The thermoforming division of the multinational Amut Group, Comi, has recently designed a special purpose version of the automated ACF820 thermoforming machines, helpful in limiting the spread of Covid-19. The ACF series, featuring die-cutting technology, is a flexible solution to adapt to different kinds of production. The basic model of the machine includes several functions that are normally offered as an option, allowing to process a wide range of materials.

Among the many applications, the automated ACF820 thermoforming machine has been adapted to produce 86,400 non-woven fabric protective face masks per shift. The high-speed technology includes a stacking robot and 12-cavity mould. This robotic stacking system and suction cup gripper hand has proven to be extremely efficient, even using vacuum-permeable material. A new design of the chain conveyor system has made it possible to minimize the formation of dust due to the rubbing of the material on the contrast guides. The integration of the inkjet mask marking system, between the forming and cutting station, has proved to be extremely effective and allows an important reduction in the number of personnel normally employed by doing this operation in sequence.

Amut-Comi advanced process technology has been integrated with Easy, the company latest generation software. Being an interactive software, it favors a very intuitive and user-friendly man-machine interface. Easy is able to understand the data set by the operator and process them, in order to propose optimized solutions, while ensuring the constancy of the process parameters, the management of the cycle functions and the ease in the resolution of the machine shutdown. This high-performance tool guarantees automatic adjustment of the cycle parameters according to the set speed, optimized diagnostics with information for independent troubleshooting, PLC I/O boards monitor display, automatic verification of set parameters by rejecting data not compatible with the predefined cycle, detailed cycle program of all the functions of the automatic cycle, energy saving with optimization of the heating oven in relation to the mold size.