EP0485542A1

EP0485542A1 - Process and device for setting up a three-cutter machine.

Info

Publication number: EP0485542A1
Application number: EP91907697A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Juergen Hartlage; Horst Patzer; Gerd Peters
Original assignee: AM WOHLENBERG GmbH
Current assignee: WOHLENBERG VERTRIEBS- UND SERVICE GMBH
Priority date: 1990-04-26
Filing date: 1991-04-24
Publication date: 1992-05-20
Anticipated expiration: 2011-04-24
Also published as: JPH04507070A; EP0485542B1; DE4113797A1; WO1991016181A1; DE4113797C2; DE59106764D1; EP0485542B2; ES2081474T3; ATE129455T1

Abstract

A process and device are disclosed for setting up a three-cutter machine by adjusting the supply station, the transfer station, the cutting station and the ejector according to a book format to be cut or in order to carry out maintenance work. During a computer-controlled setting up operation predetermined optimal positions for adjusting cutting parameters or for carrying out maintenance work are purposefully adjusted within one or several machine cycles. Static adjustment steps or maintenance steps are then automatically carried out in these positions, controlled by a computer, and/or adjustment steps to be manually carried out are presented on an electronic display device. In the latter case, these steps are then manually carried out and acknowledged by the control computer. Complementary dynamic adjustement steps can be carried out during operation of the three-cutter machine.

Description

Method and device for setting up a

Dreisehneiders

The invention relates to a method for setting up a three-cutter according to the preamble of claim 1.

A triple cutter is a cutting device used in the bookbinding industry, which comprises three cutting knives, namely a front knife and two side knives. Such three-knife trimmer are fed through a feed station books that are already bound to the back. The task of the three-knife trimmer is to cut the books on the sides and on the front edge in one operation to the final desired format.

Because the local arrangements of knives and others If you have to adjust the cutting parameters according to the format of the books to be cut and the cutting quality desired by the client, it is necessary to set up the three-knife cutter before each job is carried out.

So far, the corresponding work has been carried out manually by the operator, which has resulted in long set-up times in which the three-knife trimmer could not be used.

In recent times there has been a clear increase in printed products and books in small editions. As a result, in practice orders with different book formats have to be processed more and more frequently. The set-up times are therefore of great importance because the corresponding time-intensive work increases compared to the usage time of the three-cutter. A normal setting of the cutting parameters by hand takes up to 30 minutes.

The more often the corresponding devices are required when changing the book format, the more the economy of the three-cutter operation suffers. The invention is based on the object of improving a method for setting up a three-cutter so that the setting of the cutting parameters can be carried out more quickly and precisely.

This object is achieved in a method according to the preamble of claim 1 by the features specified in the characterizing part.

The method according to the invention ensures that at least the frequent and time-intensive setting measures are carried out automatically. It is very helpful that the corresponding positions within one or more machine rotations are approached in a targeted manner so that the corresponding adjustment measures can be carried out quickly.

So far, it was necessary to move to the corresponding positions within the machine circulation phases by jog mode, whereby it depended on the skill and experience of the operator to switch off the drive in time so that the desired position was reached after the drive lag time delayed standstill. If this position was exceeded, there was a new attempt required, in which at least one machine hare had to be waited for again.

Furthermore, a display device shows which manual adjustment measures are currently pending. In this way, even inexperienced personnel can set up the three-knife trimmer in a very short time. In particular, the operator does not need to find out the optimal sequence and the optimal positions in which the corresponding adjustment work is to be carried out by means of his own experiments. In addition, the predetermined program sequence ensures that damage as a result of collisions that could occur if the adjustment measures are incorrect is avoided.

The targeted approach to positions is also made possible, for B. faults occurring during operation, such as the breakout of the cutting edge of a knife, can be remedied quickly. In this case, it would not be necessary to move to all the positions one after the other that would be necessary during setup.

The method further provides that the cutting parameters for a book format on which the three-knife trimmer is to be set up. is entered in a dialog with the control computer. The scope of the positions to be approached and the adjustment measures to be carried out depends on the previously set cutting parameters.

The dialog mode avoids that the setting of individual cutting parameters is inadvertently omitted and could then lead to a high reject rate in the later cutting mode. By taking the adjustment measures as a function of previously set cutting parameters, the adjustment time for follow-up orders with similar formats can sometimes be considerably shortened, since not all cutting parameters have to be changed all the time and part of the adjustment measures can thus be omitted.

