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PADPRINT
NOTEBOOK Useful Tips & Information © ITW Trans Tech An Illinois Tool Works Company All Rights Reserved |
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 Special NPE Show Automated Pad Printing System: Robot with Multicolor Mug Steals Show  Our purpose in designing and building this pad printing system for The National Plastics Exposition (NPE) was primarily to demonstrate how three of our standard machines can be interfaced to a programmed EPSON™ robot unit to achieve a multicolor imprint. In addition to the practical goal of producing finished samples for show attendees to take as souvenirs, the visually attractive element of the robotic arm was quite useful in drawing traffic into the booth.  Technical Data: Pad Printing Application: Printing multicolor images on front and back of acrylic plastic coffee mug. Featured Machines: • Orion 130 with four 60mm ink cups; and fixture mounted on linear shuttle. • Gemini 60-90 with pad clean-off device. • MKM 80 with four 90mm ink cups. • Primocure six-foot heat drying tunnel with cooldown unit.  Benefit: Enable on-site, multicolor pad printing of show souvenir items without pretreatment, while attracting attention of attendees with dramatic moving robot. Sequence of Operation: Operator loads blank mug onto fixture in first positon and removes hands from light curtain to activate system. Robot picks up part and moves it to position two in a fixture mounted on Orion 130. Pad printer applies the first of four process colors of USA flag artwork to rear side of part as robot advances part horizontally to pitch distance for each of four ink cups with each cliché image. After complete image is transferred, robot removes part and turns 90 degrees clockwise to load part into Gemini 60-90 at third position. Pad printer applies two-color curved header and footer type of "Made in USA" and website URL "www.itwtranstech.com" whie robot holds part in fixture. After both colors are applied by Gemini printer, robot removes part from fixture and turns another 90 degrees clockwise, plus rotates the mug 180 degrees to load it into fixture mounted on MKM 80 printer. In this fourth position, the four-color process NPE logo will be applied in succession (yellow, magenta, cyan, black) to the front side of part. When all images have been transferred, robot removes part from MKM 80 and displays finished part with several spins and waves. Finally, it deposits the finished part onto the metal mesh belt of Primocure heat drying tunnel which advances it throught its chamber to outfeed and drops it into attendee's hand or bulk tub. Components: Heavy-duty, welded machine base secures three machines in fixed position; EPSON™ PS5 six-axis programmable robot; full system safety guarding including light curtain; control cabinet-plus worktable. Production Rate: Single completed and cured part cycle at slower show speed: fifteen seconds (240 per hour maximum). Artwork: • Front side: four-color process image of NPE logo. • Reverse side: four-color process image of USA flag; Two-color spot image of curved header and footer type. Position: centered on mug sides; surface contour: compound curve. Cliché Plates: • Plate material: steel; Orion 130: 000 x 000 (4); Gemini 60/90: 000 x 000 (2); MKM 80 (4) 000 x000. Substrate: Acrylic; white, glossy, smooth. Ink Type Used: Type G Curing: Forced hot air (Primocure) with ambient cooldown unit. RELATED LINKS: Orion 130 Gemini 60/90 MKM 80 Primocure Automation |
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Regional Process Technician, J.A. "Tony" Cuchiara, loads a blank mug into the first position fixture to activate the system as show atendees look on.
Overall concept CAD drawing shows the configuration of the three pad printing machines centered around the Epson™ robot.
The Epson robot picks up the blank mug from the first position fixture. Notice a finished mug on the metal mesh belt, ready to move into the Primocure heating tunnel.
At position two the robot presents the mug to the Orion 130 equipped with a linear shuttle and holding fixture. Here the four-color American flag image is applied.
As the robot places the mug in the Gemini 60/90 fixture, two pads in the "V" formation alternately apply the two-color, curved headline type.
At the fourth position, the MKM 80 imprints the process color NPE logo to the mug; shown above, the magenta image is applied over the yellow first color.
ITW Trans Tech booth #1126 in McCormick Place South, June 19 –23, 2006.
For more details on our custom-engineered, automated pad printing systems, or to discuss your particular application, feel free to contact your local ITW Trans Tech rep at: www.itwtranstech.com
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