1. Purpose

Ceramic anilox rollers and metal anilox rollers are the crystallization of high technology and are very expensive precision hearts in flexo printing equipment

Parts, with high dimensional accuracy, shape position accuracy, surface roughness and dynamic balance accuracy. Therefore, this ceramic and metal anilox roller installation and maintenance specification is specially formulated, which requires that each flexographic printing position must be strictly implemented and operated accurately. Correct and timely scientific daily maintenance of the ink transfer anilox roller to prevent damage to the roller, and obtain stable and high-quality printing quality while extending the service life.

2. Scope

This specification applies to the installation and maintenance of ceramic and metal anilox rollers in all flexo printing equipment.

3. Terms and Definitions

3.1. Ceramic and metal anilox rollers: including ink transfer anilox rollers and anilox rollers with varnish.

3.2. Storage: including the storage of new anilox rollers and the storage of replacement anilox rollers to be repaired.

3.3. Hard tools: The hardness other than rubber, wood or copper beating tools for installation is greater than HRC20

On the beating tool.

3.4. Test run: experimental start-up before official start-up use.

3.5. Use of outer diameter size range: refers to the use of anilox roller outer diameter size range, different equipment designed by the anilox

The outer diameter size range of the rollers is different. If it exceeds the range, it will not be able to be used. If it is too large, it will cause mutual interference between the parts that cooperate with it, and if it is too small, it will exceed the scope of use.

4. Operation process and maintenance requirements

4.1. Installation: The anilox roller is strictly prohibited from directly hitting it with hard tools, colliding with hard objects and scratching it during installation and use.

4.2. Storage:

(1) The storage box of the ink transfer anilox roller should be stored in a dry place indoors to prevent damage caused by moisture, rain and direct sunlight.

(2) When replacing the anilox roll, protect the roll surface of the anilox roll and strictly prevent damage caused by collision and extrusion. For the finished anilox roll, the anilox roll must be cleaned thoroughly in time, and do not store unfinished, clean and undried anilox rolls. When storing the ceramic anilox roll, wrap the roller with packaging foil made of natural fibers and put it in the storage box.

(3) The anilox rollers that are not stored in the box should be fixed on a special storage bracket to ensure that the roller surface is overhead. It is strictly forbidden to place the roller surface directly or obliquely on the ground to avoid damage to the ceramic coating or hard chrome coating and mesh on the surface of the anilox roller.

4.3. Lifting:

(1) Do not fix the belt rope directly on the roll surface of the anilox roller to lift and move the roller, so as to avoid the roller slipping and breaking due to the loss of balance during the lifting movement. The correct way to move the roller is to fix the belt or other supports on the shaft heads at both ends of the roller and avoid touching the edge of the roller or other parts of the ceramic spray.

(2) Lifting should be light and slow, and the movement should be stable, and it is strictly forbidden to shake and sway greatly.

4.4. Update and repair: Due to the different designs of various equipment manufacturers, the outer diameter and size range of anilox rollers are different, so the number of times that can be repaired is limited, so a roller file should be established for management.

(1) A repairability assessment must be made before each repair to avoid cost loss due to misrepair.

(2) The size when updating the customization must be within the maximum use range of the design.

4.5. Test and start-up: Before the test and each start-up, the following items must be confirmed to be correct before starting the operation.

(1) The pressure between the anilox roller and the scraper or scraper rubber roller should be adjusted to be uniform

(2) The anilox roll and the plate roll, the plate roll and the pressing roll are adjusted to a reasonable gap and ensure that the gap between the roller surfaces at both ends is consistent.

(3) All adjustment mechanisms work accurately, safely and reliably.

(4) All roll surfaces and scrapers are clean and free of foreign objects.

(5) The circulating ink supply system works normally; the ink is reliably filtered.

4.6. Check for cleanup:

(1) The anilox roller must be carefully checked and cleaned before each use to ensure that the anilox surface is free of oil and dust.

(2) Often use a mesh microscope to detect the mesh of the ink transfer anilox roller. If wear and blockage are found, measures should be taken in time.

(3) Before changing the ink after each printing, the surface of the roller of the ink transfer anilox roller must be cleaned in time and thoroughly to avoid the remaining ink remaining at the bottom of the mesh from drying and gradually blocking the mesh. The water resistance of water-based ink is that it dissolves in water before drying, and cannot be dissolved in water and ink after drying. Once the remaining ink dries and solidifies at the bottom of the mesh, it is difficult to effectively clean it, and it will accumulate more and more over time, reducing the effective volume of the mesh, reducing the release of ink, and directly affecting the printing quality. Therefore, during each operation gap, do not stop rotating and transfer the ink anilox roller, so as not to dry the ink in the mesh and block the mesh.

