Servomotors star in dynamic application
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Parker Hannifin - Electromechanical and Drives Division product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Jun 12, 2006
The latest SMH and MH servomotors and intelligent Compax3 servo drives are playing an important role in an innovative laser ablation system.
The latest SMH and MH servomotors and intelligent Compax3 servo drives, supplied by the Electromechanical division of Parker Hannifin, are playing an important role in an innovative new laser ablation system that has been designed to offer a flexible, high performance solution for producing plates and sleeves in a wide range of printing applications.
The Parker products ensure that the laser ablation system offers exceptional accuracy and resolution, with high quality tone screens up to 175 line/in, high definition positive and negative detail and text less than two points in size.
The new laser ablation system has been manufactured entirely in the UK and is the first machine of its kind in the world capable of handling printing plates and sleeves up to 3m in length, for use in flexo, dry-offset and letterpress printing.
The internal workings of the new system consist of a rotating drum, around which the printing sleeve or plate is fixed, and a high precision, sealed CO2 laser used to ablate surface areas to produce extremely high definition text and graphics with, uniquely, a below surface print dot that enables high density solids and very fine highlights to be produced using the same plate.
The process is quick, simple to set up and operate and ultimately reduces the time to press.
The drum rotation and laser traverse systems are each driven by one of Parker's synchronous servomotors, powered by a dedicated intelligent Parker Compax3 drive, and programming is carried out across a CANopen interface.
Until recently, the internal design of laser ablation machines had been difficult to customise, making it hard to adjust the performance of individual systems which, in turn, potentially restricted the level of resolution and accuracy of the plates produced, and thus limited the resolution of printed work.
The SMH and MH series servomotors have been specially developed by Parker for use in dynamic machines that are used with accurately synchronised processes.
Using high quality neodymium iron boron magnets, these motors offer extremely powerful performance compared with other motors in their class.
This makes them ideal for use in the new laser ablation system as they offer optimum power and control to the laser and drum, yet are sufficiently compact to fit into the machine design without requiring additional space.
The modular construction of the Parker solution also enables the internal components of the laser ablation system to be added and removed quickly and easily, minimising downtime and costs associated with machine customisation.
As a result, the initial machine setup time has been reduced by up to 30%, significantly reducing lead times and therefore allowing customers to receive the machines more quickly than was previously possible.
In addition, the accuracy provided to the laser and drum rotation by the servomotors and Compax3 drives means that the system is capable of cutting printing masks to a greater degree of accuracy and resolution than ever before, enabling it to be used for producing far more intricate designs than previously, while at the same time improving the quality of the end print.
In addition, the Parker solution reduced the amount of components within the laser ablation system by 10%, by using a specially developed Compax3 drive over an industry standard CANopen network, eliminating the requirement for expensive bespoke cabling.
This results in helping reduce the build time of the finished product.
The programming was completed in-house by Parker, in conjunction with the system manufacturer, to ensure that the system performed to the optimum level.
Taken as a whole, the new system allows customers to achieve greater levels of print quality, flexibility and accuracy, all of which are essential for competing effectively in the increasingly saturated print marketplace.
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