Plate Automation

To see our plate automation equipment in action, click here to go to our video library

NELA has been a leader in the printing industry providing punch/bending devices since the early 80’s. As the printing industry requirements for pre-press automation increased, NELA naturally transitioned into to an automated solution provider. NELA’s cost-effective automated solutions are customized to meet each customer’s unique requirements to increase productivity and improve quality. The NELA engineering department is continuously providing customized solutions for each individual customers because we believe that one size doesn’t fit all !

Page Tracking
The printing plates are identified with a barcode scanner when moving into the bender. After the punching & bending a file is created for each plate in a common network directory. This file contains the information where the plates needs to be transported to and what criteria they need to be sorted by.

Plate Pick & Place
This device picks the plate up with suction cups, rotates it to the required position, and moves it left or right with the linear actuator. The plate is then placed on the conveyor belts for further distribution.

Multi-Level Plate Distribution Unit:
The plate distribution unit enables the fast distribution of plates to the lower or upper stacker bins of the unit. Barcode reader and Plate Sorting Software puts the plate to the exact stacker position chosen by the operator.

Multi-Level Plate Stacker:
NELA offers stackers from 1-position to multi-level stackers with customer's desired amount of position stackers. Based on the barcode information, the operator can assign each plate to a specific bin utilizing NELA's Plate Sorting Software. Pre-defined sorting configurations can be stored and easily selected for specific press runs.

Plate Lift:
No no more stairs for the operator to get the plates to the second level of the press. This plate lift transports the plate to the second level with the push of a button. The plate tray swivels 180 degrees for easy loading and unloading.

Turn Station :
The turn station is used to turn bent plates 90 degrees when coming out of the bender for proper orientation on the sorting conveyor system.

Barcoding:
A barcode is imaged on the plate's peripheral area by the CTP device. Barcode readers before the bender scan the barcode and send the data on to the Page Tracking Software. The system now knows where the particular plates need to go and the plate is transported to the desired sortation bin.

Download our Plate Automation brochure

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NELA * 7435 4th Street North * Oakdale, MN 55128, USA
1-888-407-4808 * info@nela-usa.com