Inkjet & Digital Printing
Domino Drives High-Speed Coding Solution for Motor Industry
Monday 22. September 2008 - Blue tube laser technology from Domino has proved key to meeting increasing production demands for German car care products manufacturer Sonax GmbH & Co. KG.
The special laser technology, originally developed by Domino for the beverage industry, provides Sonax with an effective and environmentally-friendly solution for high-speed, quality coding of PET spray bottles across its product range.
Pioneered by Domino a decade ago, the blue tube laser technology at the heart of the S200B CO2 coding system has a wavelength specially tuned to PET. The laser beam, controlled by state-of-the-art scanner technology, produces a frosted effect on the product surface for a more durable, high-definition code and allows thin-walled PET products to be coded without the risk of burning through the plastic.
Having benchmarked the Domino solution against other providers, Georg Haus, Project Manager at Sonax was impressed by the Domino laser technology, which is used to produce a single line of data including batch codes, dates and machine numbers at a speed of up to 240 metres per minute.
A Domino DPX500 extraction unit has been installed with the S200B, providing efficient and cost-effective removal of fumes and particles, and ensuring consistently high quality printing of codes.
“Today, packaging has become as important as the product it contains with consumers opting for environmentally-friendly packaging where possible,” says Georg Haus. “We have been very pleased with the results achieved by the Domino laser technology. In addition, the collaborative relationship between the two companies is a perfect example of one of our guiding principles: to achieve mutual benefit through a successful partnership.”
Designed to the IP55 standard for demanding production environments, Dominos
S-Series lasers feature high-resolution optics, which deliver smaller dot sizes at higher speeds. A reduced line width of -35% produces highly legible codes, even for characters as small as 0.8mm. With a focal length of 120mm, the S200B features a marking field of 76 x 76mm, which provides a greater area to track products and allows the S200B to manage two-line print coding at speeds of up to 152 metres per minute.
Based on intuitive Windows based software, a colour SVGA touch screen for quick code set up and editing makes the S200B very easy to operate. Positioning the code on the product is also simplified by a visible alignment beam.