DE102022102643B3 - Apparatus for embossing substrates, substrate sheet processing machine and method for embossing substrates - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for embossing substrates, in particular for producing braille, with a processing unit with two processing cylinders that interact with one another and between which the substrate can be inserted, with one of the processing cylinders carrying a male mold and the other processing cylinder carrying a female mold, with the female mold in indentations arranged in a Braille grid and the patrix has a plurality of elevations, each elevation corresponding to an indentation and the processing cylinder carrying the patrix having a positioning aid with at least one window and the patrix in the window is or will be arranged interchangeably. The invention also relates to a machine that processes substrate sheets and a method for embossing substrates, in particular for producing braille.

Description

The invention relates to a device for embossing substrates, a machine processing substrate sheets and a method for embossing substrates according to the features of claims 1, 2, 13 and 14.

Embossing is a common machining process used to refine substrates or create Braille. In the case of embossing, in particular in the case of blind embossing, a specific pattern, motif or writing is produced in the substrate by means of a matrix and a patrix. So-called Braille is applied to various pharmaceutical printed products in order to clearly identify the boxes for blind people and to make the contents of the products legible through this Braille. Braille is applied in flatbed punching machines using the matrix/patrix process. Braille can also be embossed in folder-gluing machines using rotary tools before the folding boxes are actually glued together. However, the speed of the folder-gluer is drastically reduced and the productivity of the system drops.

So far, milled or lasered metal sleeves or plastic sleeves have been pulled onto a cylinder for rotary embossing in rotary punching machines, which contain the desired embossing contour and apply this to the substrate. Depending on the application, a wide variety of materials can be provided with reliefs or embossed contours.

From the DE 103 56 413 A1 is a device for the finishing processing of printed paper or similar substrates by means of a rotary process, in which the substrate can be inserted in the feed direction between a rotating counter-pressure processing roller and a rotating processing roller and undergoes processing as it passes through tool parts that are active in the working gap.

Problems when using the known methods can arise in particular in connection with an inline application in sheetfed offset printing, since the fibers of the substrate can expand differently after the substrate has passed through the printing units, in particular as a result of the action of the dampening water.

For this reason, metal matrices and patrices are used and positioned on magnetic cylinders, especially when carrying out the embossing process in sheet-fed offset machines.

the EP 3 749 523 A2 describes a method and a device for rotary blind embossing of a substrate. The blind embossing tool is attached to a magnetic embossing roller and aligned with a positioning aid.

The well-known matrices and patrices are usually milled in a complex process or injection molded using a mold at high pressure.

These tools are very expensive because the shaping matrix for positioning on the magnetic cylinder has to be provided with a steel sheet and then the height and contour are laboriously milled. In addition, for an embossing set, twice the number of dies is required for the double-sized impression cylinder. This means that the rotary embossing process with individual tools is more expensive than a corresponding set of tools in the flatbed punching area.

the DE 10 2006 006 708 A1 discloses a method for producing a Braille male for Braille embossing profiles, the Braille male having a predetermined number of raised Braille embossing points on its male embossing side. The Braille patrix is positioned on a printing cylinder with the aid of a printing sheet template that has a patrix recess.

US 2015/0 158 263 A1 describes a method for embossing material.

A method for producing plates for processing cylinders in the paper processing industry is known from WO 2021/014 192 A1. The process uses a 3D model of the processing profiles, which are generated from a thermoplastic material in an additive manufacturing process.

The invention is based on the object of creating an improved device for embossing substrates and an improved machine processing substrate sheets and a method for embossing substrates, in particular for producing braille.

The object is achieved according to the invention by the features of claims 1, 2, 13 and 14, respectively.

The invention is based on the idea that the magnetic principle of the creasing mechanism, i. H. magnetic cylinder on top and magnetic back pressure cylinder. A magnetic patrix and matrix should be placed on the cylinder with sufficient accuracy in order to bring Braille embossing into the printed product that corresponds to the height tolerance.