Furthermore, it is provided that the automatically carried out adjustment measures are carried out in the sense of regulation with a target value / actual value comparison.

This ensures that the desired dimensions are adhered to with a high degree of precision and thus a high cut quality can also be achieved. Reading or arithmetic errors, which were not always avoidable in the manual setup of the three-knife trimmer previously used, are thereby reliably excluded.

In a practical implementation of the method, the adjustment measures are subdivided into adjustment measures to be carried out automatically on the one hand by the computer and on the other hand to be carried out manually. The computer-controlled setting measures which are to be carried out automatically relate to the dimension setting of the transfer station and the cutting station, and the setting measures which are to be carried out manually relate to the replacement of machine parts and additional dimension settings.

By restricting the adjustment measures to be carried out automatically to dimensional settings, the particularly critical adjustment measures which are subject to large tolerances in a manual execution are automated. However, the additional expenditure on device technology is limited, since the actuators that are inevitably required can be assigned to the corresponding setting elements in a stationary manner. In contrast, the adjustment measures are carried out by hand by exchanging parts or adjustment measures which do not have to adhere to extremely small dimensional tolerances. As a result, there is no additional expenditure on device-technical measures, particularly those to be exchanged during handling Parts would take on a large scale.

In addition, the manually performed setting measures can be monitored by sensors and the next position provided in the set-up sequence can only be approached when a match between the actual value and the target value has been determined.

This further development can possibly still make possible errors, e.g. through an incorrect replacement, incorrect installation or the installation of wrong machine parts.

With a complete set-up procedure, the following adjustment measures are carried out in the following order:

a) Entering the cutting parameters, b) removing the format plate and the ejector, c) changing the cutting table and cutting knives, d) adjusting the side knives and book stop, e) adjusting the book width, f) inserting the format plate, g) adjusting the transfer station, h ) Adjusting the book stop, inserting and adjusting the ejector, i) setting the format plate to the stack height, j) setting the feed station and k) making the fine adjustments.

These are adjustment measures which, in the order described, have minimized the set-up time for a three-knife trimmer from AM Wohlenberg GmbH. In the course of these adjustment measures, the book width, the book height, the head stop, the press die height and the press force of the stamp are automatically set.

The invention further relates to a device for setting up a three-cutter according to the preamble of claim 7.

In this regard, it is based on the task of improving a device of the type mentioned in such a way that the cutting parameters can be set more quickly and more precisely.

This object is achieved in a device according to the preamble of claim 7 by the features specified in the characterizing part. The device according to the invention makes it possible to carry out the adjustment measures required when setting up the three-knife cutter not only manually but also automatically in important, time-intensive areas. However, the prerequisites are also created for the manual setting in order to be able to carry this out in an optimal order and in the most favorable position of the machine circulation phases.

The cutting parameters to be set automatically by the control computer are changed over the actuators, so that no intervention by the operator is necessary here. The display device makes it possible for the operator to be shown the adjustment measures required in the position of the machine circulation in each case, so that no separate operating or setup instructions have to be used for this. The input device allows the control computer to enter the parameters required for a book format to be set up in a simplified form by entering the dimensions and to acknowledge the completion of manual setting measures. The setting parameters resulting from the dimensions of the finished book formats can be determined by the control computer itself, so that the possibility of errors with a separate conversion of the dimensions of the formats into cutting parameters is excluded.

The device also enables the previously set cutting parameters to be stored in the memory of the control computer and for the set-up sequence program to include a comparison program part for a comparison between the entered cutting parameters and the previously set cutting parameters. On the basis of the comparison, the positions to be approached and the adjustment measures to be carried out are carried out as a function of the previously set cutting parameters.

This property of the device makes it possible to limit the setting measures only to those individual measures which are necessary for the changeover to a new book format. If, for example, a follow-up order has a format similar to that of the previous order, some adjustment measures may not be necessary, so that the three-knife cutter can be set up in a much shorter time than if all adjustment measures had to be carried out. In addition, the actuators can be supplemented by actual value transmitters, which are also connected to the control computer. A device sequence program stored in the memory of the control computer then comprises a control program part for carrying out a comparison of the target value and the actual value.

This training has the following advantages. On the one hand, a higher accuracy of the dimensions to be set can be achieved, since the exact position is checked by the actual value transmitter and it is not solely a matter of the linear transmission of the signals supplied to the actuators to the adjustment measures carried out by the actuators. On the other hand, the precision of the actuator can also be kept within reasonable limits, since manufacturing inaccuracies and wear due to wear are compensated for by the actual value transmitters in terms of their dimensional accuracy.

