Hunkeler adds speed and weight at Innovationdays

The UW8 unwinder and RW8 rewinder were revealed at the firm’s Innovationdays event in Lucerne, Switzerland this week. The 762mm (30") wide line runs at up to 300m/minute and handles stocks up to 350gsm and reels weighing 1,500kg with a maximum diameter of 1,370mm. A symmetrical design enables the lines to be used with printing lines that run either left-to-right, or right-to-left, supporting more applications.

In addition to a higher running speed it is also faster to change reels thanks to a semi-automatic butt-splice.

"At the running speed of 305m/minute a roll won’t last long, so speeding up the changeover time between reels becomes more important," said Friedheim national sales manager digital solutions Robin Brown. "You can change a reel on the unwind and rewind in two- to three-minutes. Inkjet machines don’t like a flying splice, it is likely to take the print heads off."

The speed of the POPP8 is faster than current continuous feed presses, suggesting a new generation of machines able to take advantage of the speed are in development. Higher weight stock handling also opens up digital packaging production.

Further signs of the development of packaging applications for continuous feed digital by Hunkeler included the showing of the CS7 cutter running reel to sheeted stack onto pallets, and the demonstration of a Bograma line producing hacksaw blade packaging.

Another significant product on show was the HL6 laser cutting unit, first previewed at Drupa 2012.

Capable of running at 150m/minute the CO2 laser enables dynamic die-less cutting, punching and perforating offering a range of options for direct mail, coupon and security print applications. In addition to cutting and punching the laser unit is also capable of surface etching the paper, providing additional security features. The function of the laser can be controlled using printed 2D barcodes read from the reel.

"It’s like a machine from the lair of a James Bond villain," said Brown.

Lastly, the PC7 primer/coater, also previewed at Drupa, was also launched at Innovationdays. The machines ability to pre-coat for priming and post-coat for protection and enhancement enables a wider range of paper stocks to be used and applications produced, was one of the key theme of this year’s event.