Duplo is confident of an early sale for the B2 die cutter it is to show for the first time at Drupa.
The DSM1000 is a flatbed die cutter with fast changeover die technology capable of cutting 650gsm substrates. This continues a shift from Duplo into both machinery for B2 printed sheets and for short run packaging products.
It joins the DuSense DDC8000 which applies foils and spot varnish to embellish B2 packaging and the 20K which cuts a B2 sheet ready for the DC746 multifinisher which offers slitting, creasing and cutting, but lacks the finesse and flexibility of a true flatbed die cutter.
The die cutter will appeal to those that have relied on a flatbed cutting table for producing carton blanks and have reached the limit for what these devices can realistically cope with. The DSM’s throughput is not reliant on the complexity of the cut out from and will run to 3,100sph on a sheet from 750x279mm to 279x530mm. The device takes a board of 520x820mm, giving a 480x710mm cutting area under 40 tonnes of pressure.
The die cutter becomes Duplo’s heaviest machine to date, weighing in at 3.3 tonnes, 2 tonnes more than the B2 DuSense.
Its appeal lies with the speed and ease of changing the die boards using a single latch to lock the board in place. A registration system, developed from other Duplo devices, ensures the match between upper and lower boards and the sheet. Cameras monitor X and Y positions to line the sheet accurately for the die board. An optional separator system will remove the waste areas of the sheet, including in some cases stripping out the inner waste.
The die cutter has been presented to Duplo’s sales teams and early presentations to first prospects have been made ahead of Drupa, enabling the company to announce first sales at the show. The demonstrations underlined that skilled operators are no longer needed for running a flatbed die cutter.
The DSM1000 is largely in a market of its own. Uchida, sold by Morgana, makes a true flatbed, but at a smaller format while B2 is served by Kama machines in this format but these are substantially larger and less automated. Demand for die cutting in this format is also met by rotary die cutters which can lack the quality of a true die cutter.
