Zund G3 Kongsberg i-xl / i-xp XY flatbed cutters

Transcription

1 i April 2011 Zund G3 Kongsberg i-xl / i-xp XY flatbed cutters Comparing performance and quality when cutting rigid materials Pablo Martínez

2 ixp Please Note This report has not been licensed to any printer manufacturer, distributor, dealer, sales rep, RIP company, media or ink company to distribute. So if you obtained this from any company, you have a pirated copy. Also, since this report is frequently updated, if you got your version from somewhere else, it may be an obsolete edition. FLAAR reports are being updated all year long, and our comment on that product may have been revised positively or negatively as we learned more about the product form end users. To obtain a legitimate copy, which you know is the complete report with nothing erased or changed, and hence a report with all the original description of pros and cons, please obtain your original and full report straight from Your only assurance that you have a complete and authentic evaluation which describes all aspects of the product under consideration, benefits as well as deficiencies, is to obtain these reports directly from FLAAR, via Martin Carlshamre (Design Force Global Account Manager) and Thor Christian Helgerud (EskoArtwork S&D Account Manager) during our site visit to evaluate the Kongsberg XP installed at Design Force in Sweden (the home of Re-Board). On the front cover we can see The Esko Kongsberg XL flatbed cutter I visited at DMP Oy in Helsinki, Finland. Also we can see the Zund G3 I visited. I evaluated three cutters on this study; the Zund G3 and the Kongsberg ixl which are on performance virtually the same. I also had an opportunity to test the Kongsberg ixp, which is a faster more industrial cutter. Contents Introduction 1 Introduction: Honeycomb Sandwich Board 2 Media Price vs. Quality, another fact 3 XY flatbed cutters, qualities and importance 7 EskoArtwork Kongsberg XP Series 9 EskoArtwork Kongsberg i-xl Series 13 Zünd G3 XL Conclusion 23 Cut quality / Cut time review 24 Copyright 2011

3 1 EskoArtwork Kongsberg XP flatbed cutter at Design Force, preparing to cut a display made of Re-board. Introduction: Flatbed Cutters In the growing market for signage, POP displays, interior decoration and furniture, where day to day digital printing is becoming popular, we can see that the use of such machines is no longer just a complement. Short run conversation of digital print has become an essential part of production because runs are getting shorter and shorter. Digital Print volume is increasing each year by about 16%, but the number of short run jobs within that volume is increasing at faster rate. This means the demand for cutters is increasing to meet the demand for shorter runs. This is particularly true when you look at Re-board and rigid boards which have become more popular because of their Green Credentials; and their use in 3D structures in POS. But they are not easy to cut and we have been asked many times to make comparisons. The market offers a wide variety of brands and types of machines, including CNC cutters (Computer Numerical Control) and XY flatbed cutters. CNC provide automation in cutting; XY flatbed cutting and folding in different materials for the digital printing market all increasing the workflow. All cutters can accurately perform hundreds of precise cuts in minutes with only one operator; but the final output quality depends on many things, accuracy of the cutter, handling and most importantly the speed the machine can cut dependent on tooling and the media that is being used. At FLAAR we differentiate clearly between CNC routers and XY flatbed cutters. CNC routers go back to the early 70s and before when G code was written for CNC devices. XY flatbed digital cutters are more modern (mid 1980 s) Kongsberg and Zünd are the best examples with the first developments of a tangential cutting knife for vinyls. There is a difference in the definitions of jargon. XY flatbed digital

