The flexible and precise printing of three-dimensional surfaces is becoming increasingly important for many products.
One of the key requirements is to achieve high-quality, undistorted print results despite the curved shape. Conventional printing systems are designed for two-dimensional surfaces and quickly reach their technological limits with free-form surfaces. Either analog print negatives are used or transfer foils are needed which are difficult to handle.
PROFACTOR’s freeform inkjet printing technology is based on industrial print heads in combination with highly customizable trajectories and a digital image preprocessor. This enables accurate printing on curved surfaces even if the components differ slightly due to manufacturing tolerances.
Fields of Application
Our inkjet printing technology can be used for a wide range of printing and coating tasks thanks to the use of various industrial print heads and close cooperation with ink manufacturers.
- Printing text or graphics to decorate curved component surfaces.
- Application of printed masking for special visual effects.
- Application of intermediate layers (primers) for subsequent processes (e.g. bonding).
- Replacing existing analog coating processes (pad printing, spraying) with digital printing, thereby increasing flexibility and accuracy.
The appropriate choice of ink systems and surface treatment steps enable the printing of very different materials such as plastics, metals, glass, carbon, textiles, leather or fabric.
Technology
The specific requirements of the printing task and the integration into your higher-level production process determine the overall system.
- We rely on industrial print heads and ink supply systems from well-known manufacturers.
- Inks matched to the surfaces as well as pre- and post-treatment steps guarantee good print quality (e.g. adhesion, opacity, edge sharpness, …)
- Robust industrial robots or handling systems are used to precisely move either the component or the print head.
- The flexibility of our inkjet technology is based on an integrated software system for preparing the design data for the printing process, including adaptation to individual deviations in component geometries. This enables flexible and precise free-form printing.
In line with our vision ‘From Research to Production’, we are constantly evaluating new technologies, e.g. print heads, innovative robot controls, etc. for even better printing performance.
Get the Job done with PROFACTOR
We offer a unique combination of process and system expertise.
- Based on your product and design requirements, we show you what is possible in terms of printing technology.
- We develop a reliable printing process and a suitable system concept. As a stand-alone system or fully interlinked with your production process.
- We supply a turnkey printing system as well as the process and support you in fine-tuning the process parameters.
- And, of course, we also help you to adapt your process to new components or designs if required.
Ihr Ansprechpartner
Dr. Christoph Breitschopf
CEO
+43 72 52 885 0
christoph.breitschopf@nullprofactor.at
We are happy to …
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