(4) When cleaning the anilox roll, the scraper cavity and pipeline should be cleaned at the same time. For daily cleaning, water-soluble cleaning liquid (washing machine water) can be used to circulate on the machine first, and then cleaned with clean water. The washed anilox roll must be dried and separated from the scraper or the squeegee rubber roll to avoid the water stains on the knife edge or the remaining parts of the rubber roll in contact with the anilox roll from drying out and being in the mesh hole.

4.4. Measures to prevent scratches on ink transfer anilox rollers

(1) Causes of scratches on the ink transfer anilox roller

When the dust particles, ink slag, etc. on the printing plate and the top plate of the equipment and the cardboard, the combination after drying and the metal chips, particles, etc. that fall off the scraper after damage are mixed into the ink, they will be clamped on the scraper or between the ink scraper rubber roller and the roll surface of the ink transfer anilox roller. During the printing work, the high-speed rotation of the roller makes the hard object pressed under the scraper have severe friction on the surface of the anilox roller, the scraper or the ink scraper rubber roller. Over time, the ink transfer anilox roller and the scraper rubber roller have a ring-shaped line of wear And scratches.

(Wear mesh in scratches)

Once the hard particles fall between the rubber roller and the anilox roller, the rubber roller is first cut and ground into a groove until the hard particles fall off from the large groove. At the same time, the anilox roller will also cause a corresponding circle of wear and bright lines. Once the hard chrome layer of the metal anilox roller is worn, the first worn point will rust in a spot and gradually spread. Therefore, when a groove appears on the rubber roller and a bright line appears on the relative anilox roller, be sure to check and deal with it in time and take measures.

(2) Remove dust impurities on the surface of the printed product and keep the printing department clean before printing. The contact between the dust removal brush in front of the first color and the printed product should be adjusted in place in time, and the suction trend position and air volume of the dust removal fan should also be adjusted in place to ensure timely and reliable dust removal, so as to avoid hard particles from entering the printing department with the cardboard and falling on the printing plate and ceramic rollers.

(3) After the printing operation is completed, the ink and dust splashed on the machine must be removed in time and the cleaning of the printing department must be restored.

(4) Do not press and rotate the dry ink transfer anilox roller and the squeegee rubber roller, or the squeegee to avoid damage.

(5) Do not over-pressurize the squeegee or squeegee rubber roller in order to get more tones to increase the wear of the ink transfer anilox roller and the squeegee or squeegee rubber roller.

(6) Every time the scraper is updated, the pressure needs to be reset. Wrong pressure setting will cause damage to scraper fragments and the roll surface of the ink transfer anilox roller.

(7) Stop using the scraper that has exceeded the maximum wear degree, establish a daily management system to monitor the wear changes of the scraper, stably control the wear degree of the scraper, and avoid damage to the ink transfer anilox roller.

(8) Keep the roll surface of the ink transfer anilox roller parallel to the scraper at all times, and check and calibrate the vertical and horizontal degree of the roller and the scraper every 15 days.

(9) For the maintenance of the scraper system, open the scraper cavity before each ink change, clean it with water, and then wipe the cavity and scraper blade with a clean rag. To ensure that there is no combination of ink slag and sand particles in the scraper cavity, these combinations will be embedded between the scraper and the roll surface of the ink transfer anilox roller when it falls off. When printing, high-speed rotation makes the embedded on the scraper hard, and the object will cause severe friction on the surface of the ink transfer anilox roller, resulting in wear and scratches on the roll surface, and defects caused by the scraper! Therefore, all debris in the scraper cavity must be removed.

(10) Place a magnetic filter in the ink tank to remove metal impurities and avoid metal impurities from scratching the surface of the ink transfer anilox roller.

(11) Refuse to use inferior inks containing filler impurities to avoid damage to ink transfer, anilox rollers and squeegee or squeegee rubber rollers.

(12) Water-based ink and printing water should be filtered, and a special magnetic filter can be installed on the nozzle of ink pumping in the ink bucket.

(13) The ground around the printing machine should be cleaned with water frequently to avoid dust particles on the dry ground being blown up by the wind and falling on the ink transfer anilox roller. During operation, the dust particles will be inlaid on the scraper or the ink transfer rubber roller and the ink transfer. Damage and scratches of the anilox roller caused by high-speed scraping between the surfaces of the anilox roller.

4.5. Correct daily cleaning and maintenance methods for ink transfer anilox rollers:

(1) Daily cleaning of copper wire or steel wire brush

After each single printing task is completed, first rinse the ink with water, then prepare it with a special chemical cleaning agent according to the requirements of the instructions for use, and apply it to the surface of the ink transfer anilox roller (or the prepared cleaning agent can be placed on the surface of the ink transfer anilox roller. Rinsed with water

In the ink circulation system, turn on the equipment to circulate and rinse, this method can clean the entire ink circulation system), the ceramic ink transfer anilox rollers with 300 lines and below use a special stainless steel wire brush with a steel wire diameter of 0.07 mm (metal anilox roller, the surface is electroplated hard chrome coating, with a special copper wire brush) to clean the mesh, and the more than 300 lines are scrubbed with a special cleaning cloth, then rinsed with water and air dried.

