Austrian pharmaceutical packaging converter Constantia Patz has reduced maintenance time and consumable costs after installing Tresu's FlexiPrint IMW E-Line sealed chamber doctor blade systems on two inline flexo presses at its Loipersbach plant.
The plant, which produces aluminium foil for blister packs, sachets and container seals, installed the Tresu system on all stations of the 9-colour and 8-colour 800mm wide BHS presses during two retrofitting operations, in August 2013 and January 2014. They have eliminated the problem of leakage that occurred on the original chambers, which were installed when the presses were built 14 and 17 years ago.
The FlexiPrint IMW E-Line features rubber seals that form an airtight closure, preventing ink and solvent fumes escaping. According to Tresu, precise positioning ensures that the doctor blades offer longer working life and, with the E-Line clamp system, fast blade changeover.
Wolfgang Elian, head of the printing department at Constantia Patz, comments: "We are achieving blade production lifespans of 24 production hours - three times longer than those used by the original system. We are exchanging blades in just two minutes, compared with 15 minutes needed to replace each of the previous system's screw-fastened blades. Because we have 17 printing stations in total, this quick exchange substantially reduces downtime and enables our operators to focus on higher-value quality control processes in a cleaner, solvent-free environment."
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