machine upgrades for your J&L

Our primary goal at CMR is to keep your J&L running and in top shape so that it can run its most efficent. J&L machines are well known for their quality and durability. But parts, especially electronics go obsolete and replacement parts get harder and harder to source. At CMR we are cognizant of that and so to respond to these issues, we have developed and are developing upgrades for your machines to eliminate those obsolete parts. Also as technology improves, we have also developed upgrades that take advantage of improving technology, and provides features that your operators need to make their jobs easier.

machine upgrades by machine type

1998 & prior
These machines usually have Power-Tec drives, with just a few having Allen Bradley drives. They usually only have two small key pads to change the speeds of the machine.
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1998 to 2002
These machines possess Indramat drives, and have a PC computer with two touchscreens for changing settings. Some of the touchscreens are in swing arm boxes.
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2003 to 2007
These machines also have Indramat drives and a computer with two touchscreens. The major difference is that it also has what is called a Power PC in the same panel as the computer.
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for all machines
These upgrades are for any J&L SFG.
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Upgrades for J&L's prior to 1998 (power tec J&L)

The upgrades are for machines that have Power-Tec Brushless DC motors and drives. They also do not possess a PC computer nor touchscreens. We refer to these internally as Power-Tec Machines. These upgrades can be used also for the few J&L machines built prior to 1998 that had Allen-Bradley drives.
Drives & motors upgrade
This upgrade consists of replacing all the carriage or belt drives and motors in the machine. All belt drives and motors are replaced with easy to source vector AC drives and motors. The advantage of using these types of drives and motors is that they are easy for maintenance to work with, and are relatively inexpensive to replace. This job is normally done in two trips so that downtime on the machine is minimized. Customers can request to do the job in one trip, but please expect machine downtime during the work week. The first trip usually takes three days, and the second one about two days. A training period is only needed after the first trip to familiarize the operators with the differences in controls. This upgrade includes the PLC and Speed Control Upgrades

backfold controls upgrade

For those machines that still possess the old vacuum clutch system for their backfold system, we have developed a controls upgrade that replaces the existing backfold panel, the two photoeyes, and encoders with more modern technology. The advantages of this upgrade are:
  • Replaces all obsolete components in this system.
  • Replaces the thumbwheels with a touchscreen.
  • The settings now make sense! The operator will now setup the system with actual measured values, instead of just guessing.
  • The way the system works, it increases the life expectancy of the backfold vacuum clutches.
Machine PLC's Upgrade
This upgrade replaces the two existing obsolete PLC's (one found in the Feeder Module and the other found in the Compression (Stacker) Module and replaces them with a modern Siemens PLC. This one PLC replaces both, and simplifies the system. This upgrade includes the Speed Control Upgrade.
speed control upgrade
This upgrade replaces the following obsolete parts:
  • Two BCD speed control cards (some machines have three or four depending upon the options it was sold with)
  • Two D-Tams speed control key pads located in the Feeder (1000) Module and Delivery (5000) Module
  • The Dynapar speed control module in the Compression (6000) module.
And replaces these with one Allen-Bradley PLC that sends the speeds to the drives, and two touchscreens that replace the D-Tam locations that simplify the changing of speeds, has ratio adjustments, and all speeds including the Compression module's belts speed and feed roll speed.

Upgrades for J&L's between 1998 & 2002 (i-series machines)

These upgrades are for machines that have Indramat servo motors and drives. They also possess a PC computer, and touchscreens located in the 2000 and 5000 Modules. On some of the machines they are attached to swing arms. The I/O system is Lutze. We refer to these internally as I-series Machines.
Drives AND CONTROLS upgrade!
With this upgrade all the current Indramat drives will be replaced with a much easier system that does away with the very expensive servo drives and replaces them with a more versatile drive that is less expensive to replace and provides you with the flexibility of using motors from different manufacturers including vector ac motors. This upgrade will replace:
  • All Indramat Drives in the J&L SFG
  • All obsolete and impossible to source Lutze I/O racks with a new I/O system
  • Do away with the PC control system and replace it with a more stable PLC system.
  • Both existing touchscreens will be replaced
  • Backfold system (and if present Squaring Device) will be upgraded.
Our intent is to keep the existing motors, which have been extremely good over the life of the machine, and develop an upgrade later that will replace those motors and the gear boxes.
SERVO BACKFOLD UPGRADE
The Servo Backfold Systems on this machine are very old and outdated, and are no longer as dependable as they once were. Also replacing the individual parts for this system can get very expensive very quick and that is replacing them with refurbished parts. We at CMR have come up with a system to replace the existing one with quite a few improvements. Some of the improvements are:
  • New and improved technology to make setting up much easier by keeping track of the belt location. In other words the operators will be able to jog and stop the machine during the folding process, allowing operators a greater ability to troubleshoot their setups.
  • The Controls (HMI) will be taking out of the computer (PC), and thus providing the customer two additional CLC Cards (over $10,000 ea for a refurbished one) for spares.
  • Be able to adjust the speed of the hook in relation to the belt speed, which will allow for greater flexibility in folding very stiff flaps.
lutze consolidation Upgrade
Currently in this machine there are in each section Lutze I/O modules that is tied into the same fiber optic loop as the servo drives; that are impossible to source if one fails. The purpose of the upgrade primarily is to ruduce the needed number from seven (some machines only have six) to three. A secondary purpose of this upgrade is to remove some movable features of the machine out of the Lutze I/O system, that in certain conditions will start moving on their own especially in the Compression (6000) module, creating a safety hazard to operators and potential damage to the machine. This upgrade does the following:
  • Removes three or four of the Lutze I/O racks out of the machine, which provides the customer with much needed spares in case one of the cards in that system fails.
  • By removing the three or four I/O racks the fiber optic system becomes more stable, and the machine will not experience nearly as many fiber optic communication failures, i.e. 409 Sercos Disconnect or 412 No drives found on ring errors.
  • By removing the movable systems out of the I/O system improves the overall safety of the machine, and also eliminates the possibility of damaging parts due to the unintentional movements. Features affected by the re-wiring are primarily found in the Compression Module, including Entry Raise/Lower, Anvil Plate Raise/Lower and Nip Roll Raise/Lower.

