The machine, a Kora-Packmat rotary Braille embosser, was launched in response to the directive 2004/27/EU which states that pharmaceutical packaging such as aspirin boxes, prescription packs or any other kind of boxed medication must carry a Braille imprint for the visually impaired.
"Kora-Packmat was approached by a packaging printer looking for flexibility in positioning Braille text for small and medium production batches," said Mike Essler, Advanced Dynamics' joint managing director.
"This ultimately lead to an embosser which combines the printer's practical experience in embossing with Kora-Packmat's expertise in medical design and handling of flat products such as carton blanks."
The machine is ideally suited for use in small and medium print runs, offering flexibility in test positioning, cost efficiency in production and process checking to ensure enhanced process security.
After die cutting it can be used to emboss Braille onto printed carton blanks without detracting from the quality of a printed image as seen by customers with unimpaired vision.
It can handle up to 20,000 carton packs per hour and can be loaded and unloaded by one person.
A servo driven feeder feeds single carton blanks onto a flighted conveyor and the speed of the feeder is sychronised with the speed of the rotary embosser.
A scanner reads a printed code on each blank to ensure that the printed text is identical to the Braille text on the die - a blank with a wrong code is routed through a reject gate.
A check station then detects and removes any double feeds to ensure that only single blanks reach the rotary embossing station.
After embossing, each blank is marked with another code to confirm embossing and this code can be checked when the blanks are fed into a folding-gluing or packaging machine.
The space between the Braille text and the leading edge of a blank is set by the operator at the operator station.
The machine detects the leading edge of a blank and a motion control system with servo drive ensures correct spacing from the leading edge to the first Braille character and sychronises the surface speed of the rotary embosser with the speed of the conveyor.
The lateral position of the Braille text is determined by the position of the embossing dies on the traverse rollers. Text with a maximum of four lines, each with up to 20 Braille characters, can be embroiled.