MASK Increased Productivity with Efficient Formulation

MASK Polymers is a leading manufacturer of rubber and Teflon products in India. They installed a IND690 terminal and the FormXP formulation software to make their formulation control easy, error-free and efficient. The improved level of quality and the full traceability of each batch enabled MASK to introduce new product lines with complex recipes and higher requirements.

MASK Polymers is one of the leading manufacturers of rubber and Teflon products for the chemical and automobile industries in India. These customer industries have continuously increasing expectations regarding the quality of the parts they purchase. The standard operating procedures MASK had in place were not appropriate to economically achieve these markets requests.

The batch formulas for the different rubber qualities (150 recipes based on 500 components) were kept in a handwritten recipe book. Each day began with a handwritten daily production plan handed over to the mixing department. After a complete batch had been weighed according to the recipe book, it was forwarded to the kneader and after kneading was completed it was transferred to the mixing mill where rubber sheets according to desired composition were finally produced. The process was completely dependent on the skills set of the operator without any accountability leading to an unsatisfactorily high rate of batch rejection. Confronted with the increasing costs of quality and the difficulty to access new market, MASK saw the necessity to introduce a different batch formulation philosophy, based on semiautomatic operating procedures.

With the help of METTLER TOLEDO specialists, a concept was developed, taking into account the economical constraints, the precision in batch formulation, the harsh environment and the need for simplicity of operation.

A computer based production and recipe management system was introduced. The existing weighing equipment was connected to an IND690 terminal managing the communication with the central computer (batch orders are entered directly to the IND690) and the weighing equipment, and displaying clear instructions and targets to the operating personnel.

For this purpose the application package Form-XP was loaded to the IND690. The formulation reports are uploaded from the IND690 to the computer for inventory control, statistical evaluation, leading to new possibilities for procedures optimization. A significant reduction in the costs of batch rejection was rapidly achieved. The improved level of quality and the full traceability of each batch enabled MASK to introduce new product lines with complex recipes and higher requirements.

Key benefits of FormXP
  • Easier handling and less paper interaction results in higher productivity
  • Enhanced traceability of recipes by assigning charge-, lot- and batch numbers
  • Extended safety by capturing component data via barcode scanner, displaying messages while formulating and ensuring a fail proof working sequence
  • Higher efficiency by reporting the stock of raw material and using the rescaling function when overfilling components
  • Quicker adaption to changing production requirements by using the PC-software FormToolXP
IND690 weighing indicator

FormXP is a software pac that runs on any IND690 weighing indicator. The additional FormToolXP PC software allows you to handle smoothly any task from your PC.

FormToolXP is made for ease of use.

FormToolXP is a PC software allowing straightforward data entry and easy management of recipes, raw materials and messages. It offers reporting functionality including data visualization (charts, tables, etc.)

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