ZIP-TS2L Round Corner Business Card Instructions THERM-O-TYPE Toll Free: 1.800.27.960 Outside the U.S.A. 941.488.012 www.thermotype.com sales@thermotype.com
Zip-TS2L Round Corner Card Formatting and Programming: Correct formatting is critical when running round corner cards on the Zip-TS2L. The instructions below have proven to work well in most cases. Always remember, consistently removing the lead edge waste piece is the key to successfully running round corner cards on the Zip-TS2L. Calibration: Zip-TS2L MUST be calibrated correctly for the round corner card program to function correctly. Air blast, T2 and Eject gate must be properly calibrated. Registration Mark: The registration mark should be centered on the sheet. The registration mark should be 50mm (2") long. The registration mark must be printed in solid black. The registration mark should be printed so the top of the mark is 10mm (0.400") from the lead edge of the sheet. The registration mark should be mm thick (0.12"). This will place the bottom edge of the registration mark 1mm (0.52") from the lead edge of the sheet. There should be a gap between the bottom of the registration mark and the start of the printed copy of at least 6mm (0.24"). Formatting: Mark Mode, 21-up, 50.8 mm x 88.9 mm Round Corner Business Cards: 2mm to first T2 station cycle This makes the lead edge waste piece 60mm long (lead edge to longest measurement of die cut profile). 6mm gutters between each three-card segment. Offset 0.00 1 0 EDn 2 2.00 T2 44.00 Air 4 44.00 EUp 5 88.80 T2 6 145.60 T2 7 202.40 T2 8 259.20 T2 9 16.00 T2 10 72.80 T2 11 429.60 T2 12 End Using Programmable Air: Some customers try to use the eject gate (without programmable air blast) to eliminate lead edge waste but, in most cases, this is less effective compared to using the gate/air blast in combination. Tail Edge Restriction: The tail edge of the sheet must NOT fully or partially extend beyond the feeder side of the round corner die cut. In other words, the tail edge of the sheet MUST fall between the two die cut lines on the round corner die. If the tail edge of the sheet is not trimmed to the correct dimension, waste paper may become caught within the machine after the final die cut cycle. Using the program shown above, the tail of the sheet should be trimmed to provide a sheet length of 44mm (17.44"). 2
mm x 50 mm Line 4 1 mm 4 60 mm 2 mm 88.9 mm 6 mm 4 4 50.8 mm 6 mm 4
Paper Path 45 mm The drawing below shows the round corner die cutting die. The two green circles are holes that align the die to the chase and fit on dowel pins. The small blue circles are clearance holes for the spring loaded ejector pins that push the paper out of the die after die cutting. The red lines are the cutting edge profile of the die. The die cut profile will only work when properly oriented in the machine. Correct formatting is critical when running round corner cards. Lead edge trim off and tail waste must fall within specific dimensions. Failure to properly format work will cause equipment jams, poor quality output, increased waste conveyed to the delivery, and poor productivity. The diagram at the left shows a format which does not require any guillotine crosscuts. There is a 45 mm lead edge waste piece (from the top edge of the sheet to the center of the die cut) and the tail edge waste is 4 mm. This diagram shows the die cut profile and position when running a 21-up business card format. The diagram at the left on the next page shows the same format but a space is shown between die cut segments to illustrate the profile of each segment. The lead segment is the only segment that has a piece of waste ahead of the segment. With every other segment, the waste section is at the tail of each segment. There is an eject gate and air nozzles located just past the guillotine cutter which are designed to deposit the lead edge piece into the waste collection bin. It is critical that the lead edge piece separates cleanly at this point. Each segment, between the lead and tail edge segment, are identical. Each of these segments has a piece of waste attached to the tail edge of the segment. These waste pieces will be separated from the round corner cards as each segment passes through the rotary slitting cassette. It is critical that the last segment on the sheet has a tail edge waste dimension of =/< 4 mm. If this dimension is greater than 4 mm, waste material will be separated within the die cut area and this will cause the machine to malfunction. The drawing above illustrates what will happen if the lead edge margin is too small. In this case, three pieces of waste will be separated from the lead edge segment and this will cause the machine to malfunction. 4