The advantages that can be achieved with the invention are, in particular, that the effort involved in embossing or in the production and positioning of a die required for embossing is reduced.

In particular, the advantage that can be achieved with the invention also consists in the fact that larger matrices and/or patrices can be produced in comparison to production using the conventional injection molding process.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings and are described in more detail below.

• 1 eines schematische Darstellung einer als Fensterblech ausgebildete Positionierhilfe;
• 2 eine schematische Darstellung einer Matrize;
• 3 eines schematische Darstellung einer Positionierhilfe mit einer der Positionierhilfe zugeordneten Patrize;
• 4 eine schematische Darstellung einer Patrize;
• 5 eine schematische Darstellung einer Seitenansicht einer Patrize;
• 6 eine schematische Darstellung einer Bogendruckmaschine mit einer Vorrichtung zum Prägen von Substraten.

Show it:

• 1 a schematic representation of a designed as a window plate positioning aid;
• 2 a schematic representation of a matrix;
• 3 a schematic representation of a positioning aid with a male part associated with the positioning aid;
• 4 a schematic representation of a male part;
• 5 a schematic representation of a side view of a male part;
• 6 a schematic representation of a sheet-fed printing machine with a device for embossing substrates.

The device for embossing substrates, in particular for producing braille, with a processing mechanism 46 with two interacting processing cylinders 96; 97, between which the substrate can be inserted, can be designed as an independent machine and in this case has a feed system for the substrate that is not described in detail.

According to a further embodiment, the device for embossing substrates is part of a machine that processes substrate sheets and is operated inline with the units of the machine that processes substrate sheets. In particular, a sheet-fed printing press is provided as a substrate sheet-processing machine, as is the case, for. Am 6 is shown. The invention is described below using the example of a sheet-fed printing press, in particular an offset sheet-fed printing press, and this description should also apply to other substrate-processing machines and to an embodiment of the device as an independent machine.

The sheet-fed printing press includes a feed system for substrates, also referred to as feeder 07. In particular, sheet-shaped workpieces made of paper, cardboard, cardboard, corrugated cardboard, plastic or the like are understood to be substrates, which are preferably printable or printed. The substrates are present as a stack in the feeder 07 of the sheet-fed printing press and are separated by it and fed via an acceleration system 08 to the aggregates of the sheet-fed printing press downstream of the feeder 07. The sheet-fed printing press comprises at least one, preferably several, printing units 06. The printing units 06 each comprise, in particular, a printing cylinder 41 and a sheet guiding cylinder 42, preferably embodied as a transfer drum 42. A rubber blanket cylinder 43 carrying a rubber blanket is assigned to the printing cylinder 41, and this in turn is assigned a plate cylinder 44 carrying a printing plate. The plate cylinder 44 is in contact with an inking unit 45 and preferably also with a dampening unit. In printing unit 06, the substrate sheet is guided in a manner known per se by the sheet holding systems provided on impression cylinder 41 and sheet guiding cylinder 42, printed in the printing nip formed between impression cylinder 41 and blanket cylinder 43, and fed to the downstream unit of the sheet-fed printing press, e.g. B. in the form of the next printing unit 06 handed over. One or more processing units 46 can be configured downstream of the printing unit(s) 06 or between the printing units 06.

In addition to the units, which are preferably embodied as printing units 06 and processing units 46, the machine that processes substrate sheets, in particular the sheet-fed printing press, can also include other units that can be arranged individually or in groups in any order. One or more coating units can be arranged in addition to the aforementioned units or as an alternative to the printing units 06. A coating unit preferably includes a device for sheet transport, in particular a sheet-guiding cylinder and a coating device, and is designed for partial or full-surface coating of a substrate sheet with an adhesive agent.

The machine that processes substrate sheets, in particular the sheet-fed printing press, preferably also includes one or more coating units, which are preferably installed downstream of printing units 06 or are connected to processing units 46.

