High Performance Inker 9-Color Print Section

Copyright © 2017 Stolle Machinery Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

• Totally enclosed welded frame

• Up to 9 High Performance Inkers

• Mounts on standard Rutherford 8-color base

• Utilizes modified version of standard bull gear

• Cantilevered blanket wheel with replaceable aluminum segments

• Plate cylinder shaft assemblies mount directly into frame

• Full running registration features on plate cylinder shaft assemblies

• Plate cylinder shaft assemblies mount directly into frame

• Full running registration features on plate cylinder shaft assemblies

• Ink stations mounted to the face of the frame with gear train exposed inside

• Recirculating/cooled oil spray in frame to lubricate both bull gear and ink station gears

• Possible inker drive configurations may be:

– External belt drive (standard)

– Inline VFD driven motors (optional)

• Expected to reduce overall energy requirements by an estimated 2 HP per inker

• Reduced contamination in drive area versus open bull gear

• Improved thermal stability due to oil cooling

9-Color Print Section Design Features

Fully Enclosed Frame

• Frame protects the bull gear and plate cylinder drive gears from contamination

– Contamination and debris will not buildup on the surface of the gears

– Protected from operator error – dropping a tool or hardware

– Recirculated oil lubrication in the frame provides cooling to the bull gear, plate cylinder gears, and inker drive trains

– Oil recirculated through heat exchanger with cooling water provides temperature control

– Consistent temperature across all drives provides thermal stability for the print section

– Cooling in inker gear train can also help pull excess heat from the inker rolls

Fully Enclosed Frame

Blanket Wheel

Replaceable blanket segment

Tapered roller bearings

Pre-spin belt drive pulley

• Blanket wheel cantilevered off end of blanket wheel/bull gear shaft

Blanket Wheel

Front frame is not required

Alignment and rigidity maintained with Class 0 double tapered roller bearing assemblies

Replaceable aluminum segments turned to final dimensions in place on the machine• Machined to .0005” total runout or less

• Diameter adjusted to match customer plate and blanket thickness

• Damaged segments can be replaced (using shims) without removal of blanket wheel and without re-turning

Pre-spin belt driven by pulley on backside of wheel• Lower-maintenance simple drive design with reduced

components

• Plate cylinder shaft mounted on tapered roller bearings in print section frame Solid bearing and shaft support Does not flex or move Oil lubrication supplied to bearings via pulse lube through the front retainer

• Parallel to blanket surface set at less than .0005” Parallel and plate to blanket pressure settings stay when inker is removed

Plate Cylinder Shaft

Tapered roller bearings

Plate cylinder

Plate-to-Blanket Pressure AdjustmentAdjustment

rod

Pressure pin

Front bearing retainer

Spring pressure bracketPlate cylinder shaft eccentric housing

Front bearing retainer

• Plate-to-blanket adjustment rod extends past the front of the blanket wheel allowing operators to make adjustments while the machine is in operation

• The adjuster rotates eccentric housing changing the pressure between the plate and the blanket

• The eccentric housing is spring loaded against the adjuster to allow for adjustments

Plate-to-Blanket Pressure Adjustment

Side Lay Registration AdjustmentAdjustment rod

Plate cylinder shaft eccentric housing

Guide bushings

Spring bracket

• Side lay adjustment rod extends past the front of the blanket wheel and can be adjusted while the machine is in operation

• The adjustment rod slides the eccentric housing in the bushing to change the side lay registration

• .1875 in. (4.7 mm) adjustment both directions with .0357 (.9 mm) in. movement per revolution of the adjustment rod

Side Lay Registration Adjustment

Adjustment rod

Drive and backlash gear assembly

Adjustment block

Circumferential Registration Adjustment

• Circumferential Registration adjustment rod extends past the front of the blanket wheel as well

• The adjuster moves the backlash gear assembly

• The backlash gear is helical, so as the gear moves in and out the circumferential registration changes

Circumferential Registration Adjustment

Function of the anti-backlash gear:

• At a designed gap, the teeth of the anti-backlash gear and the drive gear are in line

• The springs on the anti-backlash gear push the two gears together to take up the clearance in the gear teeth

• This prevents registration movement as operating speeds change

Circumferential Registration Adjustment

Spring-loaded guide pins

Anti-backlash gear

Drive gear

Gap

Inker Drives

Belt drive

AC vector motor drive

Belt-Driven Inker Drive• Inker power requirements will not be transmitted

through the main gearbox and the bull gear, reducing wear and increasing the life of the parts

