Finishing & Screen Printing
Eclipse adds further automation with two folders and two guillotines
Monday 08. June 2009 - Eclipse Colour is updating its finishing department with the most automated machines, maximising internal efficiency and keeping its outwork bills down.
The Kettering based company is adding two new automated folders, a buckle and a combination, and two matching guillotine lines with inline trim removal. All equipment is supplied by Heidelberg.
The Stahlfolders selected are the TH82 and the new KH82, which was launched at Drupa last year, and whose level of automation turned heads.
David Weiss, head of manufacturing at Eclipse says: “We had been shown a preview video before Drupa and then we went to see the new KH82 at the show. We have undertaken timed tests with Heidelberg on various stocks and types of work to ensure that both folders will meet our production needs. The automation means that we could run a job, interrupt for a time sensitive short run, and then go back to original very easily and speedily. That means better service for our customers and increased internal efficiency.”
The TH 82 buckle machine will be the first folder to arrive in the next few weeks with the KH 82 combination folder following a month later.
The KH 82 with its shorter make ready and higher speed can output 7.2 million more sheets a year, running 24 hours a day, than the KH 78 module it replaces in Heidelbergs portfolio.
Guillotine requirements at Eclipse have also been reviewed and as a result the company is removing a ten year old 115 and a 137 PACE system in favour of two matching Polar 115XT Flowlines with Autotrim waste removal. Less than 10% of Eclipse work uses a full B1 sheet size so the 115 cm width is ideal. Also, internal work flow through the factory can be changed to improve increased volume, with less time spent moving materials.
Until now the two guillotines at Eclipse have been housed separately in the factory but the new lines will be side by side so that work can be easily switched between the two lines.
“Operators always like to see new technology arriving, but they will need to adapt to the new level of automation with the new equipment coming in and so we will undertake a thorough training programme in order to ensure maximum utilisation and performance,” says Mr Weiss.
The finishing department matches the pressroom in running 24/6 with a Continental shift pattern.