A substrate sheet processing machine that is not a sheet-fed press can in terms of structure, the same as the sheet-fed printing press described, reduced by the printing units 06.

Instead of forming two processing units 46, the machine processing the substrate sheet, in particular a sheet-fed printing machine, can also include precisely one processing unit 46.

The structure of a processing unit 46 is also described below as representative of the structure of one or more further processing units 46 .

A processing unit 46 includes two processing cylinders 96; 97, one of which, preferably the lower one, has a sheet holding system. The sheet holding system of the processing cylinder 96 can be designed as a clamping gripper system or as a suction gripper system. The processing cylinders 96; 97 are associated with each other to form a cylinder gap. Between the processing cylinders 96; 97, the substrate is processed, in particular embossed, as it passes through the cylinder gap.

The lower processing cylinder 96 and/or the upper processing cylinder 97 preferably has tool carriers or elevator carriers that act in a positive or non-positive manner. The non-positively acting tool carriers or elevator carriers are designed in particular to act magnetically. Accordingly, the lower processing cylinder 96 and/or the upper processing cylinder 97 can be designed as a magnetic cylinder. In the above context, a magnetic cylinder is to be understood as meaning at least all types of cylinders or drums which exert a magnetic force on adjacent ferromagnetic elements, in particular tools, in the area of their periphery. Such a cylinder can be constructed as a full magnet cylinder or cylinder with embedded magnet segments or as a support cylinder for magnet segments or magnet sheets arranged on it, which applies to the construction as a drum in the analogous sense.

The tool carriers can also be formed by an adhesive connection, in particular a glued connection.

The lower processing cylinder 96 and/or the upper processing cylinder 97 can also be designed as surface-hardened cylinders.

The lower processing cylinder 96 is preferably double-sized, i. H. it transports two substrate sheets per revolution. However, the invention is not limited to a double-sized version of the lower processing cylinder or cylinders 96 . The invention is described below using a single-sized system. This description is also representative of the double-sized system or multi-sized system in analogous correspondence.

The lower processing cylinder 96 can have an outer surface with openings which are connected to air supply means. First and second openings are preferably formed, it being possible for the first openings to be or to be supplied with air independently of the second openings.

The structure of the upper processing cylinder 97 can correspond to that of the lower processing cylinder 96, to which reference is hereby made, with only one of the processing cylinders 96; 97 has a sheet holding system.

The upper processing cylinder 97 can also be designed without openings.

One of the processing cylinders 96; 97 carries a tool in the form of a male die 30 and the other machining cylinder 96; 97 carries a tool in the form of a die 22. Preferably, the lower machining cylinder 96 carries the male die 30 and the upper machining cylinder 97 carries the die 22.

The matrix 22 has indentations 23 arranged in a Braille grid and the patrix 30 has a plurality of elevations 34 . The female part 22 and the male part 30 are arranged and designed in such a way that each elevation 34 in the male part 30 corresponds to a depression 23 in the female part 22 . Not every indentation 23 in the female part 22 corresponds to an elevation 34 in the male part 30. The number of indentations 23 in the female part 22 is preferably always greater than the number of elevations 34 in the male part 30.

The elevations 34 of the patrix 30 preferably correspond to the points of Braille, in particular Braille.

The processing cylinder 96 carrying the male mold 30; 97 has a positioning aid 31 with at least one window 33. The patrix 30 is or will be arranged in the at least one window 33 in an exchangeable manner.

The positioning aid 31 can also be designed with a multiplicity of windows 33, each window 33 being provided for receiving a male part 30.

The positioning aid 31 is preferably designed as a window plate 31 .

The matrix 22 and/or the patrix 30 preferably consist of a ferromagnetic material or have components thereof. You are the processing cylinders 96; 97 assigned interchangeably.

The positioning aid 31 can be a creasing plate and can have creasing lines 32 . In this case, the die 22 is designed in particular as a counter-grooved plate and has counter-grooved lines 32 .

