In order to offer infallible printing consistency to its converting clients, Uflex Limited has collaborated with M/s Think Lab to install a fully automatic robotic laser engraving line for manufacturing gravure cylinders at its Noida, India facility.
The robotic laser engraving line reduces the cumbersome process of manufacturing rotogravure printing cylinders to a single operator job. What’s more is that this automation poses no threat to the current manpower as there’s a separate well contoured market segment for conventional electro-mechanically engraved, embossed, coated rotogravure printing cylinders much like the laser robotic plant engraved rotogravure cylinders.
Major advantages associated with the rotogravure cylinders manufactured on the fully automatic robotic laser engraving line include:
- Consistency in printing for flexible packaging.
- More mileage from the cylinder.
- Less ink consumption during printing operation as compared to conventional electromechanical engraving.
- Production volumes have gone up from 180 cylinders per day to produce 240-250 cylinders.
- The cylinders produced are dynamically balanced and can run up to a speed of 500 meters/minute.
- High-definition image re-production capability of 6,400 dpi, which is not attainable through the conventional electro-mechanical engraving process.
- Less production space is required in comparison to the conventional process with similar production capacity.
- The process requires less power, so running costs are low.
“For this ambitious project we decided to partner with M/s Think Lab, Japan because of its unmatched technological finesse in gravure printing technology, which is globally acclaimed,” says Ashok Chaturvedi, chairman and managing director, Uflex. “It is a name that instils trust and confidence and thus serves to be a perfect strategic partner for Uflex for our cylinder manufacturing business. We are getting online real time service support and assistance from Think Lab, which is now completely dovetailed with our operations and ensures practically zero downtime.”
Uflex
