The Koenig & Bauer Compacta S80 short-grain heatset press is known for its robustness, dependability and high print quality. Even though these presses were manufactured decades ago, it’s still a hot candidate for service-life-extensions and automation upgrades.
Koenig & Bauer decided to partnered with DCOS to develop a retrofit & upgrade solution for these presses and first out is a 1991 vintage Compacta S80 in Germany. Besides a complete drive and control system upgrade the project also includes a fully loaded Print Inspection System.
The original drive and control systems was facing absolute obsolescence and becoming a liability. DCOS automation platform Printing Framework was customized to fit the needs in a combined engineering effort between Koenig & Bauer and DCOS.
It incorporates new main drive system, mechanical PIVs has been replaced by shaftless drives, updated safety system and a new machine and quality control system.
Mattias Andersson, CEO at DCOS says: “Customizing a Retrofit on a thirty-year-old press, that was fairly automated for its time, always comes with some engineering challenges. We have enjoyed being part of this project together with Koenig & Bauer and it is rewarding to see the outcome. A modernized & fully automated press with many productive years ahead… and only 30 year old.”
To further increase print quality and waste efficient the project scope also included a full DCOS closed-loop Density, Color register and Cut-off control system and Softproof system.
A new feature in the DCOS Print Inspection Systems family was developed for this project, a camera based closed-loop web-guide control system. This feature will serve as a possible upgrade solution for obsolete web-guide control systems.