Decorating/Printing: Industrial Inkjet Printer Boosts Productivity of Wire and Cable Products

 

A coding system newly launched by the Leibinger Group (U.S. office in Troy, Wisc.) specifically geared to the wire and cable industry where the speed of the extrusion line is what determines production efficiency. The new Jet Rapid Wire industrial inkjet printer is said to ensure that the production of extrusion products is no longer slowed by marking. The unit can mark cables, wires, pipes and tubes at speeds of up to 1000 m/min. (3280 ft/min.) or 60 km/h (196,850 ft.min.)—“as fast as a lion can run”, according to the company.  

Even at top speeds, the Jet Rapid Wire is said to  impress users with a clean, durable printout. Fixed and variable letters and numbers are clearly legible even at speeds of up to 1000 m/min. Immediately after printing, special inks ensure maximum adhesion and abrasion resistance on all common product materials.

At the heart of this innovative Leibinger printing technology is the unique hydraulic system with Sealtronic – a fully automatic nozzle sealing technology which can seal the complete ink circuit airtight during production breaks. With this proven advance by Leibinger, common problems of conventional inkjet printers for industrial use are solved at the source. The reliability of the marking reportedly is significantly increased and labor-intensive cleaning of the print heads is no longer necessary. Dried ink and clogged nozzles are a thing of the past, says Leibinger.

Another clever feature that Leibinger has developed for production optimization in the cable industry is the speed-dependent output function, which is used to actively monitor common pre-treatments such as corona or plasma, and control them by the printer. If the production speed falls below the specified minimum speed, the pre-treatment is actively switched off to avoid production downtimes.

According to the company, even the smallest diameters can be legibly marked with these high-speed printers. And, with the JET Rapid Wire PI, even dark materials can be marked with so-called contrast inks at speeds of up to 800 m/min (2624 ft/min.). Leibinger also boasts to have the right solution for flexible applications with frequent product changes on the lines. For example, a special ink is used that is easily legible on dark as well as light surfaces. This all-round solution eliminates the need to purchase several devices for printing different colored cables, wires and tubes.