We move your ideas!
A successful future thanks to proven solutions
The printing industry is currently experiencing an exciting development. In the packaging sector, expectations of quality and refinement are growing. In print media, the continuing rise of on-demand production requires efficient, error-free production methods from the first product onward. The basic trend is toward ever shorter jobs and individualized products. All these trends place growing demands on modern printing machines. Digitalization and technological innovations open up new pathways and opportunities. The only way to establish a sustainable future for your company is by finding an intelligent system solution for your automation. This solution should be based on long-standing experience, well-founded industry knowledge and product components as flexible as possible. We are the right, reliable partner for the challenges ahead. In our wide-ranging portfolio, you'll find the customized solution for drive and automation technology to meet any requirement.
Customized right off the production line
Packaging reveals as much about a product as the product itself. High-quality packaging is often a stronger sales argument than its contents. The focus is increasingly on aspects such as high quality and, above all, individuality - for example, in the segment of corrugated board printing. Shorter innovation cycles and a growing variety result in smaller batch sizes, as an result the number of product changeovers and machine changeovers will increase. Printing machine manufacturers need to continuously improve their machines to keep in pace with the requirements for flexibility, quality and productivity. To fulfill the expectations, an integrated automation concept with modular components that are perfectly coordinated together, is needed. With hardware and software solutions from Siemens, you create the optimal conditions for such a concept.The optimal solution for every machine
Digitalized processes open up new prospects for all printing technologies: innovative print media; new printing colors; individualized end products. With a fully automated, technologically state-of-the-art printing machine, you can actively implement tomorrow's potential today. Discover the wide variety of hardware and software solutions which Siemens can offer - specifically for your industry.
The best in terms of flexibility
Flexo printing is becoming increasingly popular for packaging printing, mainly because of the flexibility that its name implies. The range of end products for this process is tremendous: packaging made of flexible materials, films, folding box board, corrugated board, and even labels. The printing machine design is just as versatile. Simple and compact multiple cylinder machines, sophisticated inline types, and high-quality central cylinder machines are all possible. Our offering is the first choice for any flexo printing implementation.
Sample solution for flexo printing
Central cylinder machines feature a high degree of automation. A large number of individual drives must be precisely synchronized with the central impression cylinder. With the SIMOTION motion control system, Siemens offers the perfect solution for meeting the high demands and different requirements for motion control in these machines. Highlights:
- The LECo technology function to avoid cyclic errors
- The 1FW6 torque motor for precisely handling the CI cylinder
Highest quality for packaging and decor printing
Gravure printing machines are based on a simple printing principle and also deliver a very high quality. Their strength is mainly in their variability. A single machine can handle variable web widths, different printing substrates and diverse format cylinders, and often has directly integrated finishing units. Its main areas of application today are packaging and decor printing. Based on our highly developed drive technology and our well-founded expertise in the area of automation, you can easily meet these varied requirements.
Sample solution for gravure printing
Gravure printing machines in the packaging industry comprise 8 to 12 printing units with additional converting modules and modular units for winding and unwinding the printing material. Thanks to flexible hardware and software configuration, our offering enables you to easily implement different automation configurations and plant philosophies. In operation, SIMOTION's integrated register control en-sures fast setup and the highest print quality.
Experienced handling of webs and sheets
Offset printing is currently the most economical solution for manufacturers of print products in medium and large print runs. To guarantee efficient production in the future, a commercial offset printing machine must always be able to handle a wide range of products. Minimal paper waste as well as short setup times for rapid job changeovers are essential factors that also affect the cost-effectiveness of production. The product range in web offset printing is multi-layered and extends from compact 16-page printing machines to large 96-page printing machines. In addition to a variety of possible solutions for commercial offset presses, we also offer solutions for complex newspaper production lines and sheetfed printing machines.
Sample solution for offset printing
Depending on the degree of automation in the printing units, compact or modular solutions can be used for the printing units. In the case of the modular solution, the motion controllers for winders, printing units, and folding devices are synchronized via PROFINET IRT. This creates a sort of "virtual leading axis" that ensures the perfect synchronization between the units. With the intrgration of SIMOTION Print Standard into the engineering, a fast and efficient commissioning of the entire plant is possible.
Tailored for the individual
Today's digital printing machines offer the broadest spectrum in terms of variety of end products. Large-format flatbed printing, inkjet rotary printing, printing on tubes, drinking mugs, or footballs: Digital printing permits individualized printing on almost any object or printing substrate in the smallest possible print runs. The design of the digital printing machine itself can be as diverse as the options offered by digital printing. These machines are capable of a wide variety of drive and automation tasks. The technical offerings from Siemens can keep pace with any requirement.
Sample solution: Inkjet web printing
Low speed ripple and stable tension ratios are the basic requirements for a perfect print result. This is based on ideal interaction between the drive system and the print modules. Synchronized, high-performance servo drives ensure smooth web travel. The print heads receive the information on web speed/position directly from the drive system via a high-precision pulse output. Additional units such as pull rolls, variable-format folders, or converting modules for finishing can be easily and flexibly integrated into the software concept.
Efficient and flexible down to the smallest batch size
Trough digitalization print finishing gets an entirely new significance. For this process step in particular, the requirements for machine cost-effectiveness and efficiency have grown tremendously. The economical and error-free processing of medium and small batch sizes all the way down to batch size 1 requires the interconnection of intelligent machines with an extremely high degree of automation and increasingly complex drive functions on a demand-dependent basis.
Sample solution for post press
The applications and machine configurations for post press vary greatly from small and individually operated modules with few axes, to sophisticated multi-axis applications with electronic cam functions, all the way to complex, interconnected lines with automated supply and removal units. The modules, which are usually extremely compact, are operated via individual controllers or a central line controller, depending on the concept. Our solutions enable you to over-come the challenges of function, modularity, and cost-effectiveness - in the drives and control technology as well.
Well-established process for exclusivity and innovation
Most manufacturers have recognized that product packaging increasingly serves as an active marketing instrument. That's why printing machines are being expanded more and more over the years - for example, with in-line units for high-quality coating and embossing. Alternatively, they are supplemented with standalone machines whose specific purpose is to refine and increase the sturdiness of the packaging. Functional printing use classic printing and coating processes in combination with modern technologies in order, to produce for example electronic labels or antennas or OLEDs.
Sample solution: Labor-Coater for high-precision printing
Special coating systems are used in the production of printed electronics that enable maximum electrical and mechanical precision. Such systems are based on an exact synchronization of the axes that move the web for a precise web tension and flawless web run. Kroenert has efficiently implemented this solution for their Labor-Coater using the SIMOTION motion control system and integrated register control from Siemens.