The positioning aid 31 can also be a counter-grooved plate and can have counter-grooved lines 32 . In this case, the die 22 is designed in particular as a creased plate and has creases 32 .

It is also possible to equip the positioning aid 31 with both scoring lines 32 and counter-scoring lines 32 . In this case, the die 22 is also equipped with both scoring lines 32 and counter-scoring lines 32, one scoring line 32 always corresponding to a counter-scoring line 32 in each case.

The window 33 preferably has a coding element 24 which corresponds to a coding element 24 formed on the patrix 30 in such a way that a respective patrix 30 can only be arranged in exactly one position in a respective window 33 . In the simplest case, the coding element 24 can be a bevel or a curve that is only formed at one of the corners of the respective window 33 .

The patrix 30 is preferably produced in an additive manufacturing process. If several male parts 30 are used, at least one male part 30 is produced in an additive manufacturing process.

The additive manufacturing method is preferably a method from the group of stereolithography, laser beam melting, electron beam melting, fused layering, 3D printing or thermal transfer sintering.

In stereolithography, the male part 30 and/or female part 22 is built up in layers by points materializing freely in space. The production is preferably carried out fully automatically from CAD files created on the computer.

In laser melting, in particular in selective laser melting, material in powder form is applied to a carrier in a thin layer. The material is completely remelted locally using laser radiation and forms a solid layer of material after solidification. The solid layer of material is then lowered and powder is applied again. The process is repeated until all layers have been remelted.

In electron beam melting, an electron beam replaces the laser beam. In electron beam melting, a layer of metal powder is alternately applied over the entire surface on a working level, preferably with a squeegee, and melted locally. After cooling, the melt solidifies into a solid layer of metal. The fixed layer of metal is then lowered by one layer thickness and the next layer of powder is applied to the previous one. These steps are repeated many times. In this way, the desired component is generated layer by layer. The process preferably takes place in a vacuum.

In enamel layering, a grid of dots is first applied to a surface. The dots can be created by the liquefaction of a wire-like plastic or wax material by heating. The construction of the component takes place in particular in layers.

In thermal transfer sintering, a heatable head that moves in one plane is used for heating instead of a laser. The head sinters powdered material at a contact point under the action of pressure and heat.

Male die 30 is preferably made from a filament. The filament can be a metallic material or contain a metallic material. In particular, the filament can be ferromagnetic. The filament can also consist of metallic particles and plastic. The metallic particles can in particular be steel particles.

The male mold 30 can be made by printing a backing or directly from the filament without using a backing.

Preferably, the male die 30 comprises on a processing cylinder 96; 97 arrangeable carrier layer, which is not produced in a 3D printing process, and a functional layer connected to the carrier layer and produced in a 3D printing process. The carrier layer and/or the functional layer can consist of a metallic material or contain a metallic material.

The functional layer has elevations 34 and/or depressions 23 .

The patrix 30 can also be produced in an injection molding process.

A method for embossing substrates, in particular for producing dotted writing, is described below. To carry out the method, in particular the device for Embossing substrates or a substrate sheet processing machine, in particular sheet-fed printing machine, are used with a device for embossing substrates.

As part of the method, at least one patrix 30 is produced in an additive manufacturing process for the production of at least two different subjects for each subject. The two different subjects can correspond to different products, in particular printed products, and can be part of a sequence of subjects or printed products that are produced and/or processed, in particular embossed, one after the other.

Such a subject can be embodied, for example, by a medicament packaging with Braille writing describing the contents of the medicament packaging.

To produce at least two different subjects or a sequence of subjects, a respective male part 30 is used for each subject. In other words, at least one special male mold 30 is produced and used for each subject to be produced, which is different from the male molds 30 produced and/or used to produce the other subjects.

One and the same matrix 22 having indentations 23 arranged in a Braille grid is used to produce the at least two different subjects or the sequence of subjects. In other words, a universal matrix 22 is produced and/or used for all subjects to be produced.

