Intec FB9000 PRO
Building on the success of previous models, and offering
a larger scope of cut and crease facilities, Brian Sims looks
at Intec’s latest digital die-cutting machine
Principal consultant, Metis Print Consultancy
Saturday, 15 Jan 2022 18:32 GMT
The Intec FB9000 PRO and auto-feeder offer a larger scope of cut and crease options and higher levels of operator-free production
No experience required
As clients move more and more towards bespoke or boutique products, there is a need for manufacturers to provide a range of press and post-press equipment that can deliver solutions. Colour is normally the first feature to catch a customer’s eye, but form is very close behind.
The ability to process a printed sheet into detailed and complex shapes can win orders and provide printers with options when seeking work. In this field, one of the manufacturers which has always had a strong product range is Intec, and following a ground-up review and redesign of its digital cut and creasing machine, it has launched the Intec FB9000 PRO.
The machine is an automatic digital flatbed cut and creasing machine with a two-zone vacuum bed that can take substrates up to SRA3 in size, but as a development can now be set in landscape or portrait format with the auto-feeder. If you choose to set the substrate by hand, a size of product up to 550mm x 850mm is possible.
At the heart, a simple interface designed to have users up and running quickly
As with any focused manufacturer, when you want to build a new product you must look at what made your previous models a success or failure and take what works forward.
Intec has done the same with the FB9000 PRO, using ideas from models like the successful FB8000 and using this as the starting position for the new machine. There are two core technologies Intec has taken forward in this respect: the cutting and creasing tool systems and the integrated ColorCut Pro software.
Cutting to the point
Regardless of how complex or automated any die-cutting machine is, at the heart of it must be the cutting tools. If they are not effective and have longevity, success will be limited.
Intec has included in the FB9000 PRO a dual head cutter which is equipped with a HD CCD (charge-coupled device) camera. There are a series of blades colour coded to denote what each is to be used for. There are choices of angles and types of blades for softer and thicker materials so that any media up to 1.5mm in thickness can be accurately and cleanly cut. If creasing is the operation needed then again the tool can offer a choice of tips depending on what depth or nature of crease is needed.
Intec has ensured the FB9000 PRO is built on the solid foundation of previously successful die-cutters”
Whilst the machine is not overwhelming in size, it still provides exemplary force and pressure on the cutters and creasers to ensure high quality production. Up to 1.2kg of pressure can be applied for cutting substrates and 1.5kg for creasing – values almost double that of comparable competition.
The positioning of the blades or creasing heads is accomplished by the use of a QR code printed on the sheet which is then scanned by the HD CCD camera. This then retrieves the relevant information from a data bank to set the die-cutter to produce the profile required. This is called Vision3, a registration and job recognition system which quickly and accurately prepares the sheet and die-cutter to deploy the profile from ColorCut Pro.
From image to product
As described, Intec has ensured the ColorCut Pro can work as a stand-alone application but to gain most advantage from it, integration into the FB9000 PRO is strongly recommended by Intec. So, what does it do?
The ColorCut Pro Server Station is the hub of the software product and being networked allows users to transfer files and assign job numbers, barcodes, and QR codes, also allowing the adjustment of file settings directly without having to open the original files.
The Intec FB9000 PRO has a dual tooling head feature
The software has an enhanced interface with Production Studio at its core which allows the processing of the files sent to it. There is a Job Library Manager allowing the storage, access and transfer of files needed for production, and the Template Manager which was recently added to ColorCut Pro and allows the simple production of die-cutter profiles in the three Cartesian axis.
As mentioned before, the device exchanges all the information required via a QR code which seamlessly allows for operators with the minimal amount of expertise to be able to produce high quality products.
A combination for success
Coupling the software and hardware together is a clever combination. The sheet is lifted quickly and accurately from the feeder pile which can hold up to 25kg of substrate in either landscape or portrait format. The pick-up assembly lifts and separates the sheets with an air blade separation system to ensure only one sheet is forwarded onto the cutter table.
The table itself is a revolving felt mat belt which has a vacuum applied through it with a powerful 750W pump. This ensures that once the sheet is placed on the table, it is held securely to allow the cutting or creasing profile to be produced.
The vacuum zones are split into two separate areas of the table which will ensure that even laminated substrates do not move in production. Think it through, unless the substrate is secure, the profile produced will suffer in quality. Now for the heart of the software/hardware combination: ColorCut Pro picks up the QR code and reads what is needed. The HD CCD camera locates and registers the sheet and its position and then the dual cutter head goes to work.
Once profiled, typically between 15 to 45 seconds in duration for an SRA3 sheet, the finished product is transferred into the delivery ready for transfer.
Intec is very confident that this short-to-medium run die-cutter can be unboxed and plugged into the wall and PC, and without any previous knowledge or specialist knowledge you can be producing quality, complex cut and creased products, in volume or singularly very quickly.
Brian Sims Principal Consultant, Metis Print Consultancy, www.metis-uk.eu
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