BOBST EXPERTCUT: a revolutionary evolution for medium to high volume carton makers

BOBST launched a new version of its EXPERTCUT 106 PER blank separating die-cutter at last year’s Drupa exhibition. Designed to deliver more production by maximizing uptime and speeding up a number of processes, the first of the new generation also began shipping late last year, and Jacques Reymond, head of product marketing business unit sheet-fed says that, while the changes to the EXPERTCUT 106 PER are evolutionary, the effect is fairly revolutionary: “Most people know that we continuously innovate in the technology we use in our machines and sometimes that development feeds into new machines, sometimes into retro-fits for older models, and sometimes into giving extra features or new functionality to our current line-up.” The EXPERTCUT 106 PER has proved to be the workhorse for the world’s medium to high volume carton makers and BOBST has been able to give it some new features that provides users access to increased net production, lower costs, easier maintenance and less waste. Together they add up to really substantial gains for users. The modifications run throughout the machine and include new feeder technology, changes to the sheet transport system, faster make-ready in the stripping and delivery sections and developments that reduce the wear, and consequently increase the life, of die-cutting tools.

“The first thing we have done is to further develop our Smart Feeder system which manages the feeding of sheets into the EXPERTCUT,” explains Jacques Reymond. “Smart Feeder II is fitted with a suction head that has an improved sheet lift-up along with this, a new feed table with new equipment reduces the number of sheets lost during a machine stop, makes it quicker to set, and delivers more consistent sheet transportation.”

Always with an eye towards reducing carton makers’ on-costs, a new technology dubbed Tool Saver instantly takes the pressure from the platen section when no sheet is present. “By removing the pressure when no sheet is there Tool Saver increases the operational life of tooling,” says Jacques Reymond. “It means that high quality cutting can be maintained for an increased number of impressions, which reduces the cost of manufacturing each box. As soon as the feeding of sheets restarts, the press instantly returns to the pre-set production speed and platen pressure with no need for the operator’s intervention, reducing the production interruption to a minimum.”

The new EXPERTCUT 106 PER also calculates the optimum tie-sheet interruption based on the thickness of the carton, saving as many as seven sheets per tie-sheet insertion cycle.

The blanking section of the new EXPERTCUT has a feature called Quick Set which makes it fast and easy to set due to all the non-stop fingers locking and un-locking by pushing a single button. “Also the tool frames don’t have to be set back to zero when changing jobs, which makes changeovers quick and easy for the operator,” Reymond explains.

“By utilizing intelligent systems throughout the press we are able to help users achieve substantial time savings, creating additional uptime for profit generating production, while at the same time reducing maintenance and tooling costs,” concludes Jacques Reymond, adding, “Looking at the order intake after Drupa for the new EXPERTCUT 106 PER, these developments have been very well received by the industry. Indeed, the first of this new generation are already in production at customers’ plants and the feedback has been excellent.”