Bobst Expertcut: revolutionary evolution

‘The Expertcut 106 PER has proved to be the workhorse for the world’s medium- to high-volume carton makers and we’ve given it some additional features to provide increased production, lower costs, easier maintenance and less waste, together adding up to substantial gains for users,’ he comments.

Modifications include new feeder technology, changes to the sheet transport system, faster make-ready in the stripping and delivery sections, and developments that reduce wear and consequently increase the life of die-cutting tools.

‘Firstly, we’ve further developed our Smart Feeder system that manages the feeding of sheets into the Expertcut,’ Jacques explains. ‘Smart Feeder II is fitted with a suction head that has an improved sheet lift-up and pass to the feed table, as well as features that ensure quick setting and consistent feeding, whatever the substrate. Along with this, a redesigned feed table reduces the number of sheets lost during a machine stop, delivering more consistent sheet transportation.’

Always with an eye on reducing costs, a new technology dubbed Tool Saver instantly takes the pressure from the platen section when no sheet is present. ‘By removing the pressure when no sheet is there, Tool Saver increases the operational life of tooling,’ says Jacques. ‘It means that high-quality cutting can be maintained for an increased number of impressions, which reduces the cost of manufacturing each box. As soon as sheet feeding restarts, the press instantly returns to the pre-set production speed and platen pressure with no need for operator intervention.’

The latest Expertcut 106 PER also calculates optimum tie-sheet interruption based on the thickness of the carton, saving as many as seven sheets per tie-sheet insertion cycle. Considering the number of tie-sheets needed per pallet, this new system delivers substantial time, output and financial gains.

The blanking section has a feature called Quick Set that allows fast and easy set-up by pushing a single button. ‘Also the tool frames don’t have to be reset to zero when changing jobs, which makes changeovers quick and easy for the operator,’ Jacques explains.

Key to maintaining flatness and quality are Bernoulli sheet breaking tablets that extend control to the very edge of the sheet as it stops for stripping and blanking. The latest units also have automatic self-cleaning systems, cutting maintenance and increasing reliability.

‘By utilising intelligent systems throughout, we can help converters achieve substantial time savings, creating additional uptime for profit-generating production, while reducing maintenance and tooling costs,’ concludes Jacques.

Reviewing post-drupa order intake for the new Expertcut 106 PER, it’s clear that these developments have been well received. Indeed, the first units are already in production and, according to Jacques, feedback has been excellent.

According to Bruce Beswick of Beswick Machinery, Bobst’s local representative, the Expertcut is ‘an exceptional piece of equipment’.

‘It has it evolved from the old SP CER and SP CERII (many of which are still running is South Africa) to the Spanthera and then to the Expertcut, and now this upgraded version,’ he further explains.

‘These predecessors were excellent machines and even after 25 to 30 years are still running well – a fact that has allowed owners to delay investing in replacements, despite obvious production cost savings. A single Expertcut could replace multiple CER models,’ Bruce adds.

While Beswick Machinery has already supplied a number of Expertfold machines in South Africa (the equivalent range of folder-gluers), we await news of the first Expertcut to be sold locally!