"We want to show production from flat sheet to finished product all in one step," said managing director Michael Neugart.

The 2.5 pallet per hour robotic Autojog lifts a ream, up to 30mm high, from the paper stack, fans it, and then transports it to the jogger. Key to the unit's appeal, other than the obvious productivity benefits, is the way it airs the sheets. "It separates sheets very closely to the way the human hand would," said Neugart.

The system can handle sheets from 500x200mm all the way up to 1,000x 1,400mm. According to Mark Hogan, post-press business executive for Polar's UK agent, Heidelberg UK, it will really appeal to the large-format market, where the manual handling of big sheets can be a real problem.

The Autojog was shown linked to the Polar's Pace automatic cutting system with Autoturn turning gripper, via Transomat to allow operator-free production.

Other highlights at the event at Polar in Hofheim, Germany, which runs all through June, are the firm's Drupa-launched DC10 and DC11 automatic label die-cutters.

It is also showing the networking capabilities of its JDF compatible P-Net control platform. The module-based system can be configured to complete cutting programs from job files, run remote diagnostics and bring Compucut and Data-Control to the X and XT generation guillotines.

Meanwhile, Polar has announced that it is negotiating with staff to increase its working hours from the current 35 hour week and is currently "fairly far down the track" in opening a production plant in China, specifically for the Asian market.
The firm is also revamping its spares service with a new 2.7m (eur4m) parts centre, to give it 96% plus same-day service.

Story by Darryl Danielli