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News Release from: EskoArtwork | Subject: Kongsberg i-XE32, i-XE54 digital cutting tables
Edited by the Printingtalk Editorial
Team on 25 October 2007
Digital Cutting Tables For Short-Run
Production
EskoArtwork's Esko Kongsberg i-XE series digital dieless cutting table is now available in two larger sizes.
The Kongsberg i-XE32 with a working area of 51" x 63.75" (1,300mm x 1,620mm) and the Kongsberg i-XE54, with a working area of 63" x 120" (1,600mm x 3,050mm) for short-run production and sample making in packaging, signage and POP display markets, join the Kongsberg i-XE10 The first machines will be available for delivery at the beginning of 2008 and are said to be suitable for the cutting and finishing of digitally printed, flexible and light-duty sheeted materials, such as adhesive vinyl (decals), vinyl banners, foam board and textiles
This article was originally published on Printingtalk on 14 Aug 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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The system also cuts such semi-rigid materials as carton and single flute corrugated board and polycarbonate.
EskoArtwork said that the Kongsberg i-XE series of automated digital finishing systems, based on the Kongsberg i-XL series of large format digital finishing tables, was created for signs and displays.
The Kongsberg i-XE models are claimed by the company to provide the highest speed, acceleration and precision cutting available.
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Screen printed decals, digitally printed POP displays and pressure sensitive films, for instance, are kiss-cut, or through-cut using a motion system and Mikkelsen Graphic Engineering's (MGE's) patented I-cut vision system.
The system is also said to have proven construction with rack and pinion motor drives and a multi-axis servo system that permits superior acceleration and full speed without loss of precision.
Each graphic element on every sheet is checked by the MGE I-cut Vision Pro system for any type of distortion in the printed image or substrate and corrected on-the-fly, even for non-linear type stretch or skewed images, without any user intervention, added EskoArtwork.
Even jobs printed a few months earlier will be cut accurately, despite any material shrinkage or image distortion.
The I-cut vision software and camera integrated in to the tool head, read printed registration marks that are strategically placed by the Ai-cut Adobe Illustrator plug-in module, which is able to create register marks in a few seconds, said the company.
The I-script software is an additional component that is claimed to enhance finishing productivity.
The software connects the separated routes of the graphic design and the finishing data and acts as the interface between the digital print control and RIP software, as well as the I-cut digital finishing system.
With I-script, the operator does not have to re-register the toolhead for each printed file on one sheet or roll of material.
The I-script standard allows digital print control software to generate and communicate key finishing data to the Kongsberg i-XE.
Set-up time can be reduced to placing the printed material on the Kongsberg i-XE table and pressing the start button, said EskoArtwork.
The company said that its Kongsberg i-XE tables feature a new tooling system to increase productivity for a range of materials.
The tooling system offers two configurable tool positions with connectors, prepared for a range of tool stations.
In addition, there is a permanently mounted block holding the I-cut vision control camera, a ballpoint pen and a laser pointer for indexing.
Kiss and through cutting of vinyl, polycarbonate, polyester and carton, for exmaple, up to single flute corrugated material, is performed with a variety of tooling, including a Presscut tool allowing kiss and through cutting within the same job.
There is also a Varicut tool used for kiss cutting with fine depth tolerance, as well as through cutting within the same job, added EskoArtowork.
A static knife tool for through cutting of thin, rigid material, such as carton board and polycarbonate is another feature, together with a reciprocating knife tool that is said to be suitable for single-flute corrugated board up to and including C-flute and other light-duty fibrous materials.
A crease tool for creasing of folding carton and corrugated board is also included.
The Kongsberg i-XE10 can be equipped with a conveyer system and the MGE sheet feeding system for automated material processing.
Production applications, requiring continuous loading of material by pushing material on the conveyer belt and moving the belt, are also claimed to be easy.
Tom Erik Naess, EskoArtwork's product manager for samplemaking and SRP, explained: "As the speed of roll and flatbed printers increases, they require faster finishing tables.
Our new Kongsberg i-XE tables were developed in larger sizes to accommodate the wider materials that are coming off wide-format digital presses for displays of many sizes and shapes.
We offer the speed required to keep up with faster printers." The new Kongsberg i-XE table is being demonstrated for the first time on MGE's stand (1358) at the SGIA exhibitionin Orlando, Florida (USA0 which runs until October 27.
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