The prospect of retrofitting a busy, working press with a UV curing system can be daunting. How long will the retrofit process take? How much production time will be lost? How will it affect the press? What if there are unforeseen problems? Will technical support be provided? Our Retrofit Spotlight video addresses these and many other questions, in detail.
Robert Rae is responsible for the Technology Development Programme at GEW. Here he explains the meticulous measurement, planning and engineering that goes into making sure every GEW UV system retrofit is right first time. Whatever the machine type, GEW’s retrofit process is designed to ensure that press downtime is kept to an absolute minimum, by taking a ‘less-haste-more-speed’ approach. More time is spent on the upfront engineering of the system, to ensure that the integration and installation are seamless. The same detailed planning process is methodically followed for every installation, whether it is for a label or sheetfed offset press, coating or converting machine, or for a specialist UV system for an industrial application.
The first stage of the process is for a GEW Engineer to visit the machine site and scan the press with a Portable Coordinate Measurement machine. The engineer scans all of the components and aspects of the press, with extreme accuracy, to enable GEW to create and design a custom installation for the UV system. The scan is then converted into a 3D model at GEW and a mechanical integration kit, specific to that particular press, is created from the model.
GEW provide a turnkey solution for every installation. The UV system comprises of generic components such as the lamphead, power supplies, HMI, cables and cooling systems, combined with the bespoke mechanical integration kit. When the new UV system is manufactured and complete, all components are assembled and tested together, before leaving GEW’s UK production facility. This means that when the GEW team get to the installation site, they can be certain that the system works, that all the components work together, and that the installation is going to be quick and successful on site.
Once the installation is commissioned, GEW constantly monitor the system live and also record the full operational history through the online Remote Monitoring Service. GEW’s UV systems are supplied, as standard, with the Embedded Service package which allows Remote Monitoring to keep a watchful eye on each system’s running conditions over the internet. This allows the Service Support Team to detect and correct out-of-tolerance parameters before they can develop into a fault. This type of remote preventive maintenance improves efficiency, ensuring that customers can avoid unplanned machine stoppages and continue to operate the entire UV system at peak performance.
Using this comprehensive and meticulous retrofit planning process, GEW is able to mechanically fit UV systems onto almost any printing, coating or converting machine.
The video is rounded off with a variety of viewpoints from GEW customers directly, who share their experiences of the retrofitting process.
To find out more about our UV curing systems, go to our Products page.