By: E&P Staff Acutech LLC in Elkhart, Ind., recently completed a turnkey installation of its automatic plate punch and bend, sorting and stacking machinery at the Chicago Sun-Times. The fourth quarter of 2008 also saw Acutech automated plate sortation systems installed in Canton Ohio, and Plainfield and Northfield, Ill.
The optically registering benders, bar-code readers, sorters, conveyers and stackers were installed in four Sun-Times platerooms. Acutech systems are custom configured to each plateroom requirement.
The main Sun Times plateroom operates four violet-imaging computer-to-plate lines with high-capacity, dual-level bin stacker. The Acutech Plate Management System allows the plateroom operator to configure different stacking set-ups for different daily productions. Plates can be sorted according to publication, zone or publication and zone. Sortation modes can easily be modified to fit Sun-Times daily requirements.
Easy-to-assemble conveyor modules use internal powered rollers that eliminate motors and auxiliary drives. The system incorporates stand-alone Ethernet IP modules that handle all operating functions of each section, allowing fast data transfer. Each station connects to the master control panel, which affords independent station and conveyor control for easy maintenance, system function overview with production data and plate tracking, bar code plate-to-bin configuration, bar code sort modes, bar code set-up, training and tracking (to send data up to the Print system).
Employing open-platform software and standardized components, the Acutech Plate Management System can easily be used with other manufacturers' bending equipment. Its modularity helps cut costs and reduce time in engineering design, installation and start-up.
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