CZ304919B6 - Arrangement of flexographic printing machine with central counter-pressure cylinder - Google Patents

Abstract

The arrangement of a flexographic printing machine with a central counter-pressure cylinder according to the present invention comprises at least an unwinding unit (1), a printing unit (2), a drying unit (3), a cooling unit (4) and a winding unit (5). Specifically, the arrangement of the flexographic printing machine consists of a machine printing section (A) with units immediately associated with printing arranged therein, comprising the printing unit (2), being followed up with the a drying unit (3) and the cooling unit (4), and the machine end section (B), which comprises at least the unwinding unit (1) and the winding unit (5), whereby the machine printing section (A) is spatially separated from the machine end section (B).

Description

Arrangement of flexographic printing machine with central back pressure roller

Technical field

The invention relates to an arrangement of a flexographic printing machine with a central counterpressure cylinder, which comprises at least an unwinding unit, a printing unit, a drying unit, a cooling unit and a winding unit, more particularly the mutual arrangement of the individual units of the flexographic printing machine.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Flexographic printing machines with a central back-pressure roller are used for printing variable widths of materials using traditional alcohol and water colors. These machines are used for printing rolls of paper, foil and laminate. From the functional point of view, flexographic printing machines consist of at least the following units: unwinding unit for unwinding printed material, printing unit for printing material, drying unit for drying the printing material, cooling unit for cooling the material after drying, and a winding unit for winding the printed material. At present, all flexographic printing machines equipped with a central cylinder are known and used as shown in Fig. 1. This known flexographic printing arrangement takes into account the shortest possible material path through the machine and of course respects the condition that the printed material must not come to contact with the printed side with the guide roller, which would damage the printed motif. In such an arrangement, the unwinding unit is positioned as close as possible to the printing unit, with the last inking unit being followed by a drying unit and a cooling unit. Some other units, such as cutting, varnishing, laminating, etc., are sometimes arranged in front of the end-spooled winding unit. and essentially requires a large part of the machine to be rebuilt. In such a case, the requirement for coating prior to printing is usually solved by the addition of an operation, i. realized on another machine before the actual printing. The disadvantage of such a technology is that it increases time and increases the cost of manufacturing the final product-wrapper.

Said standard arrangement of flexographic printing machine units has the disadvantages which are described in more detail in the following points, which relate in particular to worse machine serviceability, limited variability, and in some cases lead to larger machine dimensions;

• machine operator's workspace - with the unwinding unit positioned as close as possible to the printing unit, the material roll restricts, but usually completely prevents, the machine operator from accessing a portion of the printing unit. This disadvantage has been eliminated, for example, with Fischer & Krecke machines (today BOBST) by turning the unwinding unit and feeding the rolls of material from the winding unit, the so-called face-to-face arrangement.

• access to the belt path - the material to be processed, in the above-described standard arrangement of flexographic printing unit units, is guided above the unwinding unit towards the printing unit. In this section, the operator of the machine has a complicated approach, in particular when the material is drawn through the machine, e.g. This disadvantage is compensated by the use of a system for mechanically stretching the material through the machine.

• variability of the machine - the location of the unwinding unit implies that any change in the type, and hence the size of this unit usually affects the location of the surrounding machine parts. At least you need to lengthen or shorten the machine frames and move other units. In some cases, it is necessary to place an additional material treatment unit between the unwinding unit and the printing unit before printing (e.g., coating for better adhesion of the inks to the hazardous material), which may, depending on the size of the particular unit , require the conversion of a large part of the flexographic printing machine.

• height of the machine - components of flexographic printing machines, which due to their function have to be placed in the material path between the unwinding unit and the printing unit (see Fig. 1), eg belt side adjustment system before printing, coronation unit, etc. the arrangement of units positioned above the unwinding unit, which may cause a higher machine height than would be necessary with another arrangement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention solves the arrangement of a flexographic printing machine with a central back-pressure roller, which would make it easier to use and to increase its variability.