The actuators and the additional actual value transmitters are preferably assigned to such setting members which make the dimensional settings of the transfer station and the cutting station. The automation of the parts of the three-knife trimmer which affect these dimensional settings results in the greatest amount of time saving in the setting-up measures. The adjustment of these organs has hitherto required conversion of the final format dimensions to the cutting parameters to be adjusted and constant checking of the dimensions during adjustment. The actuators required for automation can be integrated relatively easily into the basic design of a three-tailor, so that the additional outlay in terms of device technology and the associated additional costs are low compared to the savings achieved through shorter downtimes.

A further development provides that manual setting devices are equipped with sensors which are connected to the control computer, and that the set-up sequence program comprises a comparison program part which only allows the next position provided in the set-up sequence to be approached when a match between the actual value and the target value is determined becomes.

The sensors could, for example, scan coding marks of the setting elements or the parts to be exchanged, which are then in the control computer with regard to the correct setting be monitored. A replacement that has not been carried out, a faulty installation or the installation of wrong machine parts is thus recognized and can be corrected before the fault leads to damage to parts of the three-knife cutter or to a high reject rate in the books to be processed.

In a practical embodiment of the device, the actuators, which are assigned adjusting elements which are heavily loaded during operation of the three-cutter unit, each comprise servomotors and clamping devices.

These clamping devices have two functions. On the one hand, they eliminate the play of the adjusting elements that would lead to inaccuracies in the cutting operation if the holding forces were only taken over by the servomotors. On the other hand, they allow the servomotors to be dimensioned more easily. If the holding forces required for transport and cutting had to be applied by the servomotors, then particularly robust, expensive designs would have to be used.

By dividing into servomotors and clamping devices, on the other hand, it is possible to keep the expenditure on device technology low, since the setting and clamping tasks can now be carried out by various elements specially adapted to the forces that occur. It is thus possible to use servomotors which only have to be dimensioned for the forces occurring during the adjustment, while the counter-forces to be absorbed during operation can be taken over by the clamping devices.

An additional development provides that the actuator associated with the setting member of the transfer station, which is heavily loaded during operation of the three-cutter, comprises, in addition to a first actuator for the basic setting, a second actuator for fine adjustment that can be carried out during operation. The basic setting made by the first servomotor can be fixed during operation by the clamping device.

For relatively large-scale adjustment processes, the division into a servomotor and a clamping device is therefore retained. An additional servo motor is provided for fine adjustment, but this only has to perform slight measuring strokes. Since this can be achieved with a correspondingly high reduction ratio, in spite of the forces to be absorbed, a low power version is also sufficient here. Further developments and advantageous refinements of the invention result from the claims, the description, the drawing, on the basis of which the method and the device are explained.

The drawing shows:

1 is a schematic representation of the individual stations of a three-cutter,

2 is a front view of the cutting station of the three cutter,

3 shows a section along the section line A-B in FIG. 2,

4 shows a schematic illustration of a transfer station of the three-cutter in a partially sectioned side view,

5 is a block diagram of the control of the three-cutter,

6 - 18 graphical representations of the on the Electronic display device reproduced menu images to illustrate and explain the adjustment measures to be carried out.

The schematic representation of the individual stations of a three-cutter shown in FIG. 1 shows a feed station 10, a transfer station 12, a cutting station 14 and a delivery belt 52.

Bound books go from the feeder station 10 to the transfer station 12, the transport being carried out in the work cycle of the three-cutter by feed brushes 112. The books are aligned in the transfer station 12 in preparation for the subsequent cutting process, so that the printing level is in the desired position after the cutting process.

For this purpose, the transfer station 12 comprises an adjustable head stop 54, a book stop 56 and a tong carriage 58. The tong carriage 58, the construction of which can be seen in FIG. 4, consists of a back stop 60 and a tong 62, which in turn comprises a base plate 64 and a pressure jaw 66 includes. After the books have been aligned, they are transported to the cutting station 14 the book stack is grasped by the tongs 62, slightly raised and brought into the cutting station 14 by means of the tongs carriage 58.

