What Executives Think About Automation
While writing this article (and the previous entries, which were published in the February 2017 issue of FLEXO Magazine and March 2017 issue of FLEXO Magazine), we also gathered opinions from industry experts and collected views in multiple interesting directions.
Prof. Dr. Martin Dreher, scientific director at DFTA Technology Center and professor at HdM Media University of Applied Sciences in Stüttgart, Germany, said one of the first aspects that comes to his mind, when he thinks of flexo’s fight for survival, is indeed automation.
“Cost is of course an ever-growing criteria and plate making is—apart from the substrates and printing inks—the single biggest cost factor in conventional printing,” he said. “So, though my striving goes toward enhancements of print quality and further technical capabilities, I do think automation bears the chance of not only getting more consistent (quality!) but also less costly. Flexo does still have plenty of room for automation!”
Ryan Vest, director of innovation at FTA member MacDermid Graphics Solutions, confirmed several customers are inquiring into “future state” plate making as they start to plan out the next three to five years of their plate making capitalization. Ryan shared that one of the gating items with flexo these days is not so much quality, but consistency and standardization.
“Customers want to turn plate making into a science rather than an art, and automation is the ultimate workaround to that goal,” he stated. “Automation can and should be used to enhance the human element more so than take away from it. The current process, being so highly manual, destabilizes the capabilities of flexo in a way—meaning the focus is placed where it doesn’t have to be.”
Ryan also emphasized adoption is going to be gradual, not necessarily due to the available technology, but rather people’s acceptance of said technology and re-prioritization of their part in the process.
“Automation will only help the continuous improvement aspect of flexo technology: As data becomes more automated and automatically analyzed, adjustments can be made to maintain consistency or evolve. It is critical, however, that we remember the more human side of the business: experience, relationships, ‘gut feel’—these are all value adds from the end user that enhance the product experience,” Ryan concluded.
Dipl.-Ing. Stephan Riechert, working at FTA member DuPont Advanced Printing as its global product manager, highlighted that process automation in flexo is necessary in all areas, from prepress to printing and converting. He noted that, for the production of the print forms, the most challenging areas are those where critical parameters need a tight control, which somehow is hard to implement even in highly sophisticated automated machines.
Stephan cited a couple of clever and interesting examples. One was related to the very limited offering for exposure units with a clear set of controllable UV output parameters. The second related to the drying process, pointing out that, as simple as it may look, it is truly the step that determines the final plate thickness and therefore carries a number of criticalities.
By moving the needle of business efficiency, improving people’s lives in general, and allowing the manual workforce to solve more intelligent problems for customers, advanced robotic automation is creating room for an improved customer experience.
Stephan concluded saying, “Since there are no true control mechanisms available which can easily be implemented for continuous thickness measurement, this task is still mastered by plate making specialists. However, the desire for automation and productivity improvement is needed and I am optimistic the industry will soon master all the missing links.”
Prof. Dr. Efe Gencoglu, visiting professor at Ege University, also agreed the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on the flexo sector is inevitable. He indicated advanced automation will force people to use their brain power more “professionally” and that the workforce needs to be prepared accordingly.
Efe concluded by saying, “Matching students’ skills and jobs should always be a high-priority concern for any school or university. The curriculum of vocational high schools and universities must be revised to respond to this new trend, otherwise new graduates will have a great deal of difficulty finding jobs.”
He also explained the automation paradox. “In many industries, it turned out that people had great(er) employment opportunities so long as they could learn how to use the new tools. Advanced automation eventually became their best friend,” and concluded, “I am expecting the same to happen in flexo plate making.”
How Automation Affects Time-to-Market & Quality
Given the right configuration, advance robotic automation can be surprisingly easy and can reap major benefits. Understanding these benefits will help flexographers make the right decisions and select the most appropriate configurations. In a recent study, we asked, “What do you see (or perceive) as the most important benefits of an automated plate making flexo line?” The primary benefits cited most often, as seen in Figure 3, were productivity, quality, cost reduction, safety and uptime.
