GIANT
ATD INKJET SYSTEMS PROVIDE SOLUTION FOR
PLASTERBOARD
Over
one million tonnes of gypsum is mined in England each year,
but it is a company just about as far away from mining as
it is possible to get which has helped to revolutionise product
identification in a company that turns gypsum into something
found in just about every building around the globe - plasterboard.
ATD
Inkjet Systems Ltd, a company founded only 12 years ago to
manufacture and market industrial ink jet systems and engineering
coding solutions, has formed a commercial relationship with
British Gypsum – the UK’s market leader in the high performance
wall and ceiling lining systems market.
And
it is in British Gypsum’s plasterboard factories, that ATD
– whose founders can account for over 30 years of experience
in industrial coding and marking – brought its expertise to
bear when British Gypsum mounted an exercise to improve the
quality of it’s product identification for its customers.
The
company needed to come up with a new way of marking its stacks
of finished wall and ceiling boards – something which would
stand up to the stresses and strains of high-volume plasterboard
production plants. The print quality had to be consistently
high, in keeping with the renowned high quality of British
Gypsum’s products.
But
have the experts at ATD come up with the goods? You bet they
have! British Gypsums’ Process Development Manager Graham
Peace is extremely happy with the outcome.
On-Line Print Sample. 2 Stacks Just Printed
‘‘The
solution ATD gave us was revolutionary, in that no-one had
previously considered printing on such a large scale across
such a big surface as that of a plasterboard stack measuring
anything up to 3.6 metres long by 1.2 metres in width and
1.2 metres high.
The
old method of product identification, using pre-printed adhesive
tapes to bind two boards together at their ends, has always
presented problems. The tapes also become packaging waste
at our customers sites.”
“In-line
with British Gypsum’s reputation for innovation and continuous
improvement, we spoke extensively with our customers and as
a result, chose to eliminate the end-tapes and look for a
better way of satisfying our product identification needs.”
“After
consulting with our BPB Group Engineering colleagues, we chose
ATD as the preferred solution provider for this difficult
challenge,” Said Mr Peace.
So,
how did ATD set about tackling the problem, one that had the
potential for disaster at virtually every turn, thanks to
the demanding environment which is prevalent at all plasterboard
production plants?
ATD
director Paul Reeve explains: ‘‘We came up with a purpose-designed
product to replace the paper tapes using three IP9000 print
heads mounted into an automatic alignment system, which codes
the side of a plasterboard stack as it is conveyed past. The
result is a stack, which carries ULTRA CLEAR 100mm high x
1.5metres wide branding information along with product specification
and unique stack identification information.
On-Line
Print Sample. 2 Stacks Just Printed With Blue Ink.
100mm
High Print Visible From Long Distance
Mr
Peace added, ‘‘The latest generation system from ATD represents
the significant developments made since the launch of our
original equipment. Previously, due to our factory layout
we had been constrained to have our plasterboard stacks stationary
whilst printing and thus we needed to move the print heads
across the product. The new system works in the opposite way,
with the boards moving across stationary print heads, with
obvious advantages to our cycle times.’’
‘‘This
highlights one of ATD’s biggest virtues,’’ adds Mr Peace.
‘‘They have always been prepared to work with us in developing
and improving their systems – they don’t just put a system
in and walk away. They have a great deal of printing expertise
and their flexible approach fits in well with the need to
develop bespoke solutions such as ours. ’’
ATD
Print Heads, Fully Protected From The Harsh Environment
There
is full enclosure of the print heads to keep any chance of
damage, be it from dust, other airborne ‘gremlins’ or from
humidity, down to a minimum. And the printers are solid state,
which eliminates wear and tear and any need for re-calibration.
The ATD-supplied control software, links to British Gypsum’s
own database, ensuring everything is product-specific compatible,
and all the inks used are non-toxic, non-flammable and odour-free.
ATD’s
IP9000 ink jet systems are also used in other areas of British
Gypsums manufacturing process, such as printing product information,
logos and barcodes directly on to the plasterboard liner
before it is mated with plaster to form the boards. Product
information is printed onto the edge of each board, whilst
the front face is printed with equi- distant screw/nail marks
using a specially formulated ink, which does not show through
once paint is applied. Additionally ATD ink jet systems are
used to identify coving and other secondary manufactured products.
48mm High Barcode Just Printed and Scanned
Summarising,
Mr Reeve says: “This latest installation at British Gypsum
builds on the success of those completed at other sites for
the company and we look forward to working with them in the
future.”
ENDS
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