By Cassandra Balentine
Proper and efficient material handling accelerates a production workflow. Today’s router and cutter manufacturers targeting the wide format graphic arts continue to introduce advancements that relate to automated feeding and stacking as well as robotic material handling.
While the concept is nothing new, notable improvements to feeders and stackers help reduce downtime and enable faster turnaround times.
Above: With an updated version of the Kongsberg Feeder & Stacker, the company maximized the plenum plate size and reduced other components to deliver optimum efficiency during loading and unloading.
Gaining Popularity
The automation of board handling is gaining popularity in the digital print market. Keith Verkem, national sales manager and senior product, manager, Colex Finishing, Inc., feels that this because it requires less operator intervention and provides increased productivity.
Beatrice Drury, communications manager, Zund America, Inc., agrees, pointing out that automation is the driving force in making every aspect of digital graphics production more efficient and profitable, and material handling is a big part of that. “No matter whether in printing or cutting/finishing, if manpower, or the lack thereof, is a consideration, or if there is anything else impeding the flow of materials that keeps your printer—or cutter—from operating as close to non-stop as possible, print service providers (PSPs) are not getting as much return on investment (ROI) as they should from their digital production equipment.”
Drury adds that naturally, the faster the printer, the more likely it will create bottlenecks downstream, which makes implementing efficient, reliable material handling automation even more of a must, especially when it can be done without having to hire additional staff.
“The demand for automation is to maximize productivity for the end users. Automation reduces costs and increases output, especially with finishing from the flatbed cutters,” adds Gary Buck, VP, sales and marketing, Summa.
As businesses look to the future they are focused on automation. “One of the primary goals of automation is to increase productivity, which is obviously one of the major pain points converters experience today. Our extensive testing has shown that a robotic material handling solution with dual table setup can in theory increase productivity by as much as up to four times, dependent on other factors,” offers Nimil David, product manager, automation and robotics, Kongsberg Precision Cutting Systems (PCS). “Alongside that increased throughput, quality is also of paramount importance—any automation should ensure that the handling of the thousandth sheet is the same as the first, delivering consistency as well as speed.”
Streamlined integrated workflows are key. In July 2024, Canon Solutions America announced the availability of a fully automated print-to-pallet production workflow with Texas series flatbed printers manufactured by DigiTech and Kongsberg PCS cutters.
“These automated workflows integrate printers and routers/cutters with conveyors and other material handling automation to enable seamless transitions from print to cut to pallet,” says a representative from Canon.
In-House Automation
Board handing advancements are particularly useful for PSPs that operate routers/cutters in house for graphics and signage.
With the improved efficiency and productivity these options can bring, Buck says the result is less manual handling of the substrate.
Verkem agrees, noting that these advancements are useful for PSPs looking to minimize operator handing of media.
For example, Kongsberg PCS’ automated Feeder & Stacker and Robotic Material Handler are designed and developed specifically to deliver significant benefits to any converter. “The removal of any manual handling between steps not only increases speed and accuracy of locating and removing materials, but also eliminates any chance of human error that can lead to damage and costly errors,” comments David.
“No matter the application—whether it’s for signage, graphics, displays, or packaging—once a PSP operating finishing equipment has the high-speed printing capacity and the order volume that demands near constant equipment availability, automated material handling becomes an indispensable component of an efficient production workflow. This is especially true when the board handling hardware is combined with machine-control and workflow software that allows for processing large amounts of small jobs—another type of ‘high volume’ production—without having to stop the system to retrieve files or manually change the setup,” shares Drury.
Matter of Size
Many board handling advancements target environments of high productivity. Therefore, it is recommended that smaller PSPs weigh the considerations throughly before making an investment decision.
Buck points out that a high level of finishing automation may not be as important to smaller shops unless they have a specific program where high-quantity runs would require the automation.
For smaller sign shops, Drury feels that it does make sense to first explore other options to maximize cutting/finishing efficiency that may require less of an investment. “There are various productivity features and levels of automation available with Zünd cutting systems, including a tandem setup and workflow, which is a manual but extremely efficient solution involving the cutter operating on one half of the machine while loading/unloading occurs on the other.”