4 2 cutters are more for LFP, Signage, POP and POS, although they can cut thin thicker materials such as Re-board, Plastics and metalized rigids such as Dibond. CNC cutter are traditionally heavier duty and slower for wood, metal etc. But some Manufacturers such as Multicam has added tooling for signage. FLAAR evaluates XY Flatbed digital cutters that sit alongside Digital printers. We do not evaluate CNC routers for manufacturing purposes. I have been to the factory of Zünd: Lars Bendixen and his team were helpful and hospitable. I have been to the demo room in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin of EskoArtwork Kongsberg. Again: hospitality and plenty of information. Ironically Esko s Lake Geneva office sold Zünd until 2004 when they were known as MGE. Now an Esko owned facility, they exclusively sell Kongsberg, but still support hundreds of Zünd customers in the USA; so they know the pros and cons of both Zünd and Kongsberg. I have been to the factory of MultiCam in Dallas, Texas; where the traditional American method of manufacturing looked very different than how things are done in Europe. Since things were a bit old-fashioned I could not figure out why they did not allow photography: even the Chinese would copy something more up to date. But, no photography means there can t be any report. Introduction: Honeycomb Sandwich Board Beginning two years ago FLAAR began to work more on green inks and green materials. The reason was because HP latex ink has helped all print shops understand that the days of solvent inks (and even eco-solvent and mild-solvent) are, like the dinosaurs, going to come to an end. Our philosophy at FLAAR is that a true green solution should involve more than a green ink: you also need a non-pvc material. At SignAfrica 2008 I noticed X-board from Xanita. I saw more of this at SignAfrica 2009 and I also made a goal to list as many brands of comparable material as I could, such as Re-board, Dufalite, Falconboard, Bioboard, etc. I visited with managers of most of these companies at various FESPA and VISCOM events throughout Europe. So when an opportunity to have a Technical Writer from FLAAR visit Reboard, we welcomed this opportunity to learn more. In simple terms, these boards have become popular because they can be recycled after use, in the case of Re-board repulped. But their use extends beyond just being a material than be recycled. They are manufactured using a honeycombed or structured inner layer. This means they are dimensionally very strong, very flat and have a printable white surface. Think of the applications where you have used MDF - now make the same structure from Reboard that weighs less than a 100th of the weight but dimensionally just as strong. Think of transporting MDF! This makes them an ideal material in the construction of a multitude of POP and POS applications. From large exhibition structures, to the smallest 2 and 3D structures. They are designed to be printed on UV Direct media printers. Once this material is printed, it has to be cut. Here is the first place a crucial decision needs to be made: what kind of cutter; what kind of tool? Actually if you have the proper kind of sandwich board you can make entire structures: as in temporary shelters for disaster relief work, etc. So the 3D structural market potential is huge. Pablo Martínez (FLAAR Technical Writer), Kurt Aldén (Design Force President), Martin Carlshamre (Design Force Global Account Manager) at Design Force, discussing Re-board properties.

5 3 Media Price vs. Quality, another fact In recent signage and display tradeshows I have seen an increase in the use and application of recyclable rigid boards. But also seen many new brands emerging where quality, finish, construction all vary. Companies prefer to use the best quality because of reliability, consistently and support of the manufacturer, Reboard is a good example. But some may try lower quality board because of affordability. This should be considered because the quality of material used is an important factor when you are quoting on a project. The final result obtained depends widely on the quality of the media selected. That is why price should not be taken lightly and use any material without knowing its characteristics. For example, print surface and white point are important. Equally, some may cut more evenly than others because the internal structure is very strong and may deviate a blade! Frayed edges, uneven V notching for folding are all important. To guide and advise those interested in the use of XY flatbed cutters and CNC retrofitted for the display and signage markets and application of different materials (not all materials react in the same way when printed; in the same way, not all machines are capable of handling all media in an optimum way), besides making assessments of the various machines used for the advertising market, FLAAR also conducts studies and evaluations of different media on the market. FLAAR recently had the opportunity to make a site visit to Design Force, in Norrköping Sweden, who are manufacturers of Re-board. Re-board is what we call in jargon a honeycomb sandwich board printable to a high standard in POP and POS, or use it to make furniture very versatile. There are about five well-known brands and a growing number of newer secondary brands of comparable honeycomb sandwich board popping up around the world, especially in Asia, as the benefits of this material become better known. In this site-visit, with the collaboration of Kurt Aldén (Design Force President) and Martin Carlshamre (Global Acount Manager), FLAAR was given access to important knowledge about this product: specifications, applications, performance and endurance. To perform several tests on this media and the features that the XY flatbed cutter has used for cutting and handling this media. Re-board facts Board Length 3200 mm 2400 mm 2200 mm 2440 mm Board Width 1600 mm 1600 mm 1600 mm 1220 mm Board Thickness 3/8 10 mm 12 mm 1/2 16 mm 3/4 22 mm 1 30 mm Weight kg/m 2 1,6 1,6 1,7 1,7 2,2 2,3 2,5 2,7 3,1 Density kg/m 3 0,17 0,17 0,15 0,15 0,13 0,13 0,12 0,11 0,10 ReBoard is a highly durable media, which is composed of 20% recycled material and 80% virgin material. The finished board is 100% recyclable.

