Freely Movable Print Carriers for Flexible Printing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional printing systems are inefficient when printing individual products with varying requirements, as all products must pass through all stations, leading to uniform high time outlay and decreased efficiency, especially when some products need pre-treatment or have different color schemes.
Innovation Solution
The printing system features freely movable print product carriers with their own drives, steerable chassis, and control units, allowing them to navigate independently to only the necessary stations based on order data, eliminating sequential processing and enabling flexible station allocation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all print products pass through all stations in sequence, then every product receives complete processing, but the time outlay becomes uniformly high and efficiency declines
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the print product flow into independent carriers, each with its own drive and control unit. This allows different carriers to be routed to different subsets of stations based on their specific requirements, rather than forcing all products through the complete sequence of stations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements dynamic routing where print product carriers can be directed to different stations based on real-time requirements. The stations are arranged on a transport surface where carriers are freely movable, enabling flexible allocation of processing resources to match product needs.
2Adaptability or versatility
If individual print products have different requirements (one color vs. multiple colors, pre-treatment needed or not), then customization is achieved, but the processing time for each product increases
Solution Approach 1:
Each print product carrier is equipped with local control capabilities (own drive and control unit) that enable it to receive and execute specific processing instructions. This allows different portions of the production system to be activated based on the specific requirements of each product, applying processing only where needed rather than uniformly to all products.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit acts as an intermediary between the product requirements and the station allocation system. It receives order data for the print product and autonomously navigates the carrier to the appropriate stations, enabling flexible customization without manual intervention for each product variant.
3Device complexity
If print product carriers are fixed on a linear conveyor track, then system structure is simple, but flexibility to adapt to different printing requirements is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system transforms the static linear conveyor into a dynamic workspace where carriers move freely across a transport surface. Each carrier has its own drive and steerable chassis, allowing it to navigate to different stations based on processing requirements. This dynamic arrangement provides flexibility while maintaining relatively simple system structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from one-dimensional linear conveyor movement to two-dimensional free movement on a transport surface. Stations are arranged on this surface allowing carriers to access different stations by moving in multiple directions, significantly increasing flexibility without proportionally increasing system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a printing system and a method for printing print material, with a number of printing stations, at least one pre- and/or post-treatment station and a number of print product carriers for taking up a print product and for transporting the print product to the stations. It is provided according to the invention that the print product carriers each have their own drive, a steerable chassis and a control unit for independent movement of the print product carriers and that the stations are arranged on a transport surface, on which the print product carriers are freely movable.