The cutting station 14 comprises a cutting plate 68 with cutting strips, a fixing device 70 and a cutting device 72. The fixing device 70 serves to fix the book stack on the cutting plate 68 during the cutting process so that the stack as a whole or individual pages does not slip. The fixation takes place by means of a dressing 76 attached to a format plate 74, which presses directly onto the book stack. The format plate 74 is fastened to a format plate holder 78 and the latter can in turn be moved in height by a press ram 80. After the dressing 76 has been placed on the book stack, the required pressing force can also be applied by increasing the pressure of the press die 80.

The cutting device 72 used to cut the stack of books to the final format comprises three knives, namely two side knives 82, 84 and a front knife 86. The side knives 82, 84 and the front knife 86 are each located in a knife holder 88, 90, 92, the Side knife holder 88 and 90, as is particularly the case FIGS. 2 and 3 show, in turn, are fastened and guided on a side knife bar 94. Two knife drives provide the movement of the knives 82, 84, 86 required for cutting. In FIG. 1, the cutting lines resulting from the arrangement of the knives 82, 84, 86 are shown in dashed lines in the cutting station 14.

After the cutting process, the books trimmed to the final format are gripped by ejectors 16 and transported to the delivery belt 52.

The front knife 86 cannot be adjusted from the three knives in the cutting station 14, but the width of the two side knives 82, 84 can be adjusted by an actuator 24. The actuator 24 is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. It includes an actuator 44 which drives a threaded spindle 96 which penetrates both side knife holders 88, 90. The threads located on the threaded spindle 96 are designed in opposite directions for the two side knife holders 88, 90, so that the side knife holders 88, 90 diverge in one direction of rotation while they come together in the other direction of rotation.

An actual value transmitter 38 is located on the side of the threaded spindle 96 opposite the servomotor 44 the revolutions of the threaded spindle 96 detected and communicated to the control computer 18. The actuator 24 for the side knives 82, 84 also includes a clamping device 48 which clamps the side knife holders 88, 90 on the side knife bar 94 in normal operation and releases them only during the setting phase by the servomotor 44. The structure of this clamping device results from FIG. 3, namely the clamping device 48 has a plate spring assembly 98, on a threaded bolt 100, which normally compresses the clamping jaws 102, and a hydraulic spreading device 104, which enables the clamping jaws 102 to be adjusted solves by spreading. The height of the book format is determined by adjusting the distance between the side knives 82 and 84.

The book width and the position of the printing level is determined by the settings of the transfer station 12. The adjustable head stop 54 present there, which specifies the vertical position of the pressure mirror, is also adjustable by an actuator 22. This actuator 22 comprises an actuator 106 which can move the head stop 54 horizontally via a threaded spindle 108. Actuator 36 is used with servomotor 106 for feedback of the set position of head stop 54 to the Control computer 18 connected.

The back stop 60 of the tong carriage 58 takes care of the adjustment of the book width and the horizontal position of the pressure mirror. For this purpose, the tong carriage 58 can be automatically adjusted using an actuator 20. The tong carriage 58 also has an actual value transmitter 34 which transmits the basic position to the control computer 18. The actuator 20 includes an actuator 42 and a clamping device 46, which is constructed similarly to the clamping device 48. The clamping device 46 ensures that the play caused by the actuator is eliminated and the dynamic forces occurring during the transport movements of the tong carriage 58 do not burden the servomotor 42.

With the aid of the pliers 62 of the pliers carriage 58, the stack of books located in the transfer station 12 is grasped and raised during transport into the cutting station 14, so that no traces of grinding can occur on the underside and, on the other hand, the alignment made in the transfer station 12 of the book stack on the way to the cutting station 14 is preserved. The book stop 56, which is also available for aligning the stack of books, is pivoted up during transport. In order to be able to take into account that the pliers carriage 58 moved in the direction of the front knife 86 and stopped at the desired distance therefrom performs a slight further deflection due to its inertia, an adjustment of the back stop 60 is also provided during operation. For this purpose, in addition to the first actuator 20 with the servomotor 42 for the basic setting, there is a second actuator 114 with a second servomotor 50 for fine adjustment that can also be carried out during operation. This second servomotor 50 is supplemented by an actual value transmitter 110, which transmits the position to the control computer 18.

The head stop 54 is also adjustable during operation. However, since the holding forces are very low here, an embodiment with a clamping device is not necessary. Rather, the forces can be applied by the single servomotor 106.

