The new 3697 gathering machine (GM) is based on an
ingenious idea, with
an innovative signature separation, Muller Martini's new high-performance 3697
gathering machine provides the paper with high stability – even at maximum
production speeds. In order to achieve this objective, the signatures are
peeled off, bent and transported into the concave raceway.
In the 3697 the lowest signature of the residual stack
is peeled off parallel to the spine – the way the peel is removed from a fruit.
During the peeling procedure, the signature is bent, greatly increasing its
stability. Then, for gentle product transport, the signature is completely
wrapped in an air cushion built up from the air table and the sword. Finally,
the signature is removed from the hopper in a longitudinal direction.
Besides the peeling principle, in a longitudinal
direction, Muller Martini's second, patented innovation is the concave raceway,
used worldwide for the first time in a gathering machine. The signatures are
picked-up from the finger of the transport chain at the transport table and
supplied to the concave raceway. The raceway bends the signatures slightly,
giving them a stable shape for reliable transport. This allows even oblong
sizes and single signatures to be processed with an above-average output.
Stefan Zurcher, Head of Marketing at Muller Martini Bookbinding Systems
in Switzerland says, "A gathering
machine should have as few signature transfer positions as possible. In our
3697 GM the suction rail follows the signature reducing the risk of machine
downtime and, consequently, improving productivity. It opens up new dimensions
in shift performance for products manufactured with offset printing and
rotogravure presses."
The 3697 GM in modular design (one element consists of a base-unit with
three separate feeders) achieves maximum speed in minimum start-up time because
all feeders are equipped with separate drives allowing automated and quick size
adjustment to the finger chain (fine tuning can be performed during running
production), and because the innovative signature separation reduces hopper settings
to a minimum. In addition channel height adjustment is motor-driven and the
required raceway clearance calculated out of product data and set automatically
through the total length of the GM (fine tunings can be performed during
running production, even at maximum speeds of 18,000 cycles/h)
Increased stability of the signatures bent during separation and the
stable transport process through the concave raceway channel is one of two
reasons why the new 3697 GM achieves the best net output in the high-performance
class of perfect binding. The other reason is that, with the possibility of
fine tuning during running production, the high degree of motorization allows
extremely short changeover times.
An additional market innovation is the way feeders can be changed: they
can be changed in no time using a small cart and without the
support of a crane.
Standard feeders, which can be automatically loaded with stream feeders,
are impressive with their universal use options and assurance of high
flexibility. At the same time, they process a wide range of printed and fold-out signatures avoiding the use
of special feeders for the finishing of fold-out signatures.
The sample gluer allows the addition of a wide range of inserts of
different sizes such as CDs, DVDs, stitched-in inserts and product samples on a
large area of the base signature.
CASAC, the
contact-free, signature thickness measurement device, used for the first time
in a Muller Martini system, prevents markings and continuously detects
reference values during running production. This feature ensures that missing
or double sections can be reliably.
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