by Brittany Willes, PostPress
This year’s Graph Expo featured many new and exciting products from companies around the world. Among the various technologies on display was the KAMA Automatic Die Cutter ProCut 76 from KAMA. The ProCut 76 was introduced by Absolute Printing Equipment Service, Indianapolis, Indiana, the North American distributor for the KAMA line of diecutters, foil stampers and folder/gluers. Designed with user-friendly features, quick job change and lower setup times, the ProCut 76 serves as a practical solution for printers and packaging manufacturers.
According to Marcus Tralau, CEO of German-based KAMA, “currently we see the industry facing two challenges in postpress: ‘How can we convert digital prints at high quality?’ and ‘How can we arrange for an efficient and profitable short-run production?'” The new generation of the ProCut 76 provides a camera-based AutoRegister for high-register precision for each digital print, as well as a device for inline stripping and blanking. Further benefits of the new system for added value finishing include changeover from diecutting to finishing by hot foil stamping (or optionally hologram) in just a few minutes and a performance of up to 5,500 cycles per hour.
Unique to the ProCut 76 is the Stripping and Blanking Unit with a tool-less design, meaning there is no tooling to buy or maintain and setup can be accomplished in minutes. The programmable feature of the SBU has job storage, allowing seconds to set up repeat jobs. A blow-down device takes care of small to medium holes and waste is shredded for easy disposal. Furthermore, the SBU is equipped with a denesting feature to spread the product apart for easier removal.
The ProCut 76 has been designed to handle a variety of applications using new tools and solutions. For example, the machine is equipped with a universal chase, which can hold dies of any size while allowing fast adjustment using the integrated adjusting device. A prepared mounting plate affixed to a basic plate allows for improved setup times, especially when it comes to repeat orders that require a lot of creasing lines. Additionally, a special chase enables users to mount existing dies on a predrilled chase or a chase with clamping bars.
Thanks to the machine’s improved design, the ProCut 76 is capable of processing a wide variety of materials, including paper and paperboard, cardboard, and micro-corrugated board (including laminated), as well as plastic materials. Further improvements include the AutoRegister, which aligns every sheet to a printing mark with an accuracy of one tenth of a millimeter. The AutoRegister offers diecutting and line creasing, in addition to accurate blind embossing and reliefs for digitally printed sheets. Unlike traditional machines which position by means of the sheet edges, the AutoRegister aligns each sheet to a print mark. A camera captures sheet by sheet the actual print position and servomotors compensate smallest deviations in the positioning. Should a sheet register as out of place, two servo motors allow for quick placement correction both in and across the direction of sheet travel (x and y direction).
An Optical Registration System looks for a target printed with the sheet. According to Larry Hollingsworth, sales representative for Absolute Printing, “It makes no difference what the sheet was printed on as long as the target is printed with the sheet. The ORS finds the target and registers the print to the die at running speeds. Our customers are finding that foiling and embossing jobs are registered perfectly and ‘cherry picking’ for good sheets are a thing of the past.”
Technical Details:
The KAMA ProCut 76 is capable of handling paper, cardboard and plastics materials from 100-800gsm (6-32pts), compared with the KAMA ProCut 58 80-800gsm (4.4-32pts). When using a cardboard kit (optional) or single sheet feeding, the ProCut 76 handles micro flute corrugated board up to 1,500gsm/1.8mm (80pts).
Maximum sheet size is 760x600mm (30×235/8in) with a minimum sheet size of 279x210mm (11×8¼in). Maximum cutting size is 750x590mm (29½x23¼) while the maximum cutting force consists of 165t (180 US tons).
The maximum stacking height for the feeder runs 1,160mm (46in), with the maximum stacking height for the delivery unit at 985mm (39in). The cutter’s minimum gripper margin consists of 10mm (0.4in).
Additionally, the machines maximum performance (dependent on material, size and cutting sheet arrangement) is capable of 5,500 sph. The ProCut has a cutting line height of 23.8mm.
The KAMA ProCut 76 measures 4,870×2,960mm (194¾x106 in) with a net weight of 5,500kg and connecting power of 13kW.
