Second in the World EDF HGL 1228 Goes to Naberezhnye Chelny

“Naberezhnye Chelny Board & Paper Mill (NKBK) got aquainted with EDF in 2018, when the plant’s specialists saw EDF HGL 924 in operation. It was the first generation of EDF inlines, with classic solutions for this type of machines,” says Alexander Grachev, Head of Sales, SIKO Group.

“Since then, NKBK has got familiarized with every new model of EDF inlines.

“At the beginning of 2019, we presented our colleagues with the innovative FD 618 miniline at Ondulatti ed Imballaggi Del Friulli S.p.A. in Trieste. This was a second generation machine, with all latest technologies implemented. Today they are installed by default on all EDF converting lines.

“NKBK specialists have noticed that the miniline in Trieste was loaded with atypical orders. FD 618 flawlessly and quickly produced packaging from double wall corrugated board with application of 4 inks and varnish.

“In 2019, the plant’s employees once again visited this and other enterprises in Italy and Germany, where they watched HGL multifunctional converting lines (bottom print) in operation.

“Also, they visited EDF Europe production site in Loria to study innovative technologies implemented in converting lines.

“In general, more than 20 specialists from Naberezhnye Chelny took part in the study of the equipment, including technologists, adjusters, laboratory staff, electronics engineers, production and quality system specialists and, of course, the plant’s management.

“In March 2021, EDF launched the innovative HGL 1228 midline at Imbal Carton in Drizzona, Italy.

“Year of 2020 has paused foreign trips, however, EDF‘s technical solutions are still relevant for NKBK, and the next HGL 1228 line will go to Russia.

“Along with the line, the plant has ordered a complete set of peripheral equipment, including a prefeeder and an automatic palletizer. The entire set of machines will be manufactured by EDF.

“HGL 1228 is a multifunctional bottom print converting line meeting all key requirements of the modern market. They include a low maintanence cost, high reliability and impeccable product quality.

“The midline incorporates many innovative solutions, allowing to produce both RSCs and packaging with high quality print and fine die-cutting.

“The midline is built on the Bosch Rexroth servo control system basing on one shaft — one servo motor principle.

“This is a fixed line with a vacuum sheet transfer between flexo print units, equipped with a QUICK SET system for quick order to order transition.

NO CRUSH feeder

“The feeding system with the patented NO CRUSH SWING/floating bar system consists of two vacuum roller units, controlled by four servo motors.

“They are responsible for the drive of the feed rollers on each unit and for the position of the angle of inclination of the separating plate by means of eccentrics.

“Each vacuum roller unit is equipped with a separate blower with a filtration system, continuously variable vacuum control and suction control sensors.

“Additionally, the feed unit is equipped with a separate system for removing dust and static from the corrugated sheet and a transfer vacuum roller unit to the printing section. This guarantees working at maximum speeds on any type of material and format.

Printing units with bottom flexo printing and quick tool change

“Units with bottom flexo printing and vacuum sheet transfer are installed in a pit and equipped with QUICK SET system for quick change of printing equipment and preparation of the printing unit without stopping the line.

“The printing unit is lowered to a comfortable height for the operator, allowing convenient replacement of printing plate and maintenance of the chamber doctor blade ink transfer system.

“The printing cylinder is equipped with a mechanical or pneumatic plate fixation system. The anilox roll is equipped with micromotor parallelism adjustment, guaranteeing printing accuracy up to 0.2 mm.

“The printing section is equipped with an automatic or semi-automatic device for changing anilox rolls, a specially developed system for maintaining a temperature and ink viscosity, and devices for IR dryers, which allows performing high-quality multicolor work on any type of corrugated material.

“Air generated by vacuum blowers is filtered by a specially designed AIRLOOP filtration system. This is a closed loop technology allowing to clean up to 100% of the consumed air using cyclonic filters.

“Purified air is supplied directly to where it is needed through a specially designed channel system, while most of the air circulates in the sheet transport area and does not enter the printing unit, ensuring dust-free ink transfer area and eliminating the need for a specialized expensive aspiration system for air extraction.

“The volume of vacuum is controlled electronically, while the convenient location of cyclone filters ensures a quick maintenance access.

Independent scoring section with separate servo control and various types of creasing

“The crease section consists of three shafts. The first shaft for pre-creasing has 1:1 scoring discs, the second shaft carries a tool for pushing the glue flap and cut-off side, the third shaft with main scoring has 1:1 size.

“The scoring tool couplings are rigidly fixed to the bed from the top and bottom, which ensures vibration-free and accurate clearance regardless of material thickness and stiffness. Positioning and control of the position of each clutch is carried out by two stepping micromotors.

“Each shaft with a tool is adjustable according to the thickness of the product, ensuring accurate and precise formation of the scoring channels on any type of material.

“The design of the scoring discs allows the use of two types of scoring tools (the wheel consists of two halves) for different corrugated board profiles. The choice of instrument type is represented on the central control panel.

New slotter section with belt transfer and contactless flap knife

“The slotter section is specially designed for the production of high quality RSCs with ideal geometry regardless of the type of material.

“The unit consists of a sandwich set for blanks transporting, a front and rear shaft for slotter knives and two servomotors for cutting off the glue flap. The couplings are rigidly fixed to the bed from above and from below, which excludes vibration of the blade equipment during material processing.

“The positioning of slotter couplings is carried out using micromotors, allowing to adjust the position of the scoring tool relative to the slotter knives and achieve ideal geometry.

“The patented non-contact glue flap knife solution consists of two mini cross-cuts, each controlled by its own servo motor. This ensures minimal setup time for different profiles and guarantees a clean cut.

“The rotary section with an upper die-bearing shaft, equipped with a MICROGRIND device for grinding the bandage during operation, together with the flash removal module, allows you to perform any complex die cutting and guarantee almost 100% flash removal from the workpiece.

MULTIFOLD Folder Gluer

“Folding gluing section is fully servo-controlled and automatically adjusted to formats.

“Special design of the folding guides with a single vacuum belt and diagonal adjustment of the position of the folding blade by means of two micromotors relative to the material thickness make it possible to compensate for the difference in the inner and outer length of the workpiece during folding.

“Special tapered rollers installed in the forming zone allow you to guarantee ideal geometry of the corrugated boxes.

“In the future, the folder-gluer unit will use MULTIFOLD technology, allowing the separation of folded and glued boxes directly in front of the counter-ejector and potentially increase the line capacity to 36 thousand boxes per hour.

“For the convenience of servicing the line, EDF Europe has developed a unified format for adjusting all line parameters — and there are more than 50 of them — called ONLY ONE.

“For this, similar stepper motors with high positioning accuracy are used, significantly reducing the range of spare parts.

“Built-in electronic and torque control informs the operator when service is required, and PLUG & PLAY connection allows, if necessary, to replace the motor within minutes requiring no special skills.

“It should be noted that Mr. Victor Tang, president and founder of DONGFANG (parental company for EDF and FOSBER) participated in final negotiations for the supply of two EDF HGL 1228 lines to NKBK.”