Gerresheimer Wilden: New cuvette production in Küssnacht with high-performance machines

At its Küssnacht facility in Switzerland, Gerresheimer Wilden (www.gerresheimer-wilden.com) manufactures cuvettes for a leading diagnostics specialist. These optical components for use in photometric laboratory tests are required to meet very exacting quality standards and on-time delivery is imperative. In order to boost product quality, cost-efficiency and reliability so as to sustain long-term production, Gerresheimer Wilden has now decided to gradually replace its existing production lines with new high-performance lines.

Cuvettes are disposable containers for samples and reagents used for optical tests such as blood typing for blood donations and transfusions. In order to produce precise test results, cuvettes must neither react with the test substances nor display flaws such as contaminations or scratches. Another imperative is an uninterrupted supply chain, as supply shortages may prevent life-saving tests from being carried out.

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Production volume of several million items
The Küssnacht facility specializes in manufacturing disposable diagnostic products such as cuvettes with a production volume of several million items. Up until now, the nine hydraulic toggle-clamp injection molding machines with 64-cavity moulds, removal systems and clamping forces of 1,500 kN operated at the production site of Gerresheimer Wilden AG Schweiz manufactured cuvettes twenty-four hours, seven days a week.

Having operated reliably for many years, these lines now need to be optimized because the removal system still requires a lot of manual handling. Removal from the existing lines involves taking out the cuvettes, checking them for leaks and placing them into one of the sixteen trays, which are then automatically emptied into bubble bags. The exact number of items is determined by part counting scales. When the mould opens, the sprues drop onto a conveyor belt below and are removed.

All-electric Netstal machines
Armin Henning, Managing Director International Production at Gerresheimer Wilden GmbH, explains the reasons for the production change-over: "It fills us with pride that the customer chose Gerresheimer Wilden for its outstanding product quality, excellent delivery reliability and production expertise. The new high-performance lines ensure that we can maintain this status in future." Gerresheimer Wilden decided to change its production to all-electric Netstal ELION 1750-530 machines with clamping forces of 1,750 kN. Preliminary tests conducted at Netstal´s facility showed that the envisaged output enhancement can be achieved.

Thanks to their servo-electric drives, ELION machines offer a variety of quality-promoting benefits such as a very precise clamping force measurement as well as an automatic start up and reject system. The new machine reduces manual tasks to an absolute minimum. The cuvettes are removed together with the sprues, checked for leaks, filled into bubble bags and labeled.

Photo: Cuvette production at the production site of Gerresheimer Wilden AG Schweiz, Küssnacht, Switzerland

Gerresheimer Wilden GmbH, Regensburg, Germany

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