Offset Printing
Drent Goebel Presses labeled Mark II & Mark III
Thursday 30. October 2008 - "Customers push us to explore the boundaries of the possible"
Since launching the Vision in 1996 and the VSOP in 2002, Drent Goebel has pursued continuous development of these presses in dozens of components. As of drupa 2008 these successful machines will therefore be labeled with good reason Mk III for the Vision and Mk II for the VSOP.
Drent Goebel presses are designed by a team of highly trained graduate engineers. Thousands of detail drawings are needed before a press sees the light of day. But the development process does not stop there. A product improvement form provides Drent Goebel lead designers with suggestions for improvements to the press, useful tips and suggestions on how to reduce maintenance.
A major driving force behind these improvements is R&D and engineering manager Marco Lichtenberg: “Feedback from customers, service personnel and suppliers is invaluable. They push us to explore the boundaries of the possible.” Marco Lichtenberg: “It is not always possible to implement modifications on presses already in operation. Often it is not necessary either, because printers will be fully satisfied with the way things are working. However, if we consider that an improvement is necessary, it will be made available for existing machines.”
No hesitation
Drent Goebel has brought all the modifications together under the Mark II umbrella for the VSOP and Mark III for the Vision. “We want to keep the presses as standard as possible – the number of configurations being built with the modular concept is vast as it is. Take the VSOP. This press is available in three web widths and two configurations: one for paperboard and one for paper and film. Then there is all the peripheral equipment. But as soon as we see a possibility of building increased robustness, higher speed or even better print quality into the press, we dont hesitate for a single second.”
The updated wash unit in the VSOP is a major improvement for printers. A sprayer now moves powered by a slide cylinder and washes the rolls. This operating cycle is fully programmable, such that the printer can put a wash program together as he sees fit. “Printers are really pleased with this”, says Lichtenberg.
Further improvements are to be found in the new designs of mandrels, gearboxes and the axial adjustment. Axial adjustment is now refined and even more robust, the gearbox seals have been simplified and the shaft stiffness increased. This gives the printer improved running and cross register.
“This is typical of a Mark II component of the VSOP. The design was fine, but we are now able to reduce press make-ready time even further. This wish was expressed mainly by printers who want to and are able to print on more than one substrate in short runs up to 10,000 rpm. Markets are becoming more critical which means tighter tolerances. Besides, this is also the reason why we now have cylinder cocking which enables minor differences in register between the operator and the drive side to be eliminated.”
Even more robust
Another improvement in the Mark II for boosting print quality even further is a newly designed ink tray enabling the right color to be back in place faster.
“In addition, we also improved our unique swing plate and addressed gear lubrication for higher speeds. We looked at the entire lubrication system for the gearboxes, which resulted in the oil lasting much longer – a bonus for the customer. We now have water cooling for some of the servomotors, boosting power reserves, while reducing failures and cutting down on heat emission which could adversely affect print output.”
One improvement that is mainly for the benefit of maintenance personnel is the accessibility of the applicators and their pneumatic cylinders. The choice of a new generation of pneumatic cylinders means they are now simpler to fit and quicker to set up. Marco Lichtenberg: “We design our presses based on a ROI philosophy. This means that for each design our engineers need to ask themselves whether it will boost the efficiency of the machine.
Consequently the VSOP has been developed based on the ideas of press uptime and maximized off-press make-ready. “I had just started working at Drent Goebel when we launched the Vision in 1996. There are customers still running the same Vision even though they are serving completely different markets. They switched from printing forms for instance, to labels and film. Our presses feature a modular build and are designed so that we can adapt them to changing markets. This is made possible by being able to design simultaneously for greater robustness and elegance. Thanks to forward-looking insight, this is a great engineering bonus.”