However, Drury is quick to point out that when considering an initial investment in digital cutting/finishing, it is important for PSPs to insist on modularity and upgradability. “Even if their present order volume does not demand the level of automation that automated or robotic board handling systems offer, they need to keep in mind their needs may change and opt for equipment that can easily accommodate future expansion.”
Verkem adds that as long as small sign shops have space for board loaders it minimizes labor costs and minimizes turnaround time.
“There is a place for automation in both situations,” states David, noting that ROI is a hugely important consideration. “That’s why we always look at every project on its own merits, leading each customer through a comprehensive discovery phase with our team of experts.”
For Kongsberg PCS, its team and the customer use this discovery phase to jointly examine all the specifications and parameters and ensure that automation is the right solution to maximize throughput and achieve the best ROI. “We’re not just selling a machine, we’re helping to develop the whole process. We look at whether there are any limitations in the facility, either in the immediate environment like the floor or height of the ceiling, or whether the location has the flexibility to make requisite changes to accommodate a moving arm of a Robotic Material Handler,” says David.
“We don’t just deliver a robot and say, ‘off you go.’ We help map out the layout of the customer’s whole production room or shop floor, down to the location of the electrical cabinet, to ensure they can accommodate the robotic cell,” explains David. “As automation and robotics represent a significant investment, this testing and planning phase allow the customer to have 100 percent confidence in the setup. They need to know it is going to deliver the productivity gains they are investing in achieving. Our insistence on this phase underlines our own confidence in the benefits of the automated system—and it delivering just that.”
Breaking Even
When making an investment, it’s all about the ROI. However, this is often a complicated equation. Verkem feels that especially for large-volume jobs, estimated breakeven points and ROIs can be justified when it comes to automated board handling.
“Volume, employee cost, consistency of production, and automation cost all come in to play,” shares Buck.
Drury believes there are far too many variables involved to determine a general breakeven point, both on the part of the PSP as well as their particular production environment and the type of automated workflow/material handling they are considering. “From simple sheet feeder to fully automated, robotic loading/stacking, picking/placing, etc., there are many options designed for meeting specific needs. One important consideration is weighing the cost and returns on utilizing manpower vs. implementing workflow automation. Using automation for menial, repetitive tasks can result in significant cost savings while at the same time freeing up staff to perform more complex, meaningful tasks that by definition also add more value.”
Substrate Options
A range of rigid substrates are well suited for automated board handling for wide format routers and cutters.
Buck says coroplast, PVC, ACM, foamcore, and pressure-sensitive adhesive vinyl are materials he most often sees as needing automation, both in terms of feed input and output (stacking).
“It is important to have a printer and automation that can handle a variety of different rigid substrates in both material and size,” notes the Canon representative.
Drury admits that there are few limitations to handling most commonly used graphics substrates. “Excessive weight is probably the main issue when it comes to thick sheets of heavy, dense materials such as aluminum and acrylic. On the other hand, knife cutting these types of materials is not an option anyway. Processing these heavy-duty substrates automatically involves routing and, in conjunction with an automated feeding/advancing system, processing the materials directly on the conveyor belt. While not inherently a problem, this kind of setup will inevitably shorten the lifespan of the belt used for advancing the material into and out of the active cutting area.”
David explains that one of the most advanced automated sheet handling solutions for large format digital finishing, the Kongsberg Feeder & Stacker, has a stack height of 36 inches and quick automatic load cycles. “This makes it the optimal solution for short-run production, able to handle sheet sizes of up to 126×63 inches on all typical packaging and display materials including single-, double-, and triple-wall corrugated; display carton and board; corrugated plastic; fluted core board, and honeycomb board.”
Further, the optional underside camera scans the sheet from below—the print side—and automatically locates the registration marks, barcodes, and the corner of the sheet, which David estimates saves between 20 to 30 minutes per set up. Processing a stack height of 915 millimeters means fewer pallet changes and continuous handling of materials.
Improved Productivity
Automated sheet feeding and stacking provides a seamless way to increase productivity, eliminating operator intervention and bottlenecks associated with manual material loading. “Enabling this greater unattended operation serves to not only speed up short-run production but also remove many of the human errors that can create further delays and generate significant waste,” concludes David.
Oct2024, Digital Output
