In the first half of September, Ostermller Verpackungen GmbH & Co. KG, which has its head office in Bünde, Germany, commissioned the world's first VISIONCUT 106 LER.
BOBST had previously presented this completely new, 3B-format flat-bed die-cutter at the COMPETENCE 15 open house held at its headquarters in Mex, Switzerland in late June 2015, showcasing the in-line separation and 8'000 sheets per hour production speed of the new press. Alongside the VISIONCUT 106 LER's short set-up times and innovative technical features, it was the presence of the automatic separation capability at a competitive cost that won over Olaf Ostermller, owner and Managing Director of the long-standing, medium-sized packaging company.
"In the fields of foodstuffs and technical products in particular, packaging is increasingly being erected and glued by machine. Given this background, we were absolutely determined to install a flat bed die-cutter with in-line separation to replace our existing system. This now enables us to meet our customers' quality demands without any compromise," explains Ostermller, emphasizing the importance of replacing another manual operation in the production process. And he goes on to explain that the VISIONCUT 106 LER is also flexible enough to be converted quickly and easily to full-sheet output. "With three months' production experience of the VISIONCUT we are very happy with the results. It underlines how right we were to make this investment," concludes Ostermller.
To make sure it selected the right system, Ostermller compared flat bed die-cutters from a number of manufacturers. "Ultimately, we could see no reason not to stay with the market leader."
The die-cutter was installed at the end of August and was up and running just a few days later. Since then it has been operating without the slightest problem. "Compared to our previous SP 104-E die-cutting machine, set-up times have become considerably shorter," says Ostermller, turning to another important benefit of the new production technology. For example, Quick Lock frames permit rapid changeover of the die-cutting tools, while the unique tool frames, which are equipped with a high-speed clamping device and permit tool adjustments to micrometer precision, greatly simplify the task of adjusting the stripping and separating tools for the machine operators. The shorter set-up times are particularly advantageous when it comes to short runs. But for the moment, the Managing Director is unable to say exactly how much of a benefit this will be. "We are still in the introductory phase and getting to grips with the many different capabilities of the new machine," explains Ostermller.
The optical, non-contact sheet register, the fully automatic Smart Feeder and the double-cam gripper drive, number among the other technical highlights of this innovative flat-bed die-cutter. Together, they guarantee reliable production during the processing of a wide range of packaging materials at sheet formats of up to 1'060 x 760 mm - including lightweight paper material with a grammage of 80 g/m2 or more, carton board up to 2'000 g/m2, as well as plastics and corrugated board up to a thickness of 4 mm - while ensuring outstanding quality and productivity.
"With the VISIONCUT 106 LER, we can achieve full production speed faster than with our previous die-cutter and accelerate it to its peak throughput of approximately 8'000 sheets per hour," continues Ostermller, illustrating one aspect of the new machine's enhanced productivity that offers his company an extremely attractive price/performance ratio.
