Case Study: Photomec
Established in 1946, Photomec is the international market leader in the design and manufacture of film processing systems, film cleaners, film scanners and much more. The company provides a comprehensive range of products for all professional motion picture laboratory needs as well as post production facilities.
Since 1975 it has been owned and run by the same family and continues to hold its reputation for innovative design and proven reliability of its machines.
The P200 film cleaner is used for cleaning any format of film prior to scanning; this includes new film after development or of old films that are being digitised in film archives. This machine is exclusive to Photomec as they are the only company in the world producing them.
The problem
Photomec use a dosing pump and clean compressed air through atomisation nozzles to spray a cleaning solvent onto the film. The solvent rate is adjustable, pumped using extremely accurate metering pumps which are electronically controlled. In this case, the volume of solution dosed onto the film needs to be accurate, not just once but time and time again to ensure the films are cleaned correctly so the final motion picture image quality is not affected.
Previously, they were using a close competitor’s pumps, but after struggling with their customer service for a while, they decided it was time for a change. As part of their continuous improvement programme on the film cleaner, Photomec looked for a new pump partner who could provide better service and had a reputation for quick replies – Verder were the perfect choice.
The solution
Our Verderflex OEM MiniLoad pump was yet again the perfect choice - an excellent option where precision and reliability are key. As this pump is self-priming so the solvent is not contaminated with messy lubricants, again ensuring the film is spotlessly clean.
This pump is well suited to this application due to the varying flow capabilities, allowing the solvent to be dosed at a volume suited to each particular film. The innovative design of fixed tube clamps makes maintenance and cleaning simple and easy, with tube changes taking just a few seconds. Because the process is quick and is not a daunting task to be avoided, this again contributes to maintaining cleanliness as tubes are able to be changed by anyone.
The technical director of Photomec, David Wright, said “We switched to Verder pumps in 2020 and already have machines throughout the world running daily with no issues. Their response to our initial enquiry was first class and the transition to using them was seamless.”
The MiniLoad pump can be used in a wide variety of industries and is especially suited to dosing applications, making it extremely popular.
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