by Lara Copeland, contributing editor
Pad printing, a printing process that transfers 2D images onto 3D objects, extends into every sector and is used on many products – from coffee makers to fashion accessories, shoes to beverage containers and much more. Since the early 1980s, TOSH Srl, Rozzano, Italy, has been applying stepper motor technology for pad printing. Its new Logica 05.5, available from Innovative Marking Systems, exclusive US distributor of TOSH pad printing equipment, Lowell, Massachusetts, is a numerically controlled pad printing center for multicolor printing. It is available in three different versions based on printing force and speed.
Trent Pepicelli, president of Innovative Marking Systems, said, “The TOSH Logica 05.5 bridges a cost/capacity gap between the Logica 05 and Logica 06.” It features 4000N (900lbs) of printing force with an optional 5000N (1,125 lbs), whereas the Logica 05 offers 3000N (675lbs) of printing force. “Additional options enable the end user to realize a 40 percent increase in horizontal and vertical speeds over the Logica 05,” he added.
The increase in printing force enables the Logica 05.5 to utilize up to four 160mm diameter ink cups or five 130mm diameter ink cups. “Optionally, the 05.5 can accommodate a 160mm diameter ink cup with a ‘Refresher’ doctoring device (actuating in a perpendicular axis) with up to 450mm of programmable stroke, for printing images that are too wide to fit in smaller ink cups,” Pepicelli explained.
The Logica 05.5 is manufactured from light alloy and steel. The simple, robust construction was used to guarantee a long life without maintenance. The heavy-duty machine casting also eliminates the torque, whip and vibration typically felt by other pad printers. Its electric drive guarantees smooth, consistent application of force at extreme production cadences. The computerized numerical control ensures complete flexibility of operation and simplicity without compromise.
TOSH’s 05.5 provides considerable advantages for users. As a fully electrical operation, the machine does not require compressed air; thus, users can save more than 15,000 to 20,000kWh a year, assuming one working shift per day. Its ergonomic design allows for easy access to all mechanical parts and reduced changeover time. Due to its available hermetic ink system preventing solvent evaporation, it also is an eco-friendly machine.
Pepicelli said the pad printer has certainly helped users overcome production challenges. With the ability to convey parts under the cliché support, the machine allows decoration in every position on large-sized objects. Additionally, it can print on different surface levels of the same object, easily adjusting the stroke through the keyboard. “The Logica 05.5’s cantilevered cliché support and multiple axis part-conveying capability enables the end-user to print multiple colors virtually anywhere on parts that are too large or have too complex a geometry to print in a single cycle on any competitive machine,” he continued. Furthermore, “The Logica 05.5 makes difficult-to-print geometries look easy, while affording the operator superior process control for speeds, delays and stroke distances in up to 5 axes of motion.” He also stated that customers working in the medical industry have been able to process parts with tremendously complex geometries, printing on three different axes in up to seven different colors, with fully integrated pre- and post-treatment within the cycle.
Technical Details
Three models are available: The Logica 05.5, Logica 05.5S and Logica 05.5SV. Where the Logica 05.5 and Logica 05.5SV have a printing force of 4000N, the Logica 05.5S has a printing force of 5000N. The maximum printing speed for the 05.5 and 05.5S models is adjustable up to 1,200c/h. It is adjustable up to 1,700c/h for the 05.5SV model. Optional features include cross tables, indexers, oval flat conveyors, rotary tables, rectilinear tracked conveyor, rectilinear inclined conveyor and doctoring refresher devices.
