Envelope manufacturer seals deal with drives retrofit 29 July 2014

Encore Envelopes, the largest independent manufacturer of printed envelopes in the UK, is reporting improved machine operating capabilities and no downtime since replacing obsolete drives with new technology.

The firm, which operates 15 production lines printing up to 85 million envelopes per week, was advised by Bosch Rexroth that its Diax03 drives would be difficult to maintain within 12 months, due to spares becoming obsolete.

David English, electrical engineering manager at Encore Envelopes, took advice from Bosch Rexroth, which recommended its IndraDrive as a replacement for its versatility, compactness and multi-protocol support.

"I took one of our units out of production and, upon receipt of an IndraDrive system, upgraded the machine," says English.

"Not only did this give me a machine with better operating capabilities, but it also freed up spare parts for the remaining units, boosting our stock levels, which were at a critical level."

English says it was "vitally important" that the motion controller of the IndraDrive be fully integrated with Encore's existing operator interface.

So following consultation with Bosch Rexroth, he decided to install a PPC (programmable process controller) using the same operating software as the old Diax03. That ensured communications and protocols were easier and quicker to implement, while also minimising the time the machine was out of production.

"Through the help of Bosch Rexroth, we knew 12 months ahead of anyone else in the industry that our envelope machines needed to be upgraded, which allowed us the time to form a strategy to refurbish our equipment," comments English.

"Due to the success of the initial refurbishment, we have now finished the upgrade of our second machine and plans are in place to refurbish the remaining fleet over the coming months."

Brian Tinham

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Bosch Rexroth Ltd

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