SCYPRI

SMART CYLINDERS FOR FLEXOGRAPHIC PRINTING INDUSTRY

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The SCYPRI project proposes the design, implementation and validation of an innovative and smart plate cylinder to eliminate the Flexographic Printing Industry problems:  The first target will be to obtain, through the integration of a novel multifunction fiber optic sensing system within the carbon fibre body cylinder, the data of the running behavior and the anomalies of the cylinder which can communicate with an autonomous control system giving it the data needed to dynamically adjust in real time the driving parameters of the process.  The second target is related to the optimization of the carbon fibre cylinder: the composite lamination, due to the physical and geometrical characteristics of the composite tube (high thickness, considerable high modulus fibre quantity, high curing temperature) suffers of some limitation due to the need of avoiding noticeable composite thermal stresses.  The last target is to develop a simple, effective and user friendly connection system between the cylinder and the adapters, as explained before, to improve the stiffness characteristics of the system.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Printing information on plastics, cellophane and paper is critical to product packaging in many markets. Smart sensor technology for the printing process will enhance process control, reduce failures and increase quality.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The European flexography market has been growing steadily for the last 10 years, continuously gaining new markets from other processes.

Flexographic printing, also called Flexo, employs a thick polymeric printing plate, like a stamp.

It is wrapped around a rotating cylinder conventionally made of steel plate to print on flexible substrates.

Flexo has evolved substantially but still requires skilled operators and lots of time to set up the machine and intervene in the case of malfunction.

Improvements could have major economic impact.EU-funded scientists are modernising flexography within the scope of the project 'Smart cylinders for flexographic printing industry' (http://www.scypri.eu/ (SCYPRI)) .

With the integration of smart monitoring and control technologies as well as improvements in Flexo components, scientists expect a significant enhancement in process control.

This will provide higher throughput, enhanced print quality and reduce system failure.Researchers are integrating fibre-optic sensors in a cylinder body made of state-of-the-art carbon fibre.

They are also developing an autonomous control system to adjust driving parameters in real time.

The low-cost fibre-optic sensing system for remotely monitoring temperature and strain during the curing process satisfied and even surpassed in some tests the original requirements.

Another wireless sensor system exploiting micro-electromechanical systems technology will monitor cylinder vibration and is currently being experimentally validated.Researchers are developing software to optimise the lamination of the cylinder to minimise thermal stresses.

Numerous factors have been assessed, including the polymer curing stage, thermal and chemical shrinkage and mould material.

The team developed a numerical tool and experimental procedure to aid in optimisation of composite cylinder manufacturing.Finally, smart materials in the connection between the cylinder and the adapters used to change cylinder diameter will improve system stiffness.

The team has now selected a class of elastomers for use in the active structures.SCYPRI is going beyond the state of the art with multi-parameter sensing in a single platform.

The result is a more functional and compact unit with lower power consumption.

Partners expect the technology to be on the market within two years of project completion.