The press ram 80 for moving the format plate 74 finally forms an actuator 26, the lifting height and the pressing pressure being able to be transmitted to the control computer 18 by an actual value transmitter 40. Flg. 5 shows a block diagram of the control of the three-cutter. A control computer 18 includes a memory 32 for control and comparison programs and for storing data of the cutting parameters. The control computer is connected to actuators 20, 22, 24, 26, 114 and actual value transmitters 34, 36, 38, 40, 110 and thus enables the setting of cutting parameters via setting elements in the sense of an actual value setpoint control. In addition, a display device 28 and an input device 30 are connected to the control computer 18, which enable the input of cutting parameters and the instruction to carry out adjustment measures in dialog.

When the three-knife trimmer is set up, the required positions are controlled by the control computer 18 in a machine circulation phase and the setting measures are either carried out automatically or the operator is asked via a display device 28 to carry out the corresponding setting measures manually and after that Acknowledge execution via the input device 30. Then the next position is approached and the adjustment measure to be carried out in this position is either carried out automatically again or the operator is again requested to do this via the display device 28. The individual positions are run through one after the other until all adjustment measures have been carried out and a test run can begin in which fine adjustments are still possible. In the case of a complete set-up, the following measures are required, which are described below and to which reference is made on the basis of the displays of the display device shown in FIGS. 6-18. However, the reference numbers listed in the further description refer to the parts of the three-cutter shown in FIGS. 1 to 5.

First, as shown in FIG. 6, the dimensions of the desired book format and some further parameters are entered into the control computer 18 via the input device 30. This can still be carried out during the operation of a job that has just been carried out or also at the start of a new set-up of the three-cutter. At the start of the adjustment measures, the three-knife trimmer is brought into a position that corresponds to a basic position. Enter the dimensions for the book height, the book width and the top trim. Furthermore, parameters regarding the type of feed and the number of products to be cut per stack must be entered. Depending on the type of feed, conversion measures may still be necessary Feed station 10 required.

After the input has been acknowledged, a second position is assumed and illustrated by the screen shown in FIG. 7, in which the format plate 74 can be removed. In order to facilitate this process, the press die 80 automatically moves downwards into an alternating position. Now the format plate 74 is unlocked, removed and also the ejector 16 of the ejector device is removed.

In a third position, represented by FIG. 8, the cutting table with the cutting plate 68 and the knives 82, 84, 86 are changed. First, the press die 80 moves into an upper end position in order to give free access to the parts to be removed. In a first manual step, protective strips are placed on the side knives 82, 84 and the side knives 82, 84 are removed. A protective strip is then placed on the front knife 86 and the front knife 86 removed.

Then the cutting plate 68 is removed, the conversion to the new dimensions and the installation of the corresponding cutting plate 68. Now the front knife 86 is inserted, the protective strip is removed, the side measuring ser 82, 84 used and their protective strips also removed. After pressing an input key of the input device 30 for acknowledgment, automatic adjustment measures are carried out, namely the side knives 82, 84 are set at book height and the head stop 54 is set to trim the head. Furthermore, the book stop 56 is manually set to a large format.

In a fourth position, represented by FIG. 9, which corresponds to the basic position again after a machine revolution, the basic book width setting is carried out by corresponding adjustment of the tong carriage 58.

In a fifth position, illustrated in FIG. 10, the format plate 74 is inserted and locked, the press die 80 automatically moving downward into the change position in order to facilitate this process.

From the sixth position that follows, further settings according to FIG. 11 are made for uncircumcised books. First, in the transfer station 12, the tong carriage 58 is adjusted after the back guide of the feed station 10 has been set flush with the tong carriage 58 and book stacks are placed in the tong carriage 58. The tong carriage 58 is set at an angle, the speaking pliers pressure jaw 66 is selected, screwed on and set to height. Then the feed brush 112 is adjusted and the feed device 10 is adjusted to the raw book format. In addition, the compression force specified on the basis of the format size is automatically set.

In the next, seventh position, illustrated by FIG. 12, the book stop 56 is adjusted, the prepared ejectors 16 are inserted and their width is adjusted.

In an eighth position, according to FIG. 13, with the stack of books inserted, the pressing is set to the stack height.

As the last preparatory measure, the feed station 10 is set in position nine according to FIG. 14. This completes the rough setting. Fine adjustments can be made in the subsequent ongoing operation when test steps are carried out or also in later operation in order to optimize the cutting quality. In this case, production does not have to be interrupted, as was previously necessary, but rather can be continued. For this purpose, the further representations in FIG. 15 show the book width correction, in FIG. 16 the head trim correction, in FIG. 17 the press punch opening correction and in FIG. 18 the press force correction.