Upgrades for J&L's between 2003 & 2007 (new gen machines)

The upgrades are for machines that have Indramat servo motors and drives. They also possess a PC computer, and touchscreens located in the 2000 and 5000 Modules. What separates these machines from the prior generation (I Series J&L) is that they have a PLC system that interfaces between the PC computer and the drives, known as a Power-PC. The I/O system is Pheonix. We refer to these internally as New Gen Machines.
Drives upgrade UPCOMING!
We are currently working on an upgrade for this machine that will replace the existing obsolete items:
  • All Indramat Drives in the J&L SFG
  • All Pheonix I/O racks with a new I/O system
  • Do away with the PC control system and replace it with a more stable PLC system.
  • Both existing touchscreens will be replaced
  • Backfold system (and if present Squaring Device) will be upgraded.
Our intent is to keep the existing motors, which have been extremely good over the life of the machine, and develop an upgrade later that will replace those motors and the gear boxes.

our plan is to be able to offer this by the end of the second quarter after we finish our r&D!

Upgrades for all J&L Specialty folder gluers

Glue system controls upgrade
CMR created a package to replace the controls of any existing Valco glue system that is centered around the Valco MCP-8 Controller. What this entails is that technicians will remove the existing controller, and install the new one. All the controls will be replaced but the plumbing, glue guns and pump will remain. What will be replaced is the following:
  • The existing glue controller with an MCP-8 Glue Controller
  • The solenoid valves for all existing glue guns and ink spray gun
  • Both photoeye scanners at the glue station and the photoeye scanner for the ink spray system
  • All valve and scanner cables
  • The encoder and encoder cable
  • The glue pump control and cable
Light Curtain Upgrade
We also sell a light curtain upgrade package, in which the light curtain one side or both sides can be replaced with a more modern style light curtain. We can either install it for you, or we can provide you electrical prints for proper installation. What is included in the upgrade package is the following:
  • The light curtain beams
  • Mounting parts and adapter plates
  • E-stop safety relay
  • Reset button for the light curtain
  • Cables necessary for the installation
  • Electrical prints specific to your machine

tooling upgrades

Below is a sample of our tooling upgrades.
front fold finger
This Front Fold Finger has been designed to make it easier to replace the tension spring, reduce impact forces on the front fold finger, which will increase its life, reduce the weight for easier installation. We also have a below paper line model for Z-folds.
universal knuckle
This knuckle is designed to clamp onto round bars anywhere from .5 to .75 inches in diameter. All the operator has to do is adjust adjustment bolt to compensate for the difference in thickness. What this knuckle will do is eliminate the need for multiple style knucles.
DROP IN hold down SKIS
This ski is an improvement because they are lighter and easier to install, and their is no gap between the plastic nose and the ski, like on the older style, which would snag the folded flap and flip it back. So it is much easier to setup.
drop in support skis
This design is also a great improvement over the original model. It is lighter and easier to install and move. It is also a simplier design and thus much more inexpensive than the orginal. This design comes in a standard length (about 7.5 ft) and a fold section length (about 17 ft). Can also sell an adapter clamp for the old style skis.
wooden plows
Our wooden plows are thicker than the originals and the window for backfolding diagonals is longer. We also removed the medal tail and extend the plow itself, making the transition between the plow and the hold down skis cleaner and smoother. This plow can also fold a wider range of tray depths (from 1-3/4 to 7 inches).
final fold knuckle
This knuckle is designed to replace all knuckle configurations in the final fold section of the J&L. This design is a one bolt adjustment, speeding up setup times in this section. It also minimizes injuries by eliminating the square knuckle buster design, while maintaining strong clamping of the bars in this section.
5000 Squaring device paddles
These paddles are intended to replace the existing paddles on the machine. The primary advantage of these paddles is that the paddle part can be removed and replaced without replacing the whole assy. So when the operator bends one of the paddles or wants to cut down the size of the paddle for smaller spaces, it is much easier to do so.
crush roller assy
The purpose of this tooling is to crush the material of both the manufacturer's joint and the opposite panel where the box is joined to allow the boxes to stack better when palletized. These assemblies are easier to manipulate, by using one allen key to raise and lower the height. They are normally used in pairs.
Also included in our tooling are:
  • A couple of different Alligator nose Upgrades. One is a flat ski to prevent damage of folded flaps especially with autolock bottoms. Another that looks similar to the existing Alligator Nose, but can be broke down to a shorter piece for small autolock designs.
  • Prebreak/Prefold Tooling Assy, which can be used for both operations fairly easy.
  • Crushless roller assy's to hold flaps down for folding produce trays.
  • A wide range of ski's, mounting bars, and clamps for standard gluing operations.
  • We also develop custom tooling to meet the customer's needs to for specific designs.
500 Flournoy Lucas Road Building 4 Shreveport, LA 71106
318-754-4779
parts@cmrllc.us
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