Laminator Runs At 2,700 - 8,000 Sheets Per Hour

Derbyshire (UK) manufacturer Autobond has announced the launch of its Mini TP H76 sheet-fed, thermal film laminator.

Derbyshire (UK) manufacturer Autobond has announced the launch of its Mini TP H76 sheet-fed, thermal film laminator.

The first Mini TP H76 to be built has already been ordered by a printer in South Africa.

The Mini TP H76, which is fitted with a Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 feeder, is based on the Mini series of laminators introduced by Autobond at Drupa 2004.

The Mini range has become the most successful sold by Autobond in its 27 year history, with orders received from around the world said the company.

Autobond's managing director John Gilmore said: "There is a huge market for a high-quality laminator that is not expensive to purchase, quick to make ready and efficient at handling runs up to 5,000 sheets.

We listened carefully to our customers leading up to Drupa 2004 and I think we combined the right balance of features, speed, quality and price with the Mini laminator series.

The laminators have certainly caught the attention of printers and finishing houses looking for a cost effective way of bringing the process in-house." The Mini TP H76 has a maximum sheet size of 76cm x 102cm and is claimed to have the flexibility to handle stock as small as A4.

The portrait-fed machine is available as a single sided, film thermal laminator at a cost of GBP 58,000 or as a perfector, laminating both sides in one pass for GBP 65,000.

The heavy-duty laminator uses 30mm steel side plates with 150mm x 80mm steel support beams to aid reliability and accuracy, added Autobond.

The claimed maximum speed is 45 metres per minute or 2,700 sheets per hour for 74cm x 102cm (B1) 5,400 sheet per hour for 52cm x 74cm (B2) or 8,000 sheets per hour for 36cm x 52cm (B3).

Film rolls are mounted on a quick change air shaft, with tension controlled automatically by a pneumatic brake.

The film roll has a trim slitter and perforating mechanism and there are two laminating rollers - a highly polished 240mm diameter chrome roller, and a 150mm diameter rubber roller, which are heated via a Swiss- made water heater.

The unit pumps hot water through the chrome roller at 22 litres per minute, ensuring constant and accurately controlled temperature.

The rollers are pneumatically adjustable, providing up to six metric tonnes of nip pressure to ensure good adhesion and the elimination of production problems commonly encountered with laminators that have a low nip pressure, added the company.

Gilmore commented: "The industry has been moving towards shorter print runs for years and the emergence of output from digital presses has increased this trend further.

Printers and finishing houses have been in need of a quality laminator that allows them to handle short runs effectively and this requires fast make-readies and low wastage.

The new Mini TP H76 will laminate both short and long runs cost effectively." The rising pile, back separation stream feeder handles a wide range of stock and enables continuous operation.

The Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 feedhead is driven by a servo motor and has separate pick up and forwarding suckers to feed the sheets on to the vacuum feed belts and into the laminating rollers.

The feedhead is processor-controlled and receives digital data from a sophisticated encoder on the laminating roller, resulting in an accurate underlap of the grip edge of the sheet at high speed.

The feeder is equipped with a mill skid plate, allowing a full pallet of print to be loaded directly from the printing press.

With the Heidelberg feedhead, the Autobond laminator is able to handle stock from 90gsm - 650gsm and can be used with matt or gloss polypropylene or acetate said Autobond.

Autobond has fitted a bump sheeter to the Mini series and that runs in-line with the laminates.

Other features include a digital sheet counter, an adjustable anti-curl bar, pneumatically adjustable in-feed nip rollers, and a pneumatic air clutch to give a constant tension between the laminator and the sheeter.

Start and stop and speed up and down controls are located at the jogger end of the laminator.

The machine is fitted with a Siemen's programmable logic controller, which controls all machine functions.

The Siemens system provides remote machine diagnostics, via a modem link, to Autobond technicians at the company's headquarters in Heanor.

The laminator has digital AC inverter drives, plus three phase 380-415v.

The automation incorporated in to all the Autobond Mini laminators means that the operator does not require to be highly skilled.

Autobond said it can train an operator within a day to use the new laminator and the company supports the machines with a full year's warranty on parts and labour.

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