How to Install A Laundry Pod Making Machine?
The exciting new way to do laundry is gaining users worldwide. Its popularity is giving rise to the projected market, which is expected to reach USD 17.26 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 6.06% from 2023 to 2030. The growing demand is pulling investors to use laundry pod making machines to produce detergent pods. However, setting up a laundry detergent pod machine has some technical challenges.
This post provides the necessary information every manufacturer of laundry detergent pods should know. It is a step-by-step guideline for the ideal installation strategy of a laundry pod making machine. Let's get right into the steps!
1. Inspection of Packaging and Unboxing
After thorough research, you may have finalized a laundry pod-making machine suitable for your production and distribution requirements. The next immediate step after its delivery is inspection. These machines are highly sophisticated, with many actuators, sensors, moving parts, pneumatic piping, wiring, and electronic circuits. They are usually delivered in sizeable wooden packaging.
Careful Unboxing of Laundry Pod-Making Machine
the laundry pod making machine will arrive in a wooden box, if any. The box needs to be carefully dismantled without damaging the interior components. While prying the wooden box open, a hammer or crowbar could hit the metal components. It can lead to scratches or dents.
Inspecting the Laundry Pod-Making Machine
After dismantling the shipped wooden enclosure, inspect the laundry pod making machine closely. Look for places more susceptible to damage, like corners and outer surfaces. Then, examine the components that move around freely inside the wooden enclosure. Assess the overall health of the delivered laundry pod-making machine.
2. Selecting the Right Location For Installation
After you have completed your inspection, make sure that you select the right location to install your laundry pod-making machine. Here are the key factors to consider when installing your machine:
- Ensure power and pneumatic supply connections are nearby
- The environment should preferably be dust-proof and temperature-controlled for the machine's longevity.
- The device should be elevated slightly above the floor to prevent the machine's bottom from contacting the wet floor in case of water ingress.
- Anchoring the machine to the floor during the pod-making machine installation is vital to minimize vibration and ensure the smooth operation of moving parts.
- Leveling and aligning the foundation of the laundry pod-making machine is equally essential.
3. Electrical Compatibility: Checking Voltage and Frequency
Ensuring electrical compatibility is one of the initial steps. Manufacturers planning to buy a pod-making machine should consider the electrical voltage and frequency compatibility. However, once the laundry pod machine arrives on site, the following should be regarded before connecting the machine.
Why Voltage Matters for Laundry Pod-Making Machines
The voltage is the potential of the electrons to move in a conductor. Higher voltages can damage the laundry pod machine by overheating and insulation breakdown caused by excessive electron movement. Similarly, lower voltages can lead to breakdown and reduced efficiency. Some countries have multiple power voltages like 110V, 220V, and 380V within the same workspace. Therefore, consider the voltage compatibility of the laundry pod-making machine before plugging it in.
Matching Frequency with Laundry Pod-Making Machine
Countries like the USA and Canada use 60Hz as the standard, while Australia, China, and Germany use 50Hz. Frequency is essential, as it can directly affect motor speed and electronic components.
Pod- Making Machine Parts that Require Electrical Compatibility
Here are some of the components that may be affected by incompatible grid power:
- Inverter Speed-Regulating System
- Servo Control System
- Touch Screen Interface
- Programmable Logic Controller (PLC)
- Temperature Sensors And Controllers
- Pneumatic Control System
- Vacuum Pump
- Film Tension Control System
- Film Alignment System
- Electrical Leakage Protection System
- Phase Protection System
4. Setting Up a Compressor: Ensuring Pneumatic Supply
The pneumatic air supply is one of the key components in a laundry pod-making machine after electricity. It is the lifeline of the laundry pod-making machine. Everything from air-assisted liquid filling, film tensioning, braking, correction, pneumatic actuators, cleaning, and other mechanisms needs air. For a typical machine like the TC-660 detergent pod-making machine by Guangzhou Tongchuang Intelligent Packaging Machinery Co., Ltd, the compressor needs to supply pressure between 0.6 and 0.8 MPa.
