Thieme presented a new digital printing system with automatic position detection for printing on automotive glass at the Vitrum 2019 glass printing fair in Milan, Italy this month.
“In combination with our proven glass transport solutions, highly productive, automated production processes for printing automotive glass can be realized with our new digital printing system,” said Christian Schweickert of Thieme sales. “Automatic position detection significantly reduces makeready times and thus increases the throughput of the system.”
The new automatic position detection system makes it possible to print on various components with minimum set-up times, says the German digital print technology manufacturer.
The position recognition system, which works with an optical scanner, makes it possible to print automotive glass of different sizes and formats ‘on the fly’, with set-up times of no more than two minutes. The respective part position is automatically determined during feeding and transferred to the machine control system. Both ‘x’ and ‘y’ positions as well as rotary positions are detected with an accuracy of ± 0.1 mm. When the glass reaches the printing station, the position is already in the associated RIP file so that the printing process can start immediately without any further mechanical alignment.
The fully encapsulated digital printing system is available in two versions: The THIEME PW260 is equipped with a highly productive Page-Wide print shuttle with 24 print heads, while the THIEME SR450 operates in ‘Step & Repeat’ mode and can therefore print large formats up to 1,700 mm.
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| THIEME PW and THIEME SR digital printing systems feature automatic registration recognition systems that let operators change parts on the fly |
Both machines also feature a multi-pass print mode for maximum print quality at minimum cycle times, with a print resolution of 800 x 800 dpi. Standard equipment also includes a fully automatic printhead cleaning system for consistent print quality. The printing systems are operated simply and ergonomically via a Siemens control terminal.
A prototype of the innovative digital printing system attracted a steady stream of visitors to the Thieme stand at Vitrum 2019.
