means the press is waiting for the next set of plates; and finally, if one or more of the units have a yellow light lit, this means the press needs an operator intervention. This information is not only shown on the actual press in process, but it is also shown on Widescreen XL along with the information needed to take when the issue is addressed. Overall, the general physical specification of the Speedmaster XL 106 has not changed, it still has the 750mm x 1,060mm maximum sheet size and maximum speed of 18,000 sheets per hour (optional in perfect). It can still come with coating, drying (IR/UV/LED UV), and all the other upgrades and options we are all knowledgeable of. The real step forward is the pulling of all the automated and self-learning/AI benefits of the Speedmaster XL 106 and adapting them to best suit the operator to raise productivity levels to new heights. Brian Sims Principal Consultant, Metis Print Consultancy, www.metis-uk.eu make the operating of this press as simple as possible. As to actual operation, in very simple terms, a series of systems on the press are all linked together and are displayed on the screen. IntelliStart 3 controls a series of operations such as Preset Plus operating in the feeder and delivery, setting up both material handling systems for the upcoming job. Other processes include plate changing, roller washing, coater changes, and predictions on ink and water setting to limit makeready waste. Recall in LEAN manufacturing, waste is anything that does not add value to the enduser; the main form of waste overlooked is time. We can see 50 sheets of waste paper, but the time taken to do a series of tasks consecutively is typically invisible. Autoplate XL 3 for instance is one way Heidelberg takes chunks of waste out of the makeready process. All plates can be changed in one go as the plate cylinders are disengaged from the main drive when the plates are changed. This not only allows the main drive to take control of other processes, if each unit is separate from the others, it only takes the time to change one plate to do all of them. Further eating into this period of potential waste is the cleaning systems. As explained, if the plate cylinders are independently driven, the blankets, plates, and even inking units can be cleaned concurrently with other makeready operations. The new software can also make selections autonomously as to what cleaning cycles are needed. It looks at the recent jobs and likely issues and adapts the cleaning cycles to suit. On start up, Prinect Inpress Control 3 takes automatic control of the quality control aspects of the printed sheets. From colour control via spectrophotometry referencing the product from a library of colour standards to the inspection of the sheet for marks, the machine takes control of the situation and whenever possible, corrects, or ejects unwanted sheets to ensure consistent and high-quality production with minimal operator input. The final piece of this puzzle is Color Assistant Pro which is a ‘self-learning’ software integrated into the machine that ‘learns’ over a period of jobs the changes made to ink and water such that a prediction of what is required on a new job gets closer and closer to the good copy value. Easy Operation You should be getting a flavour for what Heidelberg is trying to achieve by now – if you can get the press to automatically do as much of the operation as possible, and do it all in one go, showing progress as needed, the waste levels should drop away like a stone. What is again new to the Speedmaster XL 106 is the interface between operator and machine. It's not to say that the press cannot be effectively run by inexperienced printers, but previously when an operator intervention was needed could be unclear and time could be wasted. With this being said, Heidelberg now has a very novel way to flag when the machine processes need manual intervention; Intelliline. This new system is a series of LED lights that run down the side of each unit, on both operator and drive sides of the press. When the lights are green, this means the unit/press is in Intellistart mode, making an automatic makeready process. Blue means the press is in production mode, printing good sheets; pulsing blue/yellow Maximum sheet size: 750mm x 1,060mm Minimum sheet size: 340mm x 480mm straight printing & 410mm x 480mm perfecting Maximum speed: 18,000 iph straight printing & 15,000 iph perfecting (18,000 iph option) Substrate thickness: 0.03mm – 1.00mm straight printing & 0.03mm – 0.80mm perfecting Statistics ▲ In terms of operation, a series of systems on the press are all linked together and are displayed on the screen 48 email: news@printmonthly.co.uk September / October 2023 - Issue 344 UNDER THE HOOD / HEIDELBERG SPEEDMASTER XL 106
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