Automatic plate changer system

• The plate changeover is reduced to less than 1 minute per group.
• The register adjustments are reduced to approximately 15 minutes.
• It saves between 30 and 50 minutes per change.
• Up to an increase of 48% in machine production.
• More competitivity.
• More quality.
• The turn over investment do not exceed 12 months.

The design of the AHP

Every element of the AHP system is designed and studied in order to provide a great versatility.

The leading clamp is created to ease the introduction for the printer of the plate into the printing cylinder, and in this way make the process as comfortable as possible, even with the biggest plates such as 100×140 and 120×160.

Regarding the end clamp; its special design allows the introduction of the profiles of the plate to be really safe, disregard to the state of wear and torn it is in. This special shape eases the introduction of used plates, as in the case of reprinted works which use the same plates between themselves. The functions of the control unit are completely integrated in the operation of the machine, simplifying its manipulation for the operator. The AHP is conceived as an autonomic and self-suffience element which can be installed in any type of printing machine, never mind its size; available to be introduced in machines of any brand, being old or modern machines.

The AHP is equipped with any type of preregister on the market, such as Protocol, Bacher, Padus Lehner, etc…

Functionality of the AHP

The AHP does not lose the versatility of the manual systems and, opposite to other automatic plate inserting systems, it does not renounce to any of the characters of conventional systems. The AHP permits the manipulation of the clamps at any moment and in any circumstance of the machine. This gives the printer the possibility to rectify the introduction and extraction process of the plate, without the need of bringing the machine to its zero position in order to extract it, easing that way the rescue of many plates. The tensioning of the plate is done by the AHP automatically, always kept uniform thanks to its mechanical resorts. The operator has the possibility to make a tension or distension of the plate at any moment through the buttonboard.

The AHP permits the correction of the register in a simple way, it is only necessary to manipulate two bolts which locates the plate in a precise and quick way.

Precision

The AHP is based on a hydraulic plate closing system so, and thanks to the hydraulic principle, the cast of the closing strengths is made in an uniform way over the total length of the clamp. This allows the longitudinal and perpendicular holding of the plate to be completely uniform, avoiding this way the known problems such as ruptures of plates during possible reprintings or the movements of the plates once hold.

The precision with which the AHP actuates in each of its elements, permits that the later adjustments of the quadrichromatics results practically good in the first printed sheet. This system is designed and manufactured to match the plate cylinders of each press, assuring that no modifications will be produced in the mentioned cylinders.

The fabrication of the AHP is made integrally in the installations that TGA has in Leganés (Madrid). For the fabrication of the different parts the most resistant are used, treated afterwards with anti-rust processes and hardening of the components.

The functioning of the system is guaranteed even under extreme working conditions, such as temperatures between 4 and 55 degrees Celsius.

The assembling of the different parts of the AHP is done with a severe quality control, following the norms DIN, which guarantees the correct functioning of all the components within the system.

Simplicity

The manipulation of the AHP system is very simple.

The printer manages the system from a buttonboard located at the frame of the machine, where the desired movements are commanded.

The printer only has to situate the plate in the leading clamp, matching the preregister system; further, from the buttonboard the order is made to insert the plate, at this moment the AHP automatically takes care of the introduction and the location of the plate with great precision, leaving it ready for the production.

Speed

The great velocity of the plate change using the AHP allows the plate changes to be done in less than one minute and means a decrease in time of up to 50% in the plate changes.

The graph shows in the vertical bar the times that the machines lose during the plate change and in the horizontal bar the number of done changes.

The red bar shows the mentioned times in a machine which has a conventional clamp system, fronting the blue bar which shows the mentioned times in a machine which has been equipped with the AHP system.

As shown, when the number of changes during production is increased, the differences are getting considerably bigger, showing an increase in lost time of up to 4 hours in machines which are not equipped with AHP.