Flint Group unveiled a fully automated flexographic plate processing equipment – the Thermoflexx Catena+ line.
The fully automated plate processing line consists of equipment modules that were announced earlier by the group: Catena - E (UV LED exposure), Catena - W (solvent plate processor), and Catena - DLS (dryer, light finisher and plate stacker combination with robotized plate transport).
Catena means “connected chain” and just as the name reveals, the Catena+ line is a modular system, which can join together for various levels of automation.
A Catena-DLS module can be connected to a Catena-W for automatic plate-processing. The Catena-DLS has 10 drying units, 7 stacking positions and a light finisher.
Robotic movement ensures that plates are fully finished with no operator intervention after loading into the washer.
“We are proud to announce the Catena-DLS, the missing piece on our way to fully automated flexo plate processing. In combination with our ThermoFlexX imager, the recently released Catena-W and the Catena-E UV LED exposure, we provide state-of-the-art, fully automated and integrated flexo plate processing system, which allows our customers to produce flexo plates at the lowest total cost for every application“, said Uwe Stebani, GM Xeikon Prepress.
Catena+ brings the whole chain together, resulting in a leading-edge, fully automated flexo plate making. Once the operator has removed the cover sheet the plate is automatically loaded into the imager and is completely processed and fully finished with no further operator interventions needed, eliminating any damage caused by manual plate handling.
Designed as an open system, Catena+ allows easy loading of plates from other imagers into the Catena-E LED exposure unit. Plates from other exposure frames can also be easily loaded to take advantage of the highly productive WDLS.
The full line Catena+ also includes Catena Cockpit, which provides a highly visible status report on plate processing, progress and expected time of completion.