It became apparent the true focal benefit of advanced robotic automation is increasing the speed at which plates are processed, and making staff involved as efficient as possible. Multitasking, advanced and automated flexo equipment can easily increase productivity by 35 percent when compared with standalone devices, according to www.empowerims.com users’ market study and Flint Group’s Automation & Standardization publication.
Somehow, the “surprise” benefit was to have the confirmation that automation doesn’t mean trading speed for accuracy, as many could suspect.
Every company would like to have their plate processing department perform like a thoroughbred. The latest generation automated plate making lines would make them faster and less expensive, but what about quality?
If we define quality as processing plates that are free from defects, deficiencies and significant variations, it is certainly achievable with an average automatic processing line. If in addition, we also want to be strict and consistent about certain “personal” standards that are needed to satisfy specific customer requirements, independently from the skills of the operators, then we are talking about the latest development in advanced automation.
Automation hasn’t just landed in flexo plate making; it is currently expanding and becoming more sophisticated. Modern advanced equipment has the embedded capability of gaining new skills, constantly improving quality and productivity, and increasingly working seamlessly hand-in-hand with flexographers. Advanced flexo plate making equipment doesn’t just expose, wash out, dye and finish flexo plates—it has the potential to learn on its own, on the fly, when making plates (evolutionary learning).
Flexographers shouldn’t be wanting to improve their production system for the next advancement, hoping that it will be better and come cheaper. Flexographers should appreciate the latest systems available in the market today already offer good potential for savings by lowering the operating cost (the cost of the operations staff—as high as 71 percent of the total cost) and should consider that the total cost of ownership has been constantly declining during the past years.
Improved Production Safety
Production safety is generally thought of as “freedom from danger and harm.” Washout solvent and printing plate manufacturers provide customers with detailed information about chemical and material hazards, so flexographers have a better understanding of the potential risks, make better decisions and thus, exercise better precautions regarding overall safety.
Many flexo experts would openly state that, given where we are, there should be no one still using conventional dryers and there are multiple reasons concerning safety that strongly support such a statement.
Solvents used to process flexo plates are organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure at ordinary room temperature. That creates volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can be eye and respiratory irritants. That is why adequate ventilation must be provided in the areas where flexo plate processing solvents are being used.
With that in mind, it is easy to understand that if a processor is physically connected and hermetically sealed to a dryer, there will be fewer VOCs spread in the air of the plate making lab. In addition, we objectively need to consider that in any solvent processor the plate is dipped in solvent and, due to its properties, absorbs that solvent like a sponge. When the operator takes the plate to the dryer, clearly, the plate is leaking solvent all over the place, inevitably releasing VOCs in the air. Even if the safety procedures are the best and the operators are following them very carefully, they will somehow be exposed to a hazardous situation and, consequently, a serious risk. As a minimum, safety glasses or goggles and gloves should be worn when handling such plates, and a gas mask would also be indicated.
New solutions available in the market today avoid this risk by bridging the washout unit with a dryer and a stacker. In essence, advanced robotic automation enables prepress providers and printers to minimize process tolerances, offers the possibility to improve safety and quality standards, reduces mistakes, cuts down on costs and provides quicker payback of invested capital.
About the Author: Pier Luigi Sassanelli (Sass) is an experienced marketer with wide international experience in consolidated and emerging economies. Committed to identifying business opportunities and translating them into profitable growth, he is currently a strategy advisor for several global and regional companies operating in food and package printing.
Before that, Sass worked with DuPont for 30 years. Recently, he served DuPont Nutrition & Health as strategic marketing and innovation process leader. Earlier, while with DuPont Corporation, he co-designed the renowned DuPont Marketing Excellence program and co-founded the global DuPont Marketing Academy. Prior to that, he was marketing manager, global marketing communications manager and global equipment business manager for Cyrel. Find him on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/sassanelli.