Zund Expands its Portfolio of Digital Cutting Solutions with Launch of Q-Line with BHS180

By Print Week

Prasanna Venkatesh, managing director at Zund India discusses the features of the new launch, which he says, has raised the bar for industrial, pallet-to-pallet production

There’s a new Zund Q-Line with BHS180 digital cutting solution? Why is it an important milestone for Zund? The Q-Line with BHS180 digital cutting solution complements Zund’s current offering, but it also raises the the bar for industrial, efficient, pallet-to-pallet production. How? The new Q-Line with BHS180 board handling system is an integrated system solution. It is specifically intended for the demands of highly automated, industrial finishing of printed boards for displays and packaging. The individual components – board feeder with Undercam, the new Q-Line cutter generation, and the off-load unit – are optimally coordinated and provide previously unattainable levels of productivity. It is said, that the Q-Line incorporates a new machine concept that enhances its performance. Can you explain what it is? The Q-Line with BHS180 is a comprehensive, advanced system solution that takes digital production to a new level. Each component of this advanced digital cutting system is replete with exciting new features. The new substructure for Q-Line cutters is made from extremely stable concrete. It ensures smooth operation and optimum cutting precision, even at extremely high speeds of up to 2.8 m/s.

The beams are made of carbon fibre-reinforced plastic, which makes them very light and exceedingly strong. This means even demanding materials can be processed at top speeds and the highest quality levels. Unprecedented performance also manifests itself in various other aspects, including in the impressive acceleration of up to 2.1g made possible by the new, linear drive system. Jobs can therefore be processed at even greater speeds which, in turn, lead to significantly shorter cycle times per job. What are the modules that the new kit offers? The Q-Line with BHS180 comes with the latest generation of modules and tools. Automo L is all about force and provides a creasing pressure of up to 50 kg. This makes it the perfect carrier module for creasing with large crease wheels such as the Creto 150. Automo E excels particularly in the speed in which it lowers and lifts the tools in use. Each beam is equipped with a total of four modules: two Automo E modules, one Automo L, and one fixed Incam sensor module to capture registration marks, QR codes, and material edges.

And tools? Unito is the tool used with centred and off-centred drag knives and is suitable for processing materials up to 5mm thick. Elosto is available in two different variations for cutting operations requiring electric motor-driven oscillation. If creasing wheels are to be used, Creto is the required tool. Creto 24, Creto 61, and Creto 150 differ slightly in their design and can accommodate crease wheels of different types and diameters.

Perto is the tool used in conjunction with perforating wheels. Drawto is for marking and drawing on an extremely wide range of materials. Q-Line cutters come standard with an automatic tool-changing system. The Tomac Tool Management Client takes care of tool management from start to finish, ensuring easy and, above all, automated processes. Tool management digitally links the tools with presets, which saves valuable time in setup and tool changes. There’s a feature called - automated pallet-to-pallet production. What’s it? The Q-Line with BHS180 removes bottlenecks in digital cutting by eliminating the need for manual material handling. Automatic material transport from pallet to pallet maximises the productivity of the production workflow and prevents idle time. A customisable, transparent production workflow also ensures smooth and reliable order processing. The system captures the information stored for each job using QR codes and thus ensures an intelligent, error-free, QR code-based production workflow. It enables processing a variety of different jobs in the stack. Processing begins automatically. The Undercam integrated in the board feeder captures the precise location of the image printed on the board. It reliably identifies any distortions in the print, compensates for them, and perfectly matches the cut to the print every time. With every scan, the software adjusts the cut paths to the printed image, on the fly and in real time, significantly reducing the cycle time for each job. What does the Q-Line with BHS180 comprise of? The new Q-Line with BHS180 is an all-in-one solution. In addition to the hardware, it also comprises a complete set of services, intuitive and straightforward software, such as the latest Zund Cut Center – ZCC operating software, Version 4.0, or the Zund Connect production monitoring and analysing tool, as well as a wide selection of consumables. In an initial phase, the new Q-Line with BHS180 is available as a dual-beam system in three different sizes. Users select the appropriate machine size for their specific requirements, no matter whether their production involves one-offs, small batches, or high-volume orders. The Zund Cutter Q 32-32 D has a working width of 3.2 m, the Q 22-32 D a working width of 2.2 m, and the Q 18-32 D a working width of 1.8 m.

This interview was published in Print Week June 14, 2023. Zund America. Inc. is a member of SPESA.

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