THIEME GmbH & Co. KG, a leading manufacturer of flatbed screenprinting machines, has developed and delivered a three-colour line for printing on flat glass for household appliances to Bulgarian glass …
THIEME GmbH & Co. KG, a leading manufacturer of flatbed screenprinting machines, has developed and delivered a three-colour line for printing on flat glass for household appliances to Bulgarian glass processor Trakya Cam Bulgaria EAD. The 45-meter long line, which was recently commissioned, consists of three interlinked single-colour THIEME 3000 GS systems, which can also be operated independently. The application options of the printing line are completely customer specified and very diverse: print applications include oven lights, microwave door windows and displays for all kinds of household appliances. For this reason, the customer placed great importance on the system“s ability to print on different panel formats. With a maximum printing format of 950 mm x 650 mm and a minimum format of 80 x 250 mm, the machine design was challenging and allowed Thieme to utilize its broad range of experience and knowledge. Special sensors are integrated in such a way that panels with drilled holes can also be transported without disturbance. Independent of panel format, the range of glass panel thickness is 3 to 8 mm. In addition to the range of panel formats, Trakya Cam Bulgaria placed great importance on making usability as flexible as possible and on the optimal efficiency of the installation. This is assured by means of two glass accumulators, which are integrated in the line and function as buffers to prevent idle time during production interruptions. Moreover, 90-degree inflow and outflow stations are integrated between the printing stations, so that the tri-colour lines can also be operated without costly reconstruction as three self-sufficient single-colour lines (or as a combination of one two-colour and one single-colour line). The installation control system is also designed for these variations: it comprises three individual functional machines and line control systems, which are linked via a network. This control system flexibility ensures that operating conditions, such as the removal of a panel from the inspection table and later re-integration of panels back into the process, do not disturb or interrupt the production flow.