Uflex inaugurates robotic laser engraving line at Noida facility

In printing industry, precision and efficiency cannot be emphasised enough. In order to offer infallible printing consistency to its converting clients, flexible packaging company Uflex Limited has joined hands with Japan’s Think Lab to set up a fully-automatic robotic laser engraving line for manufacturing rotogravure cylinders at its Noida facility. 

The robotic laser engraving line has reduced the cumbersome process of manufacturing rotogravure printing cylinders to a single operator job. This automation, however poses absolutely no threat to the current manpower as there exists a separate well contoured market segment for conventional electro-mechanically engraved, embossed, coated rotogravure printing cylinders much like the laser robotic plant engraved rotogravure cylinders. While over 200 cylinders are manufactured per day using the conventional process at Uflex, through the robotic laser engraving line spread in approximately 1/10th of the entire cylinder manufacturing shop floor area at Noida, a single operator can produce additional 60 cylinders per day.

The new engraving line offers consistency in printing for flexible packaging, more mileage from the cylinder; and consumes less ink during printing operation as compared to conventional electromechanical engraving. In addition, production volumes have gone up from the erstwhile 180 cylinders per day to produce 240-250 cylinders. The fully-automatic robotic laser engraving line enables high-definition image re-production capability of 6,400 DPI, which is not attainable through the conventional electro-mechanical engraving process;

Owing to the whole gamut of benefits that they bring, the rotogravure cylinders manufactured on the robotic laser engraving line are in huge demand by converters and packaging companies catering to niche multinational brands. 

Ashok Chaturvedi, chairman & managing director, Uflex Limited, said, “For this ambitious project we decided to partner with Think Lab, Japan, because of their unmatched technological finesse in gravure printing technology which is globally acclaimed. It is a name that instils trust and confidence and thus serves to be a perfect strategic partner for Uflex for our cylinder manufacturing business. We are getting online real time service support and assistance from Think Lab which is now completely dovetailed with our operations and ensures practically zero downtime. Our precision has improved manifold so has the production efficiency.”