Flexographic We have a full range of Flexographic blades.

Gravure Lamella - tipped Doctor Blades without grinding

Ultimeter ® New alloy developed by Benton Graphics

Pad Printing High quality doctor blades for Pad Printing

Foam Seal Blades The Foam Seal can be applied to all blades.

Ultimeter®

Testing Equipment

 

The following is a description of the equipment used in the Ultimeter testing equipment.

Several Anilox rolls with a 7.375-inch face width were selected as a test cylinder due to their size and availability. The line counts of the Anilox rolls ranged from 360 to 800. The doctor blade holder, fabricated out of stainless steel, is center pivoted on tapered roller bearings to permit accurate alignment of the blade to the cylinder while maintaining accurate blade angle and positioning. A blade angle of 30 degrees (unloaded) was selected as typical of industry practice.

An enclosure surrounds the Anilox roll and the doctor blade holder. The blade holder pivot is mounted on ultra-low friction linear ball bearings through the enclosure and is externally loaded by dead-weight loading. The load is measured by an electronic load cell and is displayed on a digital readout.

A variable speed DC motor controlled by an electronic controller drives the Anilox roll. A digital pulse generator is connected to the Anilox roll shaft. The pulse generator output is used to set the rate of rotation in feet per minute and total feet run in a given test. Each of these factors is digitally indicated on separate controllers. Since many of the tests have durations of up to 24 hours the number of revolutions for a given test may be set into the controller and shut the machine down when the test is completed. When the selected test count is reached the controller reduces the cylinder drive to idle speed and retracts the blade holder.

A recirculating closed ink system consisting of a sump, pump, debris strainer, rare-earth magnet, plumbing and applicator pan provide a continuous supply of ink to the roll. Provisions for temperature and viscosity measurements are included. The whole unit is shown below.

If you have any questions concerning the material presented or would like to discuss methods of data analyzing and collection, please contact Benton Graphics directly at
1-800-223-0093.