Printing OK? Superlight servodrive lets operators see for sure

Aug. 5, 2004
A servodrive weighing only 150 gm zips a camera across a moving web of paper or film to check for defects in a new inspection system.

The Harmonica digital drive from Elmo Motion Control Inc., Westford, Mass., is compact enough to fit in the camera head on the PrintVision line of inspection machines from Advanced Vision Technology Ltd., Atlanta. This contrasts with older machines where the motor and drive were off in a separate cabinet and positioned the head via a belt.

The combo servodrive/ motor/inspection head weighs from 12 to 15 kg, depending on the model. A 100-W dc servomotor scans the head across the web at speeds hitting 3 m/sec under the control of the Harmonica drive operating in position mode. The optical head assembly moves on a beam spanning the web ranging from 1 to 7 m, depending on the press.

The camera signal from the optical head feeds to a vision system. If the system notices a defect in the web, it freezes the image of the appropriate area on one of the system monitors. An alarm goes off while the system marks and classifies the defect.

The AVT systems get applied to a variety of printing, including labels running on narrow webs. It can detect defects that may not be visible to the human eye, including subtle variations in color, misregistration, streaks, and smears.

 

Sponsored Recommendations

Drive systems for urban air mobility

March 18, 2025
The shift of some of our transport traffic from the road to the air through urban air mobility is one of the most exciting future fields in the aerospace industry.

Blazing the trail for flying robots

March 18, 2025
Eight Bachelor students built a flying manipulator that can hover in any orientation and grasp objects. The drone is even more maneuverable than a quadrocopter and was designed...

Reachy 2: The Open-Source Humanoid Robot Redefining Human-Machine Interaction

March 18, 2025
Reachy 2 was designed to adapt to a wide variety of uses thanks to its modular architecture.

maxon IDX: The plug-and-play solution

March 18, 2025
IDX drives combine power with small space requirements - a brushless BLDC motor combined with an EPOS4 positioning controller and a gearhead inside a high-quality industrial housing...

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Machine Design, create an account today!