One machine for all filters

Compact

Challenge

The number of different filter variants that manufacturers must produce for cigarettes and THP is continuously increasing. For  this reason, they need filter machines that guarantee them maximum flexibility in their daily production schedules. 

Solution

Hauni presents the KDF 6LEAD NWT – the first highly flexible filter maker capable of producing all standard variants of acetate filters in combination with the FLEXPORT family, including the increasingly popular NWA filters.  

For six years, the KDF 6LEAD filter maker has stood for precision and maximum flexibility in the high-speed range of 600 m/min. “In combination with the FLEXPORT product range, customers can use it to produce filters with capsules, granules, threads, flavors and channel ventilation,” explains Enno Köster, Product Consultant. “The missing link, until now, was the ability to produce NWA filters using the flexible filter maker. These are increasingly in demand for cigarettes and THP. We have now solved that problem.”

Combination of proven solutions

To allow NWA filters to be manufactured on the KDF 6LEAD, Hauni began work on connecting its filter maker to the NWT module in early 2020. “The development work was completed very quickly. The two systems were ‘married’ in July  and we immediately put the new version of the machine into operation,” reports Joannis Geroliolios, Project Manager. “As well as performing the mechanical and electrical integration of the NWT module, we created the necessary software interfaces and developed a new transport module for transferring the tow from the AF via the NWT module to the FLEXPORT.” Hauni has also integrated a camera-based ICPS sensor into the new machine design for enhanced quality assurance. This reliably checks each individual filter rod to ensure that the front surface meets the quality criteria.

Smooth start

The effectiveness of this innovative combination of tried and tested solutions became clear during the first runs with the new filter maker. “Although we developed the KDF 6LEAD NWT in record time with our team of colleagues working in various locations, the start-up couldn’t have been smoother,” reports Geroliolios. “The machine reached its target speed on the very first day of production.” And it is not just the team that is satisfied with this new development: In February 2021, a KDF 6LEAD NWT was put into operation for the first time at NextGen Filter in Dubai. “The KDF 6LEAD NWT impressed the customer’s management team even during the successful remote acceptance in October 2020,” says Enno Köster. “They were full of praise for the smooth acceptance process and performance of our new filter maker.”