Esko has introduced a new motorised roll feeder for cutting textiles on its Kongsberg C64 cutting table at this week’s Fespa show in Munich.
This feeder actively feeds the material to the table, rather than pulling it, to avoid over-stretching the media, as well as eliminating any wrinkles. It can cope with imperfectly rewound rolls, and rolls up to 300kg, and with a maximum outer diameter of 470mm.
There’s a dancer bar to give the correct tension with adjustable weights, while an active edge correction allows for a steady straight feed, even if the roll is imperfectly rewound after printing. There’s also a spreader roll that acts as a final checkpoint to smooth out any remaining wrinkles in the fabric.
The Esko Kongsberg software compensates for any distortion during cutting. A software algorithm determines the exact cut size, taking into account the material properties for shrink, stretch or melting during the print stage. However, an operator can override this by following what was printed.
A further advantage is that it eliminates the joint that can appear in jobs that are larger than the table, which force a shift in the cutting edge where the job is interrupted and then resumed. However, this only applies where the table has a conveyor belt and the job is run through Esko software.
Russell Weller, Esko Product Manager, said: “This is the only solution in the soft signage industry that ensures accurate cutting results on tensile materials, from the very first cut through to the end of the roll. Perfect feed enables our customers to deliver defect-free products, avoid waste and rework and boost their efficiency. The Motorized Roll Feeder is available as a retrofit solution for our Kongsberg range and, when used in combination with the Take-Up Unit, provides the only true roll-to-roll production on the market today.”
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