31/10/2019

Sealing Solutions for Extreme Applications

Markings withstand extreme conditions in the same way as the marked product.

In tunnel building, it is only the careful sealing of all joints between the concrete segments which prevents the penetration of water and potentially harmful substances. Innovative rubber profiles are also the basis for comfort and operational safety in railway track construction. In applications such as these, the demands placed on product markings are no less strict than those addressing the material used.

The information markings on construction materials initially serve to simplify handling and use on the construction site. But also after many years of use, perhaps under extreme conditions, they provide for reliable traceability. Even the standard inks used in the continuous inkjet coding systems of the alphaJET series can be characterized by their outstanding adhesion properties. They are furthermore complemented with an extensive range of special inks.

Effective solutions

Dätwyler Sealing Technologies produces around 40,000km (25,000 miles) of profiles for building construction and industrial applications each year at the company location in Waltershausen in Central Germany. As a future-oriented company with high quality ambitions, Dätwyler retains a high proportion of in-house manufacturing and can call upon decades of experience and knowhow in the field of extrusion

The more than 180 employees produce not only profiles for use in railway track superstructures, but also seals for concrete tunnel segments, jacketing for submarine cables in the field of offshore wind power and other customer-specific sealing solutions.

Dätwyler Sealing supplies effectivesolutions to protect the products of its diverse industrial customers.

„As the world’s leading supplier of sealing solutions, we are in constant dialogue with our customers to develop simple, cost-effective, but at the same time high-quality products – and that is what we also expect from our own suppliers.”

Elke Eisenträger, Senior Quality Manager

01 Taking customer wishes into account

Where requested by the customer, Dätwyler must mark the profiles to guarantee later product traceability. In the past, such markings were applied with systems from different manufacturers.

One serious disadvantage of these systems, however, was the requirement of a compressed air connection and the high susceptibility to faults, accompanied by an increased need for cleaning around the printing heads.

Operation also varied from one system to the next, increasing the risk of operating errors.

02 Standardisation boosts efficiency

The simple, intuitive operation and logically structured user interface of the alphaJET inkjet system reduce the likelihood of errors considerably. Gradual replacement of the old equipment with alphaJET systems has also supported standardisation, as the key to improved efficiency in production.

Each printer can be deployed flexibly on different production lines, and all the systems use the same inks and solvents.

Thanks to the expert instruction given, system set-up is child’s play for the operators. Texts as well as logos can be changed without ado, even during production.

03 Strategic planning

Customer demands are increasing and cost pressures are growing. The sparing consumption of the alphaJET and the favourable cost of its consumables are important arguments. The MEK-based standard ink for the alphaJET withstands even the stresses associated with submarine cables.

With maintenance contracts to ensure inspections at regular intervals, Dätwyler safeguards its production capabilities and maximises the service life of the inkjet systems.

The alphaJET system is already today suitable for in-process networking. In combination with the modular software suite code-M, operation is not only simplified, but can also be monitored from a centralised location..