When evaluating equipment, it is important to understand life expectancy. Life expectancy of equipment is dependent on several key factors, including but not limited to, daily usage, preventative maintenance, and daily operation. This goes for equipment in packaging lines as well. The reason why most glue systems get termed “End of Life” is not because they have stopped working and are not fixable, but because they either look to be not fixable or no one knows how to fix them properly. Whether your technicians do not fully understand the equipment, or the equipment has not been maintained and may look bad, that does not mean it is time to EOL your hot glue system. The question of “How long should my melter last?” can vary based on your company’s maintenance schedule.
With correct preventative maintenance and usage of the system, your hot melt tank can last decades. However, that doesn’t always happen. Preventative maintenance is rarely practiced and when it is, the components that are being replaced are often reinstalled incorrectly. Potentially worsening the problem and creating even more issues. That is why it is important to inquire with the OEM or request installation instructions with each component. Educating yourself about the equipment you are running is key to maximum runtime on your packaging line.
That being said, failing to follow installation instructions on equipment does not mean that equipment will not work. It will most likely run for a short time until it then fails again. For example, if you were to install the pump shifter incorrectly, without the fork on the correct placement of the shaft, the shifter will still shift, but it will shorten the pump stroke and over time it will stop up. Same thing goes for installing at the correct In/lbs torque. There are specific instructions that come along with every shifter specifying the exact In/lbs torque requirements, which is usually not followed. The shifter will still run, but the air pressure over time will cause potential issues in the seals and how the shifter shifts.
Regarding hot melt systems components, such as hoses and guns, the number of hours you run the system will help you to determine the EOL for those components. In almost every case the hose and gun will run for years without losing their ability to hold heat. The problem you will run into with guns will be clogging which is also preventable by running and regularly changing in-line filters.
If you think that your hot melt equipment is at its end of life, please call or email a Universal Systems SE technician and we will help you understand what products you need to get back up and running at full capacity.