25J alpha JET Historie F01
caption: The three functional elements of the alphaJET – the terminal, control unit and printing unit – have always been integrated in a solid steel housing with an innovative design
Versatile CIJ technology
All CIJ printers function according to the same principle. The ink is pumped at high pressure into what is called a gunbody on the printing head, where a piezoelectric crystal creates an acoustic wave that modulates the ink, breaking it into droplets. A stream of these droplets is then propelled through a microscopic nozzle in a pattern of wave peaks and troughs. Just before the troughs break away, the ink droplets required for the image are charged and deflected onto the substrate. An image can thus be created contact-free on a wide range of different materials, regardless of whether their surfaces are even or uneven. Ink droplets not required continue undeflected to the collecting gutter and are returned by negative pressure to the ink circulating system.
Virtually emission-free
The solvent-laden ambient air is vacuum-extracted, filtered and returned to the integrated solvent recovery system. The condensed solvent runs into a storage tank, thus reducing consumption to an absolute minimum. As a result the process is virtually emission-free, and this has been confirmed by an independent authority, the Fresenius Institute.
The individual printed characters, letters, numbers and graphics are created using diverse dot matrices that can be freely combined. The ink is applied vertically, with the height of the image determining printing speed. Character width is kept constant by an encoder. Character height is determined by the distance between the printing head and the substrate being printed.
Customers determine the direction
Over the past 25 years customer demands in the industrial marking and coding business have become increasingly sophisticated, driven by the need to adapt to ever faster and more complex production lines. This applies not only to the hardware and software deployed, but also to flexibility and print quality, particularly where product design and packaging are key tools for promoting sales. The continual development from the first alphaJET A to KBA-Metronic’s new-generation alphaJET evo is founded on years of experience, an intensive dialogue with customers, many thousands of installed devices in a raft of different sectors and markets, a wealth of know-how and a willingness to innovate.
Caption:
The alphaJET is developed, produced, sold and serviced by KBA-Metronic in Veitshöchheim, Germany
New alphaJET generation
All this is reflected in the new generation of alphaJET evo printers with modular configurations, and the various versions derived from these. Printer capabilities – ie the font library, line-at-a-time printing, speed and software – are fully customised. We offer high-performance models for complex or highly specialised applications and economy versions with no extra trimmings. The customer chooses the printer best suited to his purposes and can then rest assured that all the components will be mutually compatible and subjected to rigorous practical tests. The huge range of pigmented and non-pigmented inks currently available on the market in a choice of colours and consistencies ensures the specified degree of adhesion.
The three latest models have the following features:
alphaJET evo:
- 48 pixels per nozzle
- removable pivoting display
- intelligent software for complex systems and tasks
- broad choice of graphics
alphaJET into:
- moderate price, frugal consumption
- image 1 to 5 lines (5x5 matrix)
- for standard industrial applications
alphaJET tempo:
- maximum printing speed 3,500 characters per second (approx. 11mps) with standard 2.5mm character width
- 24 pixels per nozzle