Visitors to our halls 1 and 2 at Drupa could not help but be
impressed by the feast Heidelberg offered of finishing equipment
all running live jobs at maximum output.
The show stopping new KH82 fully automated folder was
constantly surrounded by visitors standing up to 4 deep
watching a 16 page A5 product being run at 18,000 an hour,
followed by a complete format change to a 16 page A4 running at
14,400 an hour, all in less than 3 minutes.
Across the aisle, it was difficult to get through the throng
watching the TH82 folder running a DL product 3-up, delivering
72,000 pieces an hour into the Speedbander.
Both Stitchmaster models, the ST350 and ST450 were also in
full production showing why they have won a solid market share
since their introduction at IPEX 2006. Both models have built a
reputation for operator friendliness and ease of operation which
have made them best sellers in our market.
The ST450 is built on the same solid platform and offers
fully automated set-up. It was running in production at its maximum
speed 14,000 an hour producing a 5 section booklet using two
cover feeders in addition to the standard feeders.
One of the ST450s many exclusive features is it's twin
gripper design in the feeder opening drum which will eject a
bad section from the feeder that could normally cause a machine
stoppage, thus increasing net output by up to 20%.
The fully automated Eurobind 4000 perfect binder was also
featured, complete with cooling tower, flush cover trimmer and
block trimmer, changing between an A4 landscape and A5 book in less
than 5 minutes. This clearly demonstrated the power of this
machine's cost effectiveness in producing short to medium run high
quality books using either hot-melt or our unique PUR nozzle
system.
Many visitors were impressed by the new TSH stacker with the
extended two-level delivery table, as it demonstrated the cost
savings generated by this layout allowing the TH82 folder to run at
maximum output with just one person manning the entire machine.
Polar's display area was crowded throughout most of the days
with much interest being shown in the fully automated Autojog XT
with an output of more than 30,000 sheets an hour.
Polar's demonstration of their PACE automated cutting system
showed the increased productivity over conventional systems. Given
the right work mix the PACE would show a quick return on investment
by doubling output and reducing manning.
Supporting Heidelberg's VLF Very Large Format press was the
VLC Very Large Cutter, model 176 XT PACE, handling reams of 121 x
162 cm wide sheets of gray board loading, cutting, turning and
unloading automatically, processing a ream every 2 minutes.
Polar's New Ideas for Cutting provided many innovative
solutions designed to provide improved quality whilst increasing
productivity.
Some examples included a Count Monitor which lets the
operator measure production in progress in-line while cutting which
can provide the important connection to an MIS system to allow
exchange of production data.
Equally useful is Polar's Power Monitor that measures the
cutting force and its progressive change. Increasing cutting force
indicates that the knife is losing sharpness and lets the operator
know that a knife change is due, thus improving the cutting quality
and preventing the risk of a broken shear bolt.
A simple, yet effective cutting stick ejector simplifies
replacing the cutting and avoids damaging the edges of the cutting
stick channel in the cutting table.
Polar's Optiknife Plus option reduces what is really an
impressive quick knife change by around another 5-7 minutes.
Rudi Kolbach
Product Manager
Tel. +61 2 9318 5224
Email:
Rudi.Kolbach@heidelberg.com