equipment said: “One of the main reasons we chose Matara is the time it has saved us in production. We now have the guarding cut, powder coated and fully assembled, saving our engineers valuable time in our busy production schedule. The guarding has been a huge success not just for saving money but also how smart it looks.” T S Converting has also been impressed with the service Matara has delivered: “The service provided from Matara has always been helpful and professional. Every member of staff at Matara have always been welcoming and more than happy to help. Because of the success on the guarding, we are now discussing other areas of the business that we can work together on. The partnership between T S Converting and Matara has a very bright future.”