Paper Path 45 mm (One segment was removed from this diagram to fit the document.) The drawing above illustrates what will happen if the lead edge margin is too small but not as radical as the top example. With a lead edge margin of less than 45 mm (from the lead edge of the sheet to the center of the die cut), the lead edge waste piece will not be long enough to remain in contact with the pairs of rollers between the 0 station and the eject gate/air nozzles. The result of this condition will be erratic. Some sheets will run OK, others may jam in the machine. The lead edge waste piece may fold over before the air nozzles, keeping this waste piece from separating into the waste bin, and/or lead edge waste material may be deposited onto the delivery conveyor. The drawing above illustrates what will happen if the tail edge margin is too large. In this case, three pieces of waste will be separated from the tail edge segment and this will cause the machine to malfunction. As each business card segment moves through the rotary cassette, slitting blades remove gutter material between the cards and side trim waste. As the gutters are removed, the waste pieces at the tail edge of each segment are separated. Air nozzles, mounted on the rotary cassette, direct these scrap pieces downward into the scrap collection box. These scrap pieces are referred to as "dumbbells". When running round corner products: 1. The die cut MUST separate the sheet cleanly across the width of the sheet. 2. The lead edge waste piece MUST be 45 mm (lead edge to center of die cut).. The lead edge waste piece MUST separate cleanly below the gate/air nozzles. 4. The tail edge waste piece MUST be smaller than the width of the die cut gutter. 5
Lead edge waste piece is shown in red. Lead edge waste piece has an overall length of 60mm. The black mark on the red line represents the centerline of the round corner die cut. Air Nozzle Guillotine Cutter T2 T1 Drawing #1 Drawing #1 This view shows where the lead edge waste piece is positioned when the T2 station makes the first round corner die cut on the sheet. The 60mm overall length of the lead edge waste piece ensures that the waste piece will be gripped by the pair of rollers between the T2 station and the guillotine cutter during the die cut cycle. The 60mm overall length of the lead edge waste piece also ensures that positive contact and drive will be maintained as the waste piece travels between the rollers on each side of the guillotine cutter (These rollers are spaced 54mm apart.). Air Nozzle Guillotine Cutter T2 T1 Drawing #2 Drawing #2 This view shows where the lead edge waste piece is positioned when the eject gate moves to the down position. When the eject gate is properly calibrated and programmed, the lead edge of the waste piece will be aligned with the delivery end edge of the eject gate. 6
Air Nozzle Guillotine Cutter T2 T1 Drawing #1 Drawing # This view shows where the lead edge waste piece is positioned just before the eject gate moves to the up position. Air Nozzle Guillotine Cutter T2 T1 Drawing #2 Drawing #4 This view is identical to drawing # except the eject gate has returned to the up position. The air blast should be programmed to activate at the same time the gate is programmed to move to the up position. The eject gate and air blast will direct the lead edge waste piece towards the waste collection box and separate the lead edge waste piece from the rest of the sheet along the die cut edge. 7
Date Code Dies: It is recommended that new dies are date coded when they are attached to the chase. Date coding dies, and recording the useful life of each die, will allow customers to utilize their dies more efficiently, and let customers schedule replacement die orders. Makeready Replacement: The T2 makeready consists of a hardened spring steel cover strip over a compressible backer. Two-sided tape is attached to the bottom of the makeready strip. When the existing T2 makeready strip becomes excessively worn or damaged, the makeready strip should be replaced. To replace the T2 makeready strip: - Raise the T2 station in the Zip-TS2L. - Remove the chase. - Pry the existing makeready strip off using a knife or screw driver. - Make sure the surface where the makeready will be applied is smooth and clean. - Remove the liner from the two-sided tape on the replacement makeready. - Apply the new makeready to the T2 station. - IMPORTANT: The replacement makeready MUST be centered on the feeder to delivery axis. This is critical. - IMPORTANT: Always back off the impression pressure after installing a new makeready, then carefully re-adjust impression pressure. Ejection pins: Ejection pins on die cut chases should be checked frequently. Each ejection pin should project through the die and each pin should compress/extend when pressed/released. Taping the makeready: It is recommended that customers apply four small pieces of masking tape to the makeready when die cutting round corner business cards. The tape should be applied as shown in the diagram below. IMPORTANT: The tape should NOT extend vertically beyond where it is shown on the diagram. If the tape extends further into the round corner, the round corner die cut on the paper may show a distortion. Masking tape on the makeready surfaces will need to be replaced periodically. 8