(2) Chemical cleaning agent cleaning

It is mainly aimed at the periodic deep cleaning of the ink transfer anilox roller net maintenance system or according to the degree of hole blockage.

(Manual cleaning) Solvent-based anilox roller cleaning solution

1) Wash the anilox roll and the ink on the scraper or rubber roll first, and adjust the scraper or rubber roll away from the anilox roll.

2) Use a dry cotton cloth to thoroughly dry the moisture on the anilox roll, and start using this product for cleaning after the anilox roll is completely dry (because the cleaning agent is completely insoluble in water, otherwise it will affect the cleaning effect, it is best to use it the next day before cleaning).

3)

4) Spray the cleaning agent on the local surface of the anilox roller, wipe it repeatedly with a clean cotton cloth for 3-5 minutes, and then clean other parts after the area is cleaned.

5) After cleaning with anilox roller cleaning agent, use absolute ethanol to clean once in the same way, and then rinse and dry with water after the absolute ethanol dries.

7) According to the use of the printing press, it is necessary to use the above methods for cleaning and maintenance on a regular basis (once a month is recommended). If it is found that there is a blockage, it should be cleaned in time. The longer the mesh is blocked, the longer the cleaning time will be.

● Soak cleaning

Use a special ink transfer anilox roller mesh chemical cleaning agent to soak the rollers for 1 to 48 hours, and then spray the solution to the rotating, ink transfer anilox roller surface through a high-pressure spray device moving along the axial direction of the rollers (or Use a special stainless steel wire brush with a diameter of 0.07 mm of steel wire and copper

The silk brush is scrubbed on the surface of the roller), cleaned off, and the residual ink in the mesh can be repeated several times for serious blockage, until it has been cleaned by means of a mesh microscope, and finally rinsed with clean water and air dried.

(3) Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) drying cleaning system cleaning

(4) It is carried out by professional anilox roller cleaning equipment or online cleaning equipment. During cleaning, low-pressure spray-dried bicarbonate and sodium (baking soda) powder is sprayed on the surface of the ink transfer anilox roller to impact and crush the residual dry solid ink in the mesh. To achieve the purpose of cleaning the ink transfer anilox roller.

(5) Ultrasonic cleaning

The roller is immersed in the chemical cleaning solution in the ultrasonic cleaning tank and rotated slowly. The ultrasonic generating device vibrates the solution at a high frequency, and produces countless micro-bubbles that impact the mesh at high speed. The micro-bubbles explode under pressure and hit the mesh wall to achieve the purpose of removing the residue in the mesh and thoroughly cleaning the mesh. When cleaning the ink transfer anilox roller by this method, attention must be paid to using appropriate ultrasonic intensity, frequency, time and solution temperature to prevent excessive cleaning from damaging the mesh of the ink transfer anilox roller, especially the ceramic ink transfer anilox roller.

(6) Plastic microbead spray cleaning method

(7) The plastic microbead jetting cleaning method introduced abroad is considered to be a cleaning method that does not damage the surface of the ink transfer anilox roll. Polyethylene plastic microbeads are ejected to the surface of the ink transfer anilox roll by a pressure of about 60 psi. When these soft but sharp-edged plastic particles hit the surface of the roller and enter the mesh, they deform and then bounce back. This process will smash the residue from the inner surface of the mesh and bring it out, and then achieve the purpose of cleaning the mesh, and the plastic microbeads will be recycled to the cleaning equipment for recycling.

(8) Laser gasification cleaning method

In recent years, the laser gasification cleaning method that is being developed and applied at home and abroad uses an energy-controllable laser beam to illuminate the surface of the ink transfer anilox roller. Without damaging the mesh, the high-energy laser instantly gasifies the dry and solid ink, debris and other residues in the mesh to achieve thorough cleaning of the mesh. This is the laser cleaning equipment displayed at the drupa exhibition in Dossel, Dove, Germany in 2016.

● Car online laser cleaning mesh

● Cleaning mesh on laser cleaning machine

(9) The following cleaning methods are strictly prohibited:

● Steam spray washing

Using steam to spray the roll surface will damage the engraving surface of the ink transfer anilox roll and cause corrosion of the steel body.

● Fire cleaning

The flame sprayed at high temperature can seriously damage the ceramic or hard chrome coating on the surface of the ink transfer anilox roll, damage the mesh, and cause the anilox roll to be thermally deformed and leave marks on the roll surface.

● Cleaning with other highly corrosive chemical alternatives such as acid

This is the worst way to try to clean the rollers. Many other highly corrosive compounds such as acids can seriously affect ceramic or hard chrome coatings, damage mesh, and corrode shaft heads and steel bodies, and such compounds can also affect the health of the operator.