6 4 Kurt Aldén (Design Force President) showing one applications where the material is commonly used to manufacturer whole walls, where sections can easily be interchanged. Pablo Martínez (FLAAR Technical Writer) taking notes of a display made with Re-board, Design Force site-visit Pablo Martínez and Kurt Aldén putting together a Re-board display cut with a EskoArtwork Kongsberg XP flatbed cutter.

7 5 Re-board is a very resistant media, almost all the furniture at Design Force is made with this media. Rigidiity, firmness and versatility make it a good choice for many applications. The material is extremely lightweight and at the same time very strong. Here show some samples where it has been used as home divisions and walls.

8 6 Signage and display samples made with Re-board, cut with a EskoArtwork Kongsberg XL flatbed cutter.

9 7 XY flatbed cutters, qualities and importance Although most cutters appear similar, not every cutter is ideal to handle all types of material; some are better for cutting thin flexible materials, others for harder or thicker materials. Thinner materials do not need much power and the cutter can be made to run faster, but the tools can lack strength. When you start to cut rigid boards the strength of the cutter comes through both the construction and the strength of its tools. For three days FLAAR conducted site-visits around Sweden and Finland, visiting three separate print shops that had the Zünd and Kongsberg XY cutters we used for testing. These were in real commercial work environments. To perform these tests we the same file data which was a 3D structural display freestanding display unit. This display unit was made up of several elements or separate shapes. It had a good cross mixture of straight cuts, V notching (commonly used to part cut through the material allowing it to be folded) and curved edge cutting (which really shows up the cutter!) Cutting had to be accurate because the unit had to finally assembled or put together. Any bad cutting would show and the job rejected! 16mm Re-board was the test material used, as this was the most commonly used thickness we have seen used in POP and POS enviroments we had visited. My first visit was made to Design Force in Sweden. They have two Kongsberg model DCM cutters and one Kongsberg i-xp. The DCM cutters are an earlier generation and replaced recently by Kongsberg XP Auto, the DCM and XP Auto are Kongsbergs flag ship cutters autofeed and autostack monsters and very impressive. I did test the DCM, but as it has been replaced, I have not included the final figures here. But for an old cutter it out performed the G3 which was interesting. To test the three XY flatbed cutter in a real working environment, we used Re-board as media and the same display cutting file to evaluate the performance. EskoArtwork Kongsberg XL flatbed cutter. EskoArtwork Kongsberg i-xp24 flatbed cutter. Zünd G3 XL-3200 flatbed cutter.

10 8 EskoArtwork Kongsberg XL flatbed cutter performing the Re-board test, at DMP (Digital Media Partners) site visit With Design Force I evaluated the Kongsberg i-xp, the letter i for a Kongsberg means it has an i-cut Vision Pro vision system and is designed for the S&D industry. The Kongsberg i-xp is the newest of the family and is reputed to be the fastest XY cutter in the world, after these tests I would agree with this. Then a visit was made to a two customer sites in Finland, one with a Kongsberg i-xl; this had been installed 18 months ago. The final test was undertaken at a customer site who had been cutting Re-board for about 12 months with a Zünd G3, this is the latest model from Zünd. Most users I have spoken with compare the Kongsberg i-xl with the Zünd G3 for speed and similarity which looks right. As we found out, there are so many materials that people print on nowadays, that merely having the latest-greatest cutter is not always what you need. What is crucial is whether the cutter you seek (or the cutter you already have) is really made or will last for the specific material you need to cut. And if you are a print shop who is doing research on what cutter to consider, realize that the materials you will think about cutting today, that in two or three years you (and your clients) will ask you to cut on even more exotic materials. So you d better gear up in advance and buy the cutter that is most likely to be able to cut diverse materials for the future. Hint: the background and philosophy of each cutter company provides tips on what materials they focus on. So an old CNC router company might still be stuck in the rut of thinking about cutting machine parts. A company coming from a background of developing cutters for vinyl, probably still has this in their engineering philosophy So check on the full range of what materials the engineers really planned for. And most important: do site-visit customer inspections yourself. First do a demo room visit: in-person. Don t simply send the material and have them send the cut-material back. YOU want to see if the machine stutters and strains at promised production speeds. YOU need to see if the tool was straining and loud due to weak tool motors. YOU want to see if they have to cut three times to get through the material. And also, YOU want to see if there are frayed edges you have to clean off by hand.