The above drawbacks are overcome and this object is achieved by providing a flexographic printing machine with a central back-pressure cylinder comprising at least a unwinding unit, a printing unit, a drying unit, a cooling unit and a winding unit, which consists of a printing part of the machine in which there are arranged units directly related to the printing, comprising a printing unit and a downstream drying unit and a cooling unit, and an end portion of the machine comprising at least a unwinding unit and a winding unit, the printing portion of the machine being spatially separated from the end portion of the machine.

The unwinding and winding units can be designed, for example, as carousel. The loading of the rolls of the printed material can be lateral or frontal.

Advantageously, in the arrangement of the units according to the new concept, the flexographic printing machine with the central counterpressure roller can be close to its variability and serviceability to the "inline" machine arrangement of the units, which can be achieved by placing the individual flexographic printing machine units in the end part .

Removing units of which type and design can often vary from the printing portion of the machine allows the machine to be tall and long only as required by its particular configuration. This brings the possibility to install the machine in premises (production halls) where it would otherwise not be possible.

Here, the material web path by the machine can be designed to be as easily and quickly accessible to the operator as possible without the need for ladders, platforms and other means.

By dividing the machine into the above two parts, the working areas for the machine operator are separated. The working space required to feed and balance the rolls of material to and from the machine at the end portion does not interfere with the space required to operate the printing portion of the machine in which the printing unit is inserted. This means that the printing operations - preparation, setup, etc., are not limited by the material operations - roll change. Both operations can therefore be carried out simultaneously, leading to increased machine efficiency.

The technical solution described in this application makes it possible to use different combinations of unwinding and winding units, adding additional units to the belt path between these units and the printing unit. Thus, the end portion may further comprise units for further processing of the printed material, such as units for post-unwinding or before winding, such as an intaglio or flexo printing unit, etc. In addition, it is easy to make these changes additionally throughout the life of the machine.

Preferably, the printing portion and the end portion are functionally separated. In this case, the individual functional parts of the machine, ie the units used in the flexographic printing machine with the central back-pressure cylinder, must be designed to meet the condition that they can be placed in any

-2GB 304919 B6 combined with other units. This means that the individual units must be independent of each other mechanically, electrically, pneumatically, etc. This is a prerequisite for the units to be freely combined or replaced in individual flexographic printing machine assemblies. Practically this means that each unit, if required by its function, has its own control (PLC), its own electrical installation, its own pneumatic circuits, etc.

The units are mechanically interconnected in a known manner by means of frames, which are also used for guide rollers and material guidance between the units. The vertical frames in the end of the machine are preferably the same for all variants of the unwinding and winding units. Thus, only the horizontal frame changes when the relative positions of the unwinding and winding units are changed, for example because of their execution.

From the control point of view, it is advantageous if the printing part of the machine is controlled by one PLC and the units in the end part of the machine each have their own PLC. Thus, the end portion and the printing portion of the machine are completely independent of each other by the steering.

Functional unit replacement with another unit with the same basic function, but in a different embodiment, most often occurs in unwinding and winding units, in which the unit design can vary considerably, ranging from a single roll to a non-stop roll changer. This machine concept makes it easy to interchange the printing part of the machine.

In the machine according to the new concept, the design of the printing part is not affected by the unwinding unit or the units that are arranged between the unwinding unit and the printing unit. The height and length of the printing part of the machine is determined only by the arrangement of the inking units in the printing unit and the belt path in the drying unit. The web path in the printing portion may advantageously be adapted for easy and quick access to the printed material.

The new machine concept is designed to meet all of the above requirements. The assumption is that all changes to the configuration of the machine units will take place at the end of the machine and the printing section will not be affected by these changes.

The variability of the machine according to the new concept enables to implement in the flexo printing machine further technologies, which otherwise have to be realized on other machines in further operations, which leads to increased production efficiency. Specifically, it may be the application of primer (primer), the application of the base color areas of the lively materials, the application of varnishes (increasing the abrasion resistance of the printing, increasing the gloss of the printing, improving the barrier of the packaging, ...), applying adhesives (coldseal) , rotary die cut, etc.

