Over three days in May, Bobst hosted an open house event at its Mex, Switzerland facility. The event saw almost a hundred customers discover the benefits of the new Breaker Flat Track, a compact but powerful layer management peripheral for flat-bed corrugated die-cutters.
Arriving from all over Europe, as well as from North Africa, the Middle East and North America, visitors expressed keen interest in the Breaker Flat Track, the compact form of which optimises production floor space without reducing the productivity of conversion lines. Safely transporting and arranging bundles of blanks as small as 150 mm x 150 mm, it sets new standards for ergonomics and versatility, offering users the ability to maximize the performance per square metre of floor space of both new and existing lines.
While conventional breakers can separate die-cutter output and, in some cases, arrange batches, the new machine forms complex layers ready for palletisation, allowing users to totally automate the process. Sitting on a footprint half the size of existing breakers and layer management systems, consequently freeing up valuable shop floor space, the new breaker forms layers in a programmed routine without affecting the performance of the Autoplaten die-cutter.
Sylvain Rebet, product marketing director corrugated board, said, ‘When it comes to making sure that finished products meet end user expectations, the layer arrangement of die-cut products has become increasingly important, especially as brand owners now demand ever more complex box styles. The Breaker Flat Track is designed to give box makers an intelligent unit that automates this process.’
Created with maximum usability in mind, the Matic system on the production line automatically calculates the optimum layer arrangement for each job and records the necessary settings for later use, while it sets the necessary elements. The unit features high strength synthetic chains which ensure that each batch is transported without deformation, including those as small as 150 mm x 150 mm, while the quick action of the unit means that there is no interruption to workflow even when outputting 6000 square metres per hour.
With clear visibility of the unit from the platform of the die-cutter, and radar protected safety zones to keep staff safe, the unit is easy to operate. After operator interventions the unit restarts without interruption to its cycle, ensuring no production is lost
Using 30% less power and taking only half the time to install compared to existing models, the Breaker Flat Track can be retro-fitted to any generation of Autoplaten for corrugated board, making it ideal for keeping up with the demands of packaging end users.
At the open house, the unit was shown quickly and easily being changed between two very different jobs and running with a Mastercut 2.1 Autoplaten and palletiser.
Visitors also got the opportunity to discover the Masterflex-HD flexo printing press which was shown running jobs using five and six colours, with a varnish, and delivering print quality that directly challenges that of offset printing. Also on display was a Masterfold 230 folder-gluer shown running at full production speed inline with a Logipack robotic packer.
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