Reference List

06

printing unit

07

investor

08

acceleration system

22

die

23

deepening

24

coding element

30

patrix

31

Positioning aid, window sill

32

creasing line, reverse creasing line

33

window

34

elevation

41

pressure cylinder

42

Transfer drum, sheet guiding cylinder

43

blanket cylinder

44

plate cylinder

45

inking

46

processing plant

96

Processing cylinder, lower

97

Processing cylinder, upper

Claims (14)

Device for embossing substrates, in particular for producing braille, with a processing mechanism (46) with two interacting processing cylinders (96; 97) between which the substrate can be inserted, one of the processing cylinders (96; 97) having a male part (30) and the other processing cylinder (96; 97) carries a die (22), the die (22) having indentations (23) arranged in a Braille grid and the male die (30) having a plurality of elevations (34), each elevation (34 ) corresponds to a recess (23) and wherein the processing cylinder (96; 97) carrying the male part (30) has a positioning aid (31) with at least one window (33) and the male part (30) is arranged in the window (33) so that it can be replaced or is, wherein the positioning aid (31) is a creased plate or a counter-grooved plate and has crease lines (32) or counter-grooved lines (32) which od with counter-grooved lines (32) or crease lines (32) as a counter-grooved plate or he die (22) formed on a grooved plate correspond. Device for embossing substrates, in particular for producing braille, with a processing mechanism (46) with two interacting processing cylinders (96; 97) between which the substrate can be inserted, one of the processing cylinders (96; 97) having a male part (30) and the other processing cylinder (96; 97) carries a die (22), the die (22) having indentations (23) arranged in a Braille grid and the male die (30) having a plurality of elevations (34), each elevation (34 ) corresponds to a recess (23) and wherein the processing cylinder (96; 97) carrying the male part (30) has a positioning aid (31) with at least one window (33) and the male part (30) is arranged in the window (33) so that it can be replaced or is, wherein the window (33) has a coding element (24) which corresponds to a coding element (24) formed on the male part (30) in such a way that a respective male part (30) in a respective window r (33) can only be arranged in exactly one position. device after claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the positioning aid (31) is a window plate (31). device after claim 1 , 2 or 3 , characterized in that a processing cylinder (96; 97) has a sheet holding system for fixing the front edges of the sheet-like substrate and the matrix (22) or the male mold (30) is assigned to the processing cylinder (96; 97) having the sheet holding system in an exchangeable manner. device after claim 1 , 2 , 3 or 4 , characterized in that at least one of the processing cylinders (96; 97) is designed as a magnetic cylinder. device after claim 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 or 5 , characterized in that the male part (30) is produced in an additive manufacturing process. device after claim 6 , characterized in that the additive manufacturing method is a method from the group of stereolithography, laser beam melting, electron beam melting, fused layering, 3D printing or thermal transfer sintering. device after claim 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 or 7 , characterized in that the female part (22) and/or the male part (30) is or will be made of a filament. device after claim 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 or 8th , characterized in that one or the filament is a metallic material or contains a metallic material. device after claim 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8th or 9 , characterized in that the patrix (30) has a carrier layer which can be arranged on a processing cylinder (96; 97) and which is not produced using a 3D printing process, and a functional layer connected to the carrier layer and produced using a 3D printing process comprises, wherein the functional layer has elevations (34) and / or depressions (23). device after claim 10 , characterized in that the functional layer and / or the carrier layer is a metallic material or contains a metallic material. device after claim 1 , 2 , 3 or 4 , characterized in that the male part (30) is produced in an injection molding process. Machine processing substrate sheets, in particular sheet-fed printing machine, with a device for embossing substrates claim 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8th , 9 , 10 , 11 or 12 . Process for embossing substrates to produce braille using an apparatus according to any one of Claims 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8th , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 or 13 , wherein for the production of at least two different subjects for each subject at least one patrix (30) is produced in an additive manufacturing process and used for the production of the respective subject and for the production of all subjects one and the same depressions (23) arranged in a Braille grid Die (22) is used.

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