The new machine concept is particularly suitable for machines designed for maximum efficiency in short orders. Not only does it allow you to configure the machine exactly to your needs, it also improves the ergonomics and speed of machine operation.

The machine according to the new concept is also ready for possible future changes of the unit configuration according to the trends in the packaging production.

Clarification of drawings

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown in the drawings, in which Fig. 1 shows a known embodiment of a flexographic printing machine with a central counterpressure cylinder with standard unit arrangement. Fig. 2 shows a new concept of organizing units of a flexographic printing machine with central counterpressure cylinder. 4a to 4e illustrate possible embodiments of a flexographic printing machine with a central counterpressure roll using different types of unwinding and winding units within the end portion.

-3GB 304919 B6

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The principle of the arrangement of flexographic printing unit units with a back-pressure central cylinder within the meaning of the present invention will be further elucidated, but not limited in the following examples.

The basic embodiment of a flexographic printing machine with a central back-pressure cylinder constructed according to this new concept consists of two parts, as shown in FIG. 2. The first is the printing part A of the machine, which comprises a printing unit 2, drying unit 3 and cooling unit 4. The part A of the machine remains the same for all variants of the flexographic printing machine, ie it is not influenced in any way by the design and arrangement of the other units and can be replaced as a whole by another printing part Al with different parameters (eg different printing length etc.). The second part of the machine consists of the end portion B, which comprises a unwinding unit 1 and a winding unit 5 or possibly other desired units, such as a cutting unit, a pre-printing unit, a printing varnishing unit, a reprinting unit, etc. it is proposed here that a change in the type or design of any unit has the least effect on the other units included in the individual parts of the flexographic printing machine.

An exemplary combination of a flexo printing machine with a central cylinder with incorporated coating units is shown in Fig. 3. The flexo printing machine in this embodiment has a printing part A of the machine that includes printing unit 2, drying unit 3 and machine cooling unit 4 identical to the embodiment of the flexographic printing machine described. in basic design. The second part of the machine consists of the end part B, in which an intaglio printing unit 8 for the pre-printing coating application and an intaglio printing unit 9, which is intended, for example, to print the printing, are inserted in front of the unwinding unit and winding unit 5. It is obvious that the above-mentioned units need not only be gravure printing, but can also be replaced by flexo printing units, or other coating or reprinting technology, which the new machine concept allows.

Other variant configurations of the flexographic printing machine with a central counterpressure cylinder include various types of unwinding units and winding units 5, including combinations thereof, are shown in Figures 4a to 4e, the individual arrangement variants being shown in Figures 4a to 4e and described below.

Fig. 4a shows a flexographic printing machine comprising a winding unit 5 and a winding unit 1 in a shaftless design for a single roll. In this arrangement, the rolls of material are fed into the unit as well as unwinding by means of a roll lift carriage. In the machine, the roll is clamped using cones. The material passes first through the printing unit 2, then through the drying unit 3 and then through the cooling unit 4. At the end of the machine, the material is rewound on a roll fixed by cones in the winding unit 5. The roll of the wound material is removed from the machine again by means of a lift truck.

Fig. 4b shows a flexographic printing machine comprising a shaft-free floating unit for one roll and a carousel winding unit 51 for two rolls in a non-stop version with lateral roll balancing. In this arrangement, the rolls of material are loaded into the unwinding unit 1 by means of a roll lift carriage. In the machine, the roll is clamped using cones. The material passes first through the printing unit 2, then through the drying unit 3 and then through the cooling unit 4. At the end of the machine, the material is rewound on a roll clamped to the flying clamping shaft in the carousel winding unit 51. The carousel unit 51 can be non-stop, i.e., the replacement of the coiled rolls takes place without stopping the machine. The roll is removed from the winding carriage unit 51 by means of a built-in lifting platform.

