Shaft couplings match the needs of printing machinery

In the printing industry, the need for high precision starts in the actual printing mechanism and continues through the refinement process to quality assurance on the final product. To maintain the precision movement, Schmidt-Kupplung shaft couplings are found in many areas of the printing processes. For example, in the drives for printing mechanisms the couplings can be found driving ink rollers and duct rollers; they are also found in the drives for rotary die cutting machines and cutting rollers, where precise stamping and cutting processes are performed.

Driven equipment is also commonly required to be axially displaced during operation and it is this displacement that can be disproportionate to the DBSE (distance between shaft ends) in the printing machines. Other designs of shaft couplings simply cannot accept such large parallel shaft offsets without requiring a much longer DBSE. In addition, other coupling designs may suffer from a degradation of torque capacity and increased backlash during operation when required to accommodate such a high degree of parallel offset. The design of the Schmidt-Kupplung shaft couplings allows for this exceptional axial movement while reliably transmitting backlash-free torque. Most importantly, the Schmidt-Kupplung delivers all these advantages in an extremely compact design. For example, it is possible to have a parallel shaft offset of 275mm in an overall length of 284mm! (This is for the Offset Plus V3300 series.)

Another advantage of the Schmidt-Kupplung shaft coupling is that, during the printing operation, individual rollers may need to be adjusted, replaced or even removed from the machine. Ease of connection and the design features of the Schmidt Kupplung allow for the axial displacement of roller holders up and away from the press so that maintenance or roller change can be carried out; there is no need to stop the printing machines at this time.

Semiflex and Controlflex couplings

Precision couplings from the Semiflex range are employed where very high output and productivity are required. High torque and high speed are easily catered for with Semiflex shaft couplings. Abssac can also offer customer-specific couplings from the Semiflex range in applications such as axially-guided cutting rollers.

Another excellent use of the Semiflex coupling is during offset printing. The printed sheet is subject to a continuous visual check via densitometric sensing, which allows for the quantitative measurement of optical density in light-sensitive materials such as paper. The antibacklash features of precision drive coupling ensure that the individual measuring points are achieved exactly. Shaft couplings from the Controlflex range are typically utilised in drives for travelling sensor heads, where the requirements are for lower torques but high torsional stiffness and zero-backlash rotation.

Follow the link for more information and a short movie about Schmidt-Kupplung shaft couplings, or call Abssac, the sole UK distributor, on +44 (0)1386 421005.