Category Archives: Yard & Outdoors

Pad Printing with CNC

October 10, 2021   Matt

Pad Printing with CNC

Pad printing is a process where a 2-D object is transferred into a 3-D object. It is done by using an indirect offset printing process that involves an image being transferred from the printing plate via silicone pad over a surface that is to be printed.

Pad printing is used on a lot of industries that includes medical, automotive, promotional, apparel, electronics, appliances, sport equipment and toys. Pads are three dimensional objects typically molded of silicone rubber. They function as a transfer vehicle that picks up ink from the printing plate, and then transferring to the thing to be printed upon.

Examples of pad printing are the printing of labels on the keys on a keyboard or the logo of a toy manufacturer on a Frisbee. The unique properties of a silicone pad allow it to pick the image up in a variety of surfaces such as a flat, cylindrical, spherical, compound angle, textures, concave surfaces or a convex surface.

In presses that uses pad printing with Computer Numeric Control (CNC), the substrate or a material that can be printed on, such as paper, film, plastic, fabric, cellophane, or steel, is stationary and the silicone pads are programmed to print one image at a time.

With a press that uses Computer Numeric Control, the substrate is stationary and the pads are all programmed to one image at a time to achieve a multicolor print.

Though the robotic actions of these presses that uses Computer Numeric Control seems rather complicated, it allows simple setting procedures that enable several programs to be inputted into the machine. All actions are controlled by servo-motor drives giving a very smooth and highly controllable printing action, also giving stroke lengths to be infinitely variable to the dimensions of the machine. Manufacturers even claim that using presses with pad printing capability that uses Computer Numeric Control gives considerable energy savings to the industry.

The Computer Numeric system of control can be built on standard machines or modular assemblies that can be produced to suit any application. The degree of complexity is regulated only by the imagination of the designer of the product/s and the number of modules he wishes to use to complete his desired quota.

All of the elements of component manipulation can be achieved by combining with multiple closed cups, pad cleaning, varying pad-stroke lengths, alternative pad shapes and a lot more. This type of system is often used where items must be printed in line with other assembly processes, or for complex multiple prints on different surfaces.

The flexibility of a Computer Numeric Controlled press comes close to producing the ideal machine for a particular application. Although a CNC press is substantially more expensive than that of a conventional pneumatic press. If the workload can justify the use of a CNC press for the increase in investment, then the CNC press is well worth considering.

Although it is wise to not be carried away by the current technology at hand, it still must be a capable printer.

Read More

Event Etiquette

October 05, 2021   Matt

Event Etiquette

The workshop was over. The delegates had long gone and Margaret Kerr was recovering with a cup of coffee. The room was strewn with sheets of flip chart paper, the debris of the buffet lunch and countless empty coffee cups covered every horizontal surface in the room. Margaret was drained. The workshop had been a tough one for a trainer; the delegates had all been sharp and smart; they had challenged her knowledge and demanded long explanations of the reasons behind the theories she was asking them to buy into. She looked at the bomb-site that was once an orderly training room and knew she didn’t have the energy to do much more than crawl to her car. After all, she reasoned, the conference center cleaning staff would tidy up, wouldn’t they.

Once the rooms are clear of delegates and you have bathed in the glory of a successful event, it is time to dismantle everything that you came with. As with the assembly process, it is useful to assign specific responsibilities to members of the event team and to manage the process as smoothly as possible. For larger events, keep a checklist of everything that needs to be done on a flip chart and, as items are completed, score them out. Using a clearly visible list like this gives everyone involved an easy reference and allows them to decide themselves how they can best help others once they have completed their own tasks.

If events are to be a frequent part of your life, you will want a venue to welcome you back with open arms. To make this a certainty, try as much as possible to leave the venue rooms as you found them, litter-free and ready for the cleaning staff to prepare them for the next users.

This may seem like common sense but you will be surprised how easy it is, at the end of a particularly stressful event, to follow the impulse to cut and run. Your reputation is worth more than a few sheets of paper.

Providing venue feedback

As you leave with the last load of equipment, make a point of contacting your conferencing contact at the venue. Show them your feedback from the evaluation forms; if they are worth their salt, they will be eager to read it. Add any feedback of your own, positive and negative but always leave a nice, juicy positive comment to the last and tell them you’ll be back.

If you’ve had any particularly excellent service from the conferencing staff, make a point of following up your feedback with a thank you letter to the venue manager. A little careful attention to detail now will buy you royal treatment on your next visit.

Margaret was about to slide quietly away when her colleague Ben, walked in looking full of energy. “Where do you get the energy, Ben?” she asked. “I pace myself” he stated in a matter of fact way “the day ain’t over till it’s over”

Read More
« Older posts
Newer posts »

  • Subscribe

  • Batteries Plus

Support us!

If you like this site please subscribe