- Pneumatic Tensioning Mechanism - Used to control film tension
- Pneumatic Brake - Helps control roller and film movement
- Film Deviation Correction System - Pneumatic actuators may align the film precisely
- The Film Trim Winder - Pneumatically actuated for automatic film waste collection
- Film Tension Regulation System - Works with pneumatic actuators for consistent stress on upper and lower films
- Air-Assisted Dosing Or Filling Nozzles - These are used in some laundry pod machines to aid clean and precise filling (if present)
- Pneumatic Actuators Or Cylinders - Used in mechanical movements like pushing, sealing, or releasing film or pods
- Compressed Air System For Cleaning Or Anti-Drip - Can be used for nozzle or mold cleaning
- Vacuum System Interface - Works with compressed air-driven vacuum generators for pod molding and film suction (if no electric vacuum pump is used)
- Film Feed Clamping And Cutting Mechanisms may include a pneumatic operation for accuracy and repeatability
5. Installer Training and Qualifications
The next step is to qualify the installer and train them. In case of a complicated assembly and installation procedure, the laundry pods machine-selling company might accompany an expert who can assemble and install the machinery. However, in the case of in-house installation, the installers should preferably have the Electromechanical Technician Certification (EMTC), OSHA Safety Certification (or local equivalent), Pneumatics and Hydraulics Technician Certificate, Certified Industrial Electrician, and PLC Programming Certification. It will decrease the chances of failure and improve the installation time.
6. Assembling the Laundry Pod-Making Machine
Next is the assembling of the laundry pod making machine. After you have qualified technicians to oversee and assemble the laundry pod-making machine, you can begin putting together the parts. Usually, an instruction manual rich with elaborate drawings and steps comes with the machinery. However, there are always generic guidelines that every installer must use:
- Unpacking equipment to check inventory
- Start with the mainframe and structure that will hold all the components.
- Install the modules such as the Film unwinding units (top & bottom rollers), tension control and pneumatic brake system, mold block heating/forming section, filling system (liquid/powder/granule), sealing and cutting system, Trim winding mechanism, and Pod discharge or conveyor sectio.n
- Find the control cabinet and install all the electronics.
- Install all the pneumatic systems as mentioned earlier and set the pneumatic pressure of the compressor to 0.6-0.8MPa.
7. Trial Run and Subsequent Calibrations
Connect the device to external power after the pneumatic air compressor supplies your system. Run a dry test to ensure all the moving parts are correctly aligned and provided with power. If the dry run test succeeds. Move to a more elaborate test with film insertion. Ensure that the film moves smoothly between parts. You can check the following:
- Film Feeding And Tracking
- Mold Movement
- Sealing Temperature Regulation
- Mechanical Noise Or Friction
8. Technical Support for the Detergent Filling Machine Manufacturer
If there are any setbacks during the installation process or assembly, consider contacting the manufacturer's technical support. As experts, they have massive operational experience and feedback on these devices. They can identify the problem, devise a resolution, and provide subsequent guidelines for the laundry pod-making machine.
Conclusion: Installing a Laundry Pod-Making Machine
The massive market that detergent pods offer is a major attraction for manufacturers worldwide. A laundry pod-making machine is a compact device that requires detergent and a PVA film as raw materials for the manufacturing of pods. Later, a packaging machine can put pods in a packet.
The laundry pod-making machine needs proper delivery, installation site, electrical compatibility, pneumatic compressor, power installation, assembly, and trail runs. Following the above guidelines can give you an overview of the installation process. However, contacting skilled and seasoned detergent filling machine manufacturer like the Guangzhou Tongchuang Intelligent Packaging Machinery Co., Ltd is always preferable. They produce lab-scale to 2000 pods/min, making high-speed, fully automatic laundry pod-making machines. Consider their machinery for reliable, long-lasting, easy assembly and premium technical support for purchasing and installing laundry pod-making machines. We hope you found value in our post!