Space and cost savings, enhanced precision and outstanding reliability are among the key benefits that innovative linear motion products from THK, the world’s largest dedicated developer of linear motion technology, are delivering in a wide range of printing-industry applications. Underpinning these benefits, in application areas from prepress to finishing, are linear motion guides based on THK’s proven and industry-leading Caged Ball technology. This innovative technology allows the company’s products to combine smooth, silent motion and high levels of positional accuracy, with exceptional load-bearing capacity and long, maintenance-free working life.
Caged Ball technology also means that, for a given load capacity, THK guides are smaller and lighter than their conventional counterparts.
Among the many examples of the use of THK products in the printing industry are plate making machines fitted with type SSR radial guides, which are designed for long life in high-speed applications.
The SSR guides provide smooth movement and low variation in rolling resistance, guaranteeing the high positional accuracy needed for the dependable operation of the machines.
In gravure printing machines, type SHS four-way equal-load guides have displaced an earlier solution for turner bar register adjustment, which used no fewer than 16 precision bearings at each station.
The new arrangement reduces costs by approximately GBP 500 per station and, since each machine has a minimum of 16 stations, this translates into substantial overall cost savings.
In the post-press sector, type SHS guides are being used in bidirectional board-cutting machines, where their smooth motion and rigidity are important benefits, and where their small size has allowed a space-saving design to be developed for the machine.
Knife-cutter machines are also being enhanced by the incorporation of THK products.
Type SSR guides are allowing the operating speed and, therefore, throughput to be increased by as much as 20% compared with machines designed around conventional ball bearings.
In addition, the machines operate more smoothly, and can run for longer periods without the need for maintenance
