With their latest products, Eton Systems does not only raise the standard for lean and effective production, but the safety standard of the Swedish UPS system is one of its kind that offers unique features for safety and production data collection.
Achieving flexibility in manufacturing and higher productivity are dual objectives of every garment manufacturer today. With the option of flexibility within the signature modular architecture and also the ability to handle high volume production, while manufacturing more units per square metre, the Eton Standard Apparel, one of Eton Systems new product releases, would be the highlight of the company’s showcase at the Texprocess fair. “An essential quality in today’s garment industry is one where styles swiftly change and production runs are shortened,” says Roger Ryrlén, Sales and Commercial Director, Eton Systems. It is easy to add additional workstations and buffer zones in the system, which makes preparations for rapid expansions and adaptations to changes in business easy, further reducing the style changeover times, the biggest bottleneck in attaining manufacturing flexibility, views Ryrlén.
[bleft]The characteristic red chain, adjustable both vertically and laterally, cater for an ergonomic posture for the operators. They can choose to sit or stand up working and set the chain at an individualized distance.[/bleft]
A crucial factor for safety, as well as for receiving correct and reliable production information from the system, is that the carrier stays on track at all times. “The Eton Systems ‘closed system’ is a unique solution making sure that no carriers or products ever fall down hurting someone on the floor,” explains Ryrlén, and adding that the synchronized loading on to the main line to avoid two carriers to enter in front of the same pusher at the same time, is another unique solution securing correct information and preventing disorder.
In addition, there are three Eton Systems radio frequency readers on each station which automatically correct the order of the product carriers, providing information of products leaving stations, and in buffer, preventing overloading. Several electrical motors guarantee maximum uptime, keeping the system functional even if one motor shuts down. “An adjustable line with modular configuration makes it possible to build the main line left-right, up-down, above and around any obstacles. Even if constructed on different floors and at different height, the system is fully integrated during the whole production process, from pre-assembly to finishing and packaging,” says Ryrlén. This is made possible by the Eton Systems drive line made of fibre reinforced polymers – with no friction, nor grease contamination.
The characteristic red chain, adjustable both vertically and laterally, cater for an ergonomic posture for the operators. They can choose to sit or stand up working and set the chain at an individualized distance. Thanks to this flexibility, the products can usually stay in the carrier, which significantly enhances productivity.
The ETONselect – Customized Software
Apart from the obvious functionality to configure and control the production process, the ETONselect will help the manufacturers get maximum output with minimum effort by collecting all the production data. This can be executed in different ways, depending on the manufacturer’s need. Here are some examples:
GSD-link
The ETONselect offers a wide selection of data interfaces, both file based and in real-time for order and planning systems or for ERP-systems. Linking the Eton Systems to GSD, permits a fully automatic link to the styles and operations in the customer’s GSD system.
Off-standard
One of the main goals is to eliminate non-productive time in the production process. In the case of unforeseen events, it is important to separate the non-productive time from the value adding time. This enables the customer to analyze the areas in detail where most non-productive time exists.
Skills
The ETONselect gives access to a database of skills collected over time, displaying the skill level of each operator on different machines and operations. This is a helpful tool in planning and training of the operators, and to know what operators to relocate when balancing the system.
The software as well as the safety features are all part of the Eton Systems concept, and comes in different combinations depending on product and license.
