Visi-tech solves inspection problem for Field Boxmore Wrexham

When Field Boxmore Wrexham was confronted with a challenging web inspection problem, Bruce Reynolds, operation director of the North Wales plant, turned to Visi-tech Systems Limited.

Producing self-adhesive labels on a new Edale Alpha UV flexo machine, Field Boxmore wanted to install a video web inspection system onto the press in order to monitor print quality, while also keeping an eye on the print to die-cut register.

The problem with this is that the matrix is stripped off very soon after die cutting, and so there is no space in which to place a camera to view the print and die cut together. If the camera is placed after the seperation of the matrix and substrate, then the print and cut can be viewed, but the register marks will have been stripped off with the matrix. If the camera is placed before the die cut, then of course the print to cut register cannot be viewed.

In response to this problem Visi-tech came up with a custom solution consisting of two cameras. The main camera was mounted just after the last printing unit enabling complete viewing of the print, while a second camera was placed to view the stripped matrix before it was rewound. This in itself posed a challenge, due to the compact nature of the Edale Alpa. As a result Visi-tech developed a miniature web viewing camera measuring just 120x100x70mm.

Alex Lyne, product manager at Visi-tech, explained, ‘It was certainly a challenge to make such a small camera, and we were very pleased with the results. As far as I know this is the smallest strobe integrated web inspection camera in the country, possibly the smallest in the world. In addition to the development on the camera, we have also made some changes to our control software to allow the main camera to constantly scan over the web while the secondary camera remains fixed on the register mark. With both cameras viewed simultaneously on a single split screen monitor,  it really is a very neat solution.’