Claims

Patent claims

1. A method for setting up a three-cutter by setting the feed station, the transfer station, the cutting station and the ejector to a book format to be trimmed or to carry out maintenance work, characterized in that. that positions previously determined in a computer-controlled set-up sequence, which are optimal for setting cutting parameters or for carrying out maintenance work, are specifically approached within one or more machine circulation phases, and that static adjustment measures or maintenance measures in these positions are carried out automatically in a computer-controlled manner and / or that adjustment measures to be carried out manually are shown via an electronic display device, these are then carried out manually and, after being carried out, the control computer is acknowledged and that additional dynamic adjustment measures are carried out in the running operation of the three-cutter.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the cutting parameters for a book format, on which the three-knife trimmer is to be set up, are entered in a dialog with the control computer and that the scope of the positions to be approached and the setting measures to be carried out as a function of the preceding set cutting parameters.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized gekenn¬. that the automatically carried out setting measures are carried out in the sense of a regulation with a sol value-actual value comparison.

4. The method according to one or more of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a division of the adjustment measures into computer-controlled on the one hand to be carried out automatically and on the other hand manually performed in such a way that the computer-controlled adjustment measures to be carried out automatically determine the dimensional setting of the transfer station and the cutting station and the manual adjustment measures to be carried out involve the exchange of machine parts and concern additional measurement settings.

5. The method according to one or more of claims 1 to 4, characterized. that the manually carried out setting measures are monitored by sensors and that the next position provided in the set-up sequence is only approached when a match between the actual and target values has been determined.

6. The method according to one or more of claims 1 to 5, characterized. that the following adjustment measures are carried out in the following order in a complete set-up procedure:

a) Entering the cutting parameters, b) removing the format plate and the ejector, c) changing the cutting table and knives, d) adjusting the side knives and book stop, e) adjusting the book width, f) inserting the format plate, g) adjusting the transfer station, h ) Adjusting the book stop, inserting and adjusting the ejector, i) adjusting the format plate to the stack height, h) adjusting the feed station, i) Make the fine adjustments.

7. Device for setting up a three-cutter by setting the feed station (10), the transfer station (12), the cutting station (14), and the ejector (16) to a book format to be trimmed or to carry out maintenance work, characterized in that - ne ± that a control computer (18) is provided, which is connected to actuators (20, 22, 24, 26, 114) for controlling the machine circulation and setting cutting parameters and with an electronic display device (28) and an input device (30) and that a setup or maintenance sequence program is stored in a memory (32) of the control computer (18).

8. The device according to claim 7, characterized in that the previously set cutting parameters are stored in the memory (32) of the control computer (18) and that the set-up sequence program comprises a part of the comparison program between the entered cutting parameters and the previously set cutting parameters and the scope of those to be approached Positions and the adjustment measures to be carried out depending on the previously set cutting parameters.

9. The device according to claim 7 or 8, characterized gekenn¬. that in addition to the actuators (20, 22, 24, 26, 114) actual value transmitters (34, 36, 38, 40, 110) are provided, which are also connected to the control computer (18), and that this is stored in the memory (32 ) of the control computer (18) stored device sequence program comprises a control program part for carrying out a setpoint-actual value comparison.

10. The device according to one or more of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that the actuators (20, 22, 24, 26, 114) and the additionally present actual value transmitter (34, 36, 38, 40, 110) ε such setting members are assigned who make the dimensional adjustment of the transfer station (12) and the cutting station (14).

11. The device according to one or more of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that manual setting organs are equipped with sensors which are connected to the control computer (18), and that the facility sequence program comprises a comparison program part which moving to the next position provided in the set-up sequence only permits when an agreement between the actual value and the target value has been determined.

12. The device according to one or more of claims 7 to 11, characterized in that the actuators (20, 24), which are assigned heavily loaded adjusting members during operation of the three-cutter, each servomotors (42, 44) and clamping devices (46, 48) include.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, characterized gekennzeich¬ net. that the setting member of the transfer station (12), which is heavily loaded during operation of the three-knife trimmer, is assigned, in addition to the first actuator (20) for the basic setting, a second actuator (114) for fine adjustment that can also be carried out during operation, and that the first actuator (20 ) basic setting made during operation can be fixed by the clamping device (46).