The Heilbronn, Germany-based cutting-die manufacturer Marbach launched its digital zone levelling technology at drupa 2016. The company has in the meantime equipped over 150 die-cutting machines with the system. In the beginning, digital zone levelling was only available in 102-106 format. Due to its success, Marbach can now offer it in the formats 76, 102-106 and 142-145. The formats 130 and 162 are still in progress.
“A die-cutter is subject to wear and tear during the production process. That’s why it used to be necessary to fill up worn-out areas with make-ready paper when setting-up every single order,” explains Marbach developer, Sascha Wormser. “With digital zone levelling, this process has become significantly more efficient. Zone make-ready has only to be implemented once and then will last several months.”
The operator makes an impression of the machine using a standardised procedure. Marbach then produces a new, modified cover plate for the make-ready sheet. This levels out height deviations of the cutting platen and so the area make-ready for every single tool no longer applies.
Wormser continues, ‘‘We are very happy with the success of digital zone levelling. More than 150 customers have ordered it since drupa. The feedback has been positive throughout. According to our customers, the make-ready time savings through digital zone levelling is around 30-50 per cent. With this saved time, customers can produce other jobs, offering a significant increase in productivity. When customers use digital zone levelling, supplemented with our mpower|+ technology, the time-savings are even higher. Make-ready free die-cutting is now very close to being possible.’’