Approx. 5 HP required per inker, reducing load through gearbox and bull gear by 45 HP

• Each inker has its own drive hub with an air-driven clutch to remotely disengage inkers that are not needed

• Timing belts keep the ink station rolls synchronized with the blanket wheel speed

Drive coupling

Inker disengage air clutch

• Inker motor drives track main drive speed to keep inkers synchronized with the machine speed

Changes in motor power requirements can help indicate maintenance issues with the ink station

• Reduced maintenance compared to the mechanical drive system

• 5 HP AC motors with encoder feedback Larger frame size 213TC to dissipate heat

without fan or blower cooling

AC Vector Motor Drive

Drive coupling

5 HP AC vector motor

Rutherford High Performance Inker

• Rigid two-frame design Shaft alignments are maintained,

increasing life of bearings and shafts

• Plate cylinder adjustments are made independent of the ink station

• Contact between the plate and the blanket will not influence the inker

High Performance Inker – Design

High Performance Inker – Rollers• 8-roll ink train compared to 10 rolls in standard Rutherford inker

Optional rider roll can be added or removed at any time depending on the label requirements

• Ceramic coated fountain roll, distributor roll, and oscillator rolls • Rubber rolls coated with Rollercoat high speed NG rubber

Fountain roll 4.00 dia

Ductor roll 3.687 dia

Steel distributor roll 4.50 dia

Rubber transfer rolls 3.582 dia

Oscillator (vibrator) rolls 4.50 dia

Form roll 5.75 dia

Rider roll (optional) 2.875 dia

High Performance Inker – Ductor Roll

• Pneumatic ductor roll allows for adjustment of cycle rates and dwell times for contact between the fountain roll and the distributor roll

• PLC-controlled and adjustable for each ink station to adjust ink flow

• Speed compensation built in using the ductor sensor

• Front access to the air cylinder for easier maintenance

Air cylinder

Ductor sensor

Pivot bracket

Pivot shaft

• The single form roll was implemented to reduce the roll count and made larger for longer life

• The form roll is 5.75 inch dia. vs. 5.00 inch dia. plate cylinder to prevent a repeating pattern on the form roll

Contacted by both oscillator rolls to prevent ghosting

• Optional rider roll to help further reduce ghosting if needed

High Performance Inker – Form Roll

Form roll

Optional rider roll

• Bronze bushings typically used on oscillator roll shafts have been replaced with linear/rotary bearings

• The shaft slides in the inner housing containing a composite bushing

• The shaft rotates the inner housing which rides in a needle bearing

• Shaft wear and bushing failures are reduced

High Performance Inker – Bearings

Linear/rotary bearings

Needle bearing

Composite bushings

Bushing housing

High Performance Inker – Fountain

Segmented blade

Removable ink tray

Quick release latches

8 segment blade

Ink flow adjustment keys

Leveling bracket

Quick removal latches

• Despite the more compact size, the ink fountain has been enlarged with 40% more ink capacity

• 8 key segmented blade for more accurate adjustment Keys adjust a single section of blade to control ink flow in specific areas

• No-leak side cheek seals to the fountain roll Cheek seals are supported by a bronze sleeve running on bearings

mounted to the fountain roll shaft This allows for a tight seal without overloading the roll or pressing the

blade into the surface Wear in the seal and the roll is reduced

• Quick release latches that allow easy removal of the fountain from the ink station

• Fountain leveling bracket allows for adjustment to match all 9 stations orientation

High Performance Inker – Fountain

High Performance Inker – Gears

• Simplified gear train open to oil spray lubrication inside inker frame

• Gears are straight-tooth hardened spur gears

• Oscillation of vibrator rolls is chain-driven

• Water cooled fountain roll, distributor roll, and oscillator rolls

• Cooling water is supplied in parallel – All rolls receive cooled water from the supply line instead of water supplied

from the return line of the previous roll

• High flow rotary unions with ceramic seals and straight threads – Straight threads reduce the

runout of the union compared to NPT tapered threads

– Reduces loading on shaft and bearings increasing part life

High Performance Inker – Water Cooling

High Performance Inker – Guards• Fully enclosed guard package

• Prevents access to rotating components

• Mist extraction point to remove mist that does develop

• All adjustments are still available to the operator including filling the fountain and adjusting fountain keys

Form roll adjustments

Fountain access

Rutherford High Performance Inker 9-Color Print Section

Thank you!

Copyright © 2017 Stolle Machinery Company, LLC. All rights reserved.