11 9 i-xp Work area Max. material size Maximum speed EskoArtwork Kongsberg i-xp Series i-xp i-xp i-xp 1680 x 1430 mm. 66 x 56 in x 1800 mm. 70 x 71 in. Maximum acceleration 15m/s 2 Vertical tool force 1.5G 1680 x 3200 mm. 66 x 126 in x 3600 mm. 70 x 141 in. 100 m/min - 66 IPS Standard tool modules: 220 N Heavy Duty tool module: 500 N 2210 x 3200 mm. 87 x 126 in x 3600 mm. 91 x 135 in. 14m/s 2 1.4G The sheer strength of this cutter with its efficient tooling allows it to easily cut through ReBoard The Kongsberg i-xp tooling system consists of a variety of separate tool units that can be quickly mounted and set for tool height. Available i-xp-series tools include a heavy-duty crease tool unit; a reciprocating knife tool unit; a milling tool unit for materials up to 50-mm in thickness; and V-notch knife tool-heads capable of processing different folded angles. EskoArtwork, Kongsberg i-xp24 flatbed cutter at Design Force, cutting our test job on Reboard.

12 10 i-xp24 flatbed cutter has a system that facilitates the exchange of tools according to the need of each material. The time required for tool changes, depending on the experience of the operator is less than 2 minutes.

13 11 Pablo Martínez (FLAAR Technical Writer) taking notes of the cutting process, mounting of tool heads, measuring table height, and listening to the straining or resistance of the tool head matched to carriage speed. The Zünd tooling was noticeably louder and seemed to be straining under load. The i-xp or any of the Kongsberg cutters produced any sign or sound of straining or struggling when cutting. When you hear this is in a production environment it shows the difference between the two manufacturers. For our test it indicates the Kongsberg makes no effort at the time of processing this material. This shows one element of the job, the cut quality and smoothness achieved with the XP24 cutter is excellent, without need of manual retouching. This helps to obtain a perfect match and fitting together of the final job.

14 12 Pablo Martínez (FLAAR Technical Writer) reviewing the final job (cuts and media match) achieved in this test with the i-xp24 flatbed cutter. A perfect fit ensures the strength and security of the display, quality control ready to ship. Time needed to cut the complete job: 04:16 min. Quality obtained: High quality Several common factors were taken into account at each of the test sites, as the operator s experience in setting up tooling. How long the company have been using the cutter, the tool and blade being used (new blades each time). We wanted this to be fair as possible and be objective.

15 13 Work area Max. material size EskoArtwork Kongsberg i-xl Series i-xl20 i-xl24 i-xl42 i-xl x 1270 mm x 50 in x 1620 mm. 69 x 64 in x 3050 mm x 120 in x 3420 mm. 69 x 135 in x 1270 mm x 50 in x 1620 mm. 90 x 64 in. Maximum speed 50m/min - 33ips 50m/min - 33ips Maximum acceleration 5.6m/s 2 Vertical tool force 0.56G Standard tool stations: 220 N Power Head crease station: 500 N 5.4m/s G 2140 x 3050 mm x 120 in x 3420 mm. 90 x 135 in. EskoArtwork Kongsberg i-xl cutting on banner, at DMP (Digital Media Partners) site visit The Kongsberg i-xl comes with i-cut Vision Pro that helps register the actual dimensions and positions on the printed result. The wide range of tools offers speed, power and flexibility to handle a variety of materials, such as paper, foam board, corrugated stocks, PVC, acrylic, plexiglass, styrene, aluminum composite, vinyl, wood, polypropylene, and others.

16 14 The automatic bar code identification speeds up tool changeovers and prevents user errors. The memorizing system for job setups saves extensive time between jobs. Because tooling requires no additional setup time and already has its optimal run parameters programmed in a very clever system. The PowerHead option ensures high quality performance on environmental boards like Re-board, plus double wall, triple wall and recycled boards. It features 150mm (6 ) diameter crease wheels and additional scoring pressure. The knife turning pressure and rigidify were a real advantage for cutting Re-board.

17 15 EskoArtwork Kongsberg i-xl flatbed cutter, at DMP showing it also cuts vinyl on a conveyor for continuous production. This flatbed cutter provides a good finishing solution for a wide range of materials and applications, supplying automation, productivity and precision. The cutter achieved a good performance on the Re-board test, making clean and aesthetic cuts, easy to extract from the media board; the force generated by the power tools allows the cutter to easily work with this material without forcing the mechanism.

