LINEAR MOTOR STAGES FOR THE PRINTING INDUSTRY

The printing industry is nowadays going through one of its best moments. In the last ten years, thanks to the strong push of 2D and 3D printing technology, a new era in large format printing has begun, in which many types of materials and means are available. Printing on textiles, paper, glass, glass, wood or plastic no longer has secrets. For the machinery manufacturers, the technologies are well-known and established for 2D printing (with regular ink or latex) or for 3D printing with polymers or metal. The industry feels the urge to produce more competitive machines which reduce costs and increase precision.

Improvements in dynamics and precision are important factors in the decision for a linear motor unit. Thus, the end customer receives an advanced solution which is adapted to their needs, with higher repeatability and faster speeds. At SINADRIVES we respond to these challenges with our most advanced solutions based on Direct Drive technology, which result in log-term competitive advantages.

Since the inkjet printing technology has become a mainstream solution, many young companies have emerged that have seized the opportunity to be first in the new printing technologies. These are young OEMs, with a growth potential and a capacity for innovation. This is is an obvious step, as these companies accept linear motor technology as a regular one and that is why, today, 80% of the printers on the market are powered by linear motor technology. The use of linear units with linear motor in the printing sector is very popular due to the many advantages that this technology offers to the manufacturer.

Some of the advantages that this technology brings to printing machinery are:

– An improved print quality

– A higher productivity

– Improvements in dynamics: speed, acceleration and precision

– Reduced maintenance: less maintenance stops and more availability

In most cases, the printers are controlled by a central PC responsible for coordinating the functionality of the print head / heads with the movement of the axes. The linear stages with linear motor are compatible with the most used and accepted servo driver brands in the industry. Thanks to this, the implementation of sophisticated controls is easy and fast. The SINADRIVES team is happy to help carrying out the commissioning of our linear units.

Additionally, we can point to a very low Cogging value of our linear units, which has a positive influence on getting constant speeds while printing.

Any application performed by a linear or rotary motion can be performed using a linear drive with direct drive technology:

– Head movement in longitudinal direction (main printing movement)

– Head adjustment in vertical position

– Movement of the object which is being printed

– Applications of pad printing, screen printing and digital printing

If in doubt, please contact us. Through a free study of your application, we will inform you about the advantages a linear motor solution can provide. Our technical department is happy to assist you to carry out the relevant printing tests.

Precision demands are increasing in 3D technology. We are not only talking about positioning accuracy or repeatability, but also about absolute geometric precision, like flatness or parallelism. These factors are decisive when it comes to getting highly precise parts with high geometric tolerances. The SINADRIVES team is up to these challenges with all its technical competence and experience. We assist clients in integrating linear drives with linear motor into their systems. Take advantage of our experience and know-how!