B&C Technologies IM Series Industrial Ironer - Manual (Page 47)

4.2.4 Taking A Break
Standard practice with all chest ironers is to raise the rolls and turn off the roll vacuum during
breaks. The roll padding wears much faster when turning in an uncovered chest so its important
to raise the rolls when no work is being done. It has been said (and is probably true) that leaving
the rolls down for a 15 minute break produces equivalent roll padding wear as 4 hours of working
time.
4.2.5 Running Small Pieces
For the same reason stated in the previous section it is important to maximize bed coverage when
running small pieces. Feeding small pieces in 2 lanes and never moving them around increases
wear on the padding in the unused areas of the padding, is an extremely inefficient work prac-
tice, causes many other operational problems, and is thus expensive. Doing this will require more
man-hours per piece, more BTU’s per piece, and reduce the life of your roll padding. If small
pieces must be processed and a 2 lane folder is installed, bypassing the folder and having 2 oper-
ators feeding 4 lanes (and moving them around) or 3 operators feeding 6 lanes (and moving them
around) will reduce the cost associated with running small pieces. On the back end use 2 or 3 peo-
ple to stack the goods flat or folded in half. Additionally, reduce the ironer temperature to 330
o F
and reduce the speed accordingly so that the goods spend more time in the ironer. This technique
will increase your throughput, drastically reduce the average BTU’s and man-hours per piece, and
increase the output quality and dryness consistency of difficult multilayer goods like pillow cases.
A smart laundry manager knows that running the ironer faster and hotter does not always mean
more work is being done.
4.2.6 Ironing Speed and Temperature
To determine the appropriate speed and temperature parameters for a given work type, one should
first determine the Moisture Retention of the work being processed. Next is to determine the
weight per square yard (or square meter) of the material being processed (this is described further
in the Moisture retention instructions on page 13). With these two pieces of information it is a
simple matter to consult the Work Rate Chart for a quick answer.
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