18 16 Pablo Martínez evaluating the results obtained by the XL flatbed cutter at the test. The quality obtained by the XL flatbed cutter on the Re-board test is quite high, at first glance you can see the cleanliness and perfection in the courts. Time needed to cut the complete job: 08:27 min. Quality obtained: High quality Several common factors were taken into account at each of the test sites, as the operator s experience in setting up tooling. How long the companies have been using the cutter, the tool and blade being used (new blades each time). We wanted this to be fair as possible and be objective.

19 17 Work area Max. material size Maximum speed Zünd G3 XL-3200 Zünd G3 XL Series XL1600 XL mm 2270 mm mm 2270 mm in/sec or 1000 mm/sec Maximum acceleration 10m/s G The Zünd G3 XL-3200 we visited had been installed for 18 months and used (as was the Kongsberg) for a wide range of applications. The G3 XL-3200 can cut both roll-fed and rigid materials from banners, vinyls through DiBond, acrylics and styrenes. Nice looking cutter.

20 18 The touch and cut menus looked easy, but when we started to set up for our test job, manual entry of parameters took us a little time. I noted that when you change the tools it is necessary to make an adjustment and calibration of each one, according to their function and the media on which it will work. This means setting the tool height and do a small test cut. During the cutting process of this media, we observed the resistance that Re-board generated to the machine, the cutter produced a sound like the knife tool had to struggle to cut it. I mentioned this to the operator who told me that they slow the Zünd G3 down because of the noise and because under pressure the tool turns on its holder.

21 19 Pablo Martínez, taking notes about the performance achieved by the Zünd G3 XL-3200 during the Re-board test. The user does cut Reboard on a regular basis and is a Reboard partner. Martin Carlshamre (Design Force Global Account Manager) reviewing the performance achieved at the test. We had to run the test twice. The first one has missing cuts and was impossible to take out from the media board. Probably the blade was not calibrated to make the cuts to the depth of the material or the tool used was not appropriate for the material. The result of the second test was better but still, it was difficult to remove the cut sample out from the media board without partly ripping or cutting the fascia of the display. Because of the cost of the board and time, we had to stop at two attempts.

22 20 At first glance we can see that the quality obtained by the Zünd G3 XL-3200 it cuts ok on a straight linem but any curve presented a strain on the Zünd tooling. The cuts are quite imperfect. It can be seen in the details and the side of the material the effort that the cutter needed to handle the material, at a very low quality.

23 21 Pablo Martínez evaluating the results obtained by the Zünd G3 XL-3200 flatbed cutter at the test. The small squares we cut (compare photographs on pages 15 and 20), were clean cuts off the Zund and show what we achieved off these cutters on the day. Time needed to cut the complete job: 14:00 min. each test. Quality obtained: You can se your self. Several common factors were taken into account at each of the test sites, as the operator s experience in setting up tooling. How long the companies have been using the cutter, the tool and blade being used (new blades each time). We wanted this to be fair and use same scale for each brand.

24 22 Dr. Nicholas Hellmuth with Harvey Meister, owner of GDS print shop; evaluating a Kongsberg MultiCUT at GDS site visit. Where we have written further Flaar reports on XY cutter machine performance, terms and definitions for these cutters and workflow software.

25 23 Conclusion Before purchasing a flatbed XY cutter it is necessary to know its capacity and limitations. This is not saying that other brands are bad, only that not all are designed to perform the same tasks. For example, some brands of cutters had their origins cutting textiles (one branch of Gerber for example, and other brands as well). Other brands of cutters had their origin cutting metal (CNC routers, such as MultiCam). Keep in mind that many were originally created to work with lightweight materials or that do not generate much resistance when cutting. But as time goes by, there are a lot of new materials, with more exigencies and better quality, so before making an investment on this type of equipment it is necessary to look forward, try to visualize business in the future and ask, Would this XY flatbed cutter really be at the level of my job requirements, for ALL the material I may need to cut over the next ten years?. When you go out to do your own tests, consider the following: Do you have to lower the speed for some tools on some materials out of fear that higher speeds might caue a breakdown? What is the edge quality? Is there frayed material you have to clean off, or sand off, by hand! Does the cutter sound strained, struggling? Or does the cutter sound as though it was built to handle this task? Compare straight line cutting, V notching, and curves. Again, do you have to slow down the production speed for any factor here. For the four tests we use the same material as the same file to standardize the test. Final assembled display sample, used for the cutting test.

26 Quality obtained Quality obtained Time needed to cut the complete job Quality obtained First posted April 2011