Fig. 4c shows a flexographic printing machine comprising a carousel winding unit 51 and a carousel unwinding unit 11 for two rolls in non-stop execution with lateral loading or balancing rolls. In this arrangement, the rolls of material are loaded into the carousel unit JT unwinding by means of a built-in lifting platform. The roll is clamped to the flying clamping shaft. The unrolling carousel unit 11 can again be non-stop, that is to say the unrolled rolls can be replaced without stopping the machine. In the machine, the material passes first through the printing unit 2, then through the drying unit 3 and then through the cooling unit 4. At the end of the machine, the material is rewound on a roll clamped to a flying clamping shaft in the carousel winding unit 51. The winding carousel unit 51 can again be non-stop. The roll is removed from the winding unit 51 by means of a built-in lifting platform.

Fig. 4d shows a flexographic printing machine comprising a winding unit 1 in a shaftless design for a single roll and a carousel winding unit 52 for two rolls in a non-stop design. In this arrangement, the rolls of material are loaded into the unwinding unit 1 in a shaftless design by means of a roll lift carriage. In the machine, the roll is clamped using cones. The material passes first through the printing unit 2, then through the drying unit 3 and then through the cooling unit 4. At the end of the machine, the material is rewound onto a roll clamped on an intermediate clamping shaft in the carousel winding unit 52. The winding carousel unit 52 may be non-stop, i.e., the replacement of the wound rolls takes place without stopping the machine. The roll is also removed from the winding unit 52 with the clamping shaft by means of a built-in lifting device or by means of a lifting carriage.

Fig. 4e shows a flexographic printing machine comprising a carousel unwinding unit 12 and a carousel winding unit 52 for two non-stop rolls. In this arrangement, the rolls of material with the clamping shaft inserted are inserted into the carousel unwinding unit 12 by means of a built-in lifting device or by means of a lifting carriage. The carousel unwinding unit 12 may be non-stop, i.e., the replacement of the unwound rolls takes place without stopping the machine. In the machine, the material passes first through the printing unit 2, then through the drying unit 3 and then through the cooling unit 4. At the end of the machine, the material is rewound onto a roll clamped on an intermediate clamping shaft in the carousel winding unit 52. The winding carousel unit 52 may be non-stop. The roll is also removed from the carousel unit 52 with the clamping shaft by means of a built-in lifting platform or by means of a lifting carriage.

Even in the variants described above, the possibility of incorporating a unit for unwinding, or before the winding unit 5, a coating unit for applying various printing technologies, for example a flexographic unit or a gravure unit 8 and 9, is envisaged.

Industrial applicability

Flexographic printing machines with back-pressure central cylinder are used mainly for printing flexible materials (PE, PP, BOPP, PET, etc.). In addition, it is also possible to print on paper, aluminum foils, laminates, etc. Due to their relatively wide range of applications, there is a requirement for different configurations of unwinding, winding units and possibly also for additional material treatment units before or after printing.

Claims (7)

PATENT CLAIMS An arrangement of a flexographic printing machine with a central counterpressure cylinder, comprising at least an unwinding unit, a printing unit, a drying unit, a cooling unit and a winding unit, characterized in that it consists of a printing part (A) of the machine in which printing-related units are arranged. comprising a printing unit (2) and a subsequent drying unit (3) and a cooling unit (4), and a machine end (B) comprising at least a unwinding unit (1) and a winding unit (5), the printing portion ( A) the machine is spatially separated from the end portion (B) of the machine. -5GB 304919 B6 2. The flexographic printing machine having a central counterpressure cylinder according to claim 1, characterized in that it has a printing part (A) and an end part (B) functionally separated. The flexographic printing machine arrangement with a central counterpressure roller according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the individual units of the printing part (A) and / or the end part (B) are interconnected by means of frames. A flexographic printing machine with a central counter-pressure roller according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the printing part (A) of the machine remains the same for all machine variants. An arrangement of a flexographic printing machine with a central counter-pressure roller according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the end portion (B) further comprises units for further processing of the printed material. The arrangement of a flexographic printing machine with a central counterpressure roller according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the units in the end portion (B) of the machine are independent of each other and can be freely combined. A flexographic printing machine with a central back-pressure roller according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the individual machine units are arranged in series.