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Setup of Machtronic Paper Labeler

Introduction

The paper labelers tested are made by Machtronic and can run 1-up or 4-up labels. It is important that when there is no book, no label is fed (self-inhibiting). The controller has nothing to do with the inhibiting !

 

The I/O to the labeler sensors is described in electrical connections.

 

Important is to recognize that there are 2 important signals coming out the paper labeler: strobe and label advance. Of course, the mark sensors must be right but this does not affect timing.

 

Strobe

During each strobe, that occurs when the magnetic sensor senses a gap in the disk wheel, 1 or 4 photocells are read in to determine the presence of end of bundle marks on the paper by the mark sensors. Thus, it is very important that the disk wheel is well set up, that is read the marks at the appropriate moment.

 

Make sure that the opening of the gap allows reading the mark but not more.

Label advance

Each time the paper labeler feeds a label, which it is only done when there is back coming underneath, the labeler sets the label advance. This is accomplished by another wheel that is placed in the front of the labeler.

 

If the mechanical stuff is set correctly as described above, one can go over to the controller.

Controller setup

If you double click on the machine and have the labeler license, you will get to

Total number of labels is the amount of labels you want to apply to books during each production. Thus, it allows the controller to tell you while in production the percentage done so far. You may input a bit more for setup purposes.

 

No of labels per strip defines whether it is a 1-up or 4-up labeler.

 

No of strips 1st eye to eject defines the amount of labels between the strobe (where you detect whether an end of bundle is actually there) and the machine. To determine this number, I suggest to mark the very first label with a marker, run the machine, and count the labels applied before the marked one comes on to a book.

 

If you miss by one, the stacker will just be off by one when in production.

 

Note that every time a mark is detected, the log file will contain a line saying when it was detected, the bundle size, etc.

Now, you only have to check that the machine is timed.

Timing

Put 1 book on the line, run it through the machine, and check that the book is in the window in the photocell before stacker. If not, move the window accordingly or run a Make Ready to establish the distance between the label advance signal and this photocell.

 

After that, you just have to make sure that the distance to the stacker is correct.

 

Electrical connections