Bi-directional Printing with Videojet UHS

I have left the marking & coding industry and this application is my last project. The configuration involve two SARs from Videojet US and one local (Malaysia) SAR. Many applications has been done during my employement in the inkjet line, I will pick and choose some applications which are worth to post on this technical blog (weblog).

Background

The customer need to integrate a non-contact marking device into a existing pharmaceutical manufacturing line.

Application

The existing production uses dot pin ribbon printing to mark production codes on the paper which comes in roll form. This old device has been faced out, thus the customer has to replace it with alternate technology and with the requirements of compliance to the pharmaceutical manufacturing requirements.

Special Requirements

1. The printhead height must be 8 inches or below due to the existing protection setup.

2. The marking window must be very precise with +/- 1mm allowance.

3. High quality print required

4. Need support for the umbilical to ensure it would not touch the paper.

Solutions

Videojet UHS (Ultra High Speed) was selected because the speed and fine printing (53 micron) is needed. This fulfilled the requirement no. 2.

SAR for 6 inches 90 degree printhead is ordered to meet requirement no. 1 while SAR for 7x9 twinline matrix is needed to achieve the expected printing quality.

Requirement no.4 is the most challenging one where the printhead will need to bend 90 degree (Y-axis) and follow by another bend of 90 degree (X-axis) to prevent the umbilical from touching the paper surface while consideration to the limited installation space. A local developed SAR has been added for the X-axis bend design.

The system has been successfully commissioned and working fine.

Carton Coding with Marsh Unicorn

Background
The customer is in paper converting business.

Application
The customer has to stock up various carton boxes to for all their products which are thermal transfer ribbon, thermal & wood free papers, self-carbonized papers, self-contained papers as well as inkjet & photo papers. The factory is running out of space due to the massive inventory of all type of carton boxes. The goal is to reduce the carton boxes storage space as well as simplify the existing process of production.

Solution
To meet both of the requirements of this secondary packaging, a carton printer is needed. Drop on Demand (DOD) technology is the answer for the customer because it provides legible coding as well as easy to integrate to the production line where space is scarce.

Marsh Unicorn is installed on the carton sealer and its prints product SKU codes, batch number, packaging date and serial number of the box while it move pass the sealer. This eliminates the process of manual stamping of variables codes which is practicing in the past.

The spaces that save from the inventory storage is now converted to production area. They are 7 units of Marsh Unicorn installed in this factory and it is still expanding.

In-Line Marking on LDPE Blow Molding Polyethylene Film

Background
The customer is a major manufacturer of plastic packaging film.

Application
The customer has setup a new line to produce LDPE Blow Molding Polyethylene Film. They needed an integrated code that contained Plastic Packaging Recycling Codes, Batch Number and Manufacturing Date. This customer wanted an industrial marking system that ia able to integrate to the production line easily and this marking system must comply to their industrial safety requirements.

Solution
Videojet Excel 170i is the answer to this customer. This compressed air driven CIJ (Continuous Ink Jet) system with the vinyl-covered armored printhead conduit in 20 feet (6.1m) length enable the console to be placed away from the moving film. Competitors machine which is pump driven with short printhead conduit length will not have this ergonomic feature where the operator need to stand very close to the moving film in order to access to the printer console.

Videojet InkSource 16-8530 has excellent adhesive to the LDPE film. The Videojet Excel 170i together with Videojet InkSource 16-8530 has deliver competitive running cost in term of cost per print even it is installed at high temperature (above 35 0C) and humidity at 70-90% RH.