Horizon plans to launch the BQ300, a new single-clamp binder at Drupa as part of the Japanese company’s largest presentation at the show to date.
The new binder will be joined by the introduction of a sheet feeder for the StitchLiner MkV digital version of the saddle stitcher and upgrades to the BQ500.
All are about increasing automation and placing products into complete production lines linked by robot handling or robots to move pallets of work in progress from one point to another. Thus a robot arm can pick up book blocks that have been printed on a Canon cutsheet press into Tecnau’s BookReady and feed these into the BQ300.
The BQ300 has an operating speed of 500 cycles an hour and is designed for automatic loading of book blocks and unloading to a three-knife trimmer. It is controlled through a 15in touch panel, something that is standard across all the new systems.
This includes the SPF2000, its upgraded booklet maker. This has faster set up and greater degrees of automation to increase net production on short runs of stitches products. These can include A4 landscape formats. Quoted speed is 4,700cph, though lowered by job changeovers.
The HSF50D is a sheet feeder that can be part of the StitchLiner MkV, normally configured for operation from an inkjet printed reel. At Drupa the line will be presented with the unwind unit leading to Hunkeler sheeter for feeding into the StitchLinerV. The HSF50D comes next and can feed preprinted sheets into this flow at speed, switching between sheet feeding and roll feeding automatically and to enable variable pagination production. It is also possible to run the line with the digital sheet feeding alone.
The three launches form part of the new solutions and workflow section of the Drupa stand. There are also sectors for Smart book solutions which centres on Horizon’s web processing system with plow folding cut sheet and stack line the BBS56, a short run system running from two Ricoh printers and a configuration with a Hunkeler sheet and stack into a loose sheet block feeder for the binder.
Litho printing is not forgotten. The stand will feature a B1 folder, delivering sections to a MiniCabs gatherer using an AGV robot. The StitchLiner MkIV completes the section.
In all Horizon will have six robotic elements, half for moving work in progress from one station to the next production unit and three using robot arms for loading the next machine or for loading a pallet.
