By calculating aluminum electrolysis steps this way, you no longer have to worry about waste!
The foil used in hot stamping is produced through a vacuum aluminum plating process, commonly known as metallized aluminum. As a surface decoration technique, hot stamping enhances the gloss, three-dimensional effect, metallic feel, and anti-counterfeiting features of printed materials through metallized aluminum in different colors. While adding value to packaging products, it also improves their refinement and sense of luxury. This technique is mainly applied to high-end packaging products such as liquor boxes, cigarette packs, and greeting cards. Currently, hot stamping patterns on various products come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. To make full use of the metallized aluminum, reasonable step spacing is essential, and it is very necessary to simulate and calculate the step spacing of the product before production.
The conventional method used by printing companies is to have experienced workers manually measure the values, then input them into the machine system for verification. If there are discrepancies, the step spacing values are recalculated and re-verified. This process not only consumes a large amount of preparation time but also wastes expensive metallized aluminum and printed materials. Below, the author will provide a detailed introduction to the methods and ideas for calculating the step spacing of metallized aluminum under different situations.
As shown in Figure 1, the Double Happiness (Hard Classic) small box is highly representative in the calculation of step spacing for metallized aluminum hot stamping. Taking this as an example, the following demonstrates how to calculate the step spacing and how to simulate step verification using computer software.
Figure 1 Physical picture of Double Happiness (hard classic) small box products
First, determine the layout diagram horizontally 3 pieces, vertical 6 pieces, up and down, left and right single knife, left and right insertion of dovetail 13mm, a total of 18 pieces of typesetting, a single product size of 98mm×249mm. For the stability of electrochemical aluminum, it is the most ideal state to achieve a single step average step jump, but at the same time, it is also necessary to consider the utilization rate of electrochemical aluminum, and appropriately adjust the aluminum step to achieve the optimal scheme.
Laser golden joy frame + elementary, Chinese and English jump step calculation
(1) Determine the direction of aluminum for the hot stamping pattern, and choose vertical aluminum according to the imposition method.
(2) Determine the form of the hot stamping pattern, and distribute it evenly with a single rule. The slitting width of electrochemical aluminum is set to 30mm, the maximum size of the longitudinal jump step of a single hot stamping pattern is 15.4mm, and the minimum safety distance of 1mm is retained at the upper and lower positions. The vertical size of a single box is 98mm, and up to 4 equal patterns can be placed in the middle of the two hot stamping patterns. From this, the average step distance can be calculated to be 19.6mm, and the number of plates on the aluminum direction is finally determined to be 6.
(3) According to the aluminum foil jump table attached to the BOBST equipment manual, query the corresponding parameter values for formula calculation, where C is the size of the jump step and N is the number of jumps.
Jump step 1: 6C=6×19.6=117.6mm
Times: N=1
(4) The laser golden happy frame + small Chinese jump step is 117.6mm.
Holographic electrochemical aluminum jump step calculation
(1) Determine the direction of aluminum for the hot stamping pattern, and choose vertical aluminum according to the imposition method.
(2) Determine the form of the hot stamping pattern, and distribute it evenly with a single rule. The slitting width of electrochemical aluminum is set to 25mm, the maximum size of the longitudinal jump step of a single hot stamping pattern is 15mm, and the minimum safety distance of 1mm is kept at the top and bottom positions. The vertical size of a single box is 98mm, and up to 4 equal patterns can be placed in the middle of the two hot stamping patterns. From this, the average step distance can be calculated to be 19.6mm, and the number of plates on the aluminum direction is finally determined to be 6.
(3) According to the aluminum foil jump table attached to the BOBST equipment manual, query the corresponding parameter values for formula calculation, where C is the size of the jump step and N is the number of jumps.
Jump step 1: 6C=6×19.6=117.6mm
Times: N=1
(4) The holographic electrochemical aluminum jump step is 117.6mm.
Laser gold is used to calculate the jump step in Chinese and English
(1) Determine the direction of aluminum for the hot stamping pattern, and choose horizontal aluminum according to the imposition method.
(2) Determine the form of hot stamping pattern, multiple irregular distribution. Set the slitting width of electrochemical aluminum to 45mm, measure the maximum size of a set of hot stamping overall pattern horizontal jump steps is 61mm, and keep a minimum safety distance of 1mm at the upper and lower positions. The horizontal size of a single box is 249mm, insert 13mm into the dovetail, and the same amount of patterns can be placed in the middle of the two hot stamping patterns, up to 2 patterns. From this, the average step distance can be calculated to be 78.7mm, and the number of plates on the aluminum direction is finally determined to be 3 pieces.
(3) According to the aluminum foil jump table attached to the BOBST equipment manual, query the corresponding parameter values for formula calculation, where C is the size of the jump step and N is the number of jumps.
Jump step 1: 1C=1×78.7=78.7mm
Times: N=1
Jump Step 2: 4C=4×78.7=314.8mm
Times: N=2
(4) The laser gold jump step is 78.7mm and 314.8mm.
(5) According to the above demonstration of horizontal jumping steps in Chinese and English, this aluminum walking method is feasible, but the gap of the pattern is not rationally utilized, resulting in the waste of aluminum foil.
Figure 2 Horizontal Step Demonstration of Double Happiness (Hard Classic) Small Box in Chinese and English
(6) With the actual size of a single pattern in the horizontal direction being 7.6mm, if the first step pitch is 9mm, then the minimum for the second step is 61mm. After looping twice, overlapping occurs, indicating it is not feasible, as shown in Figure 2①. By the same logic, with the actual size of two patterns in the horizontal direction being 37mm, the first step pitch of 39mm allows for 5 loops, then the second step pitch is 515mm, and so on. This can cycle through aluminum, as shown in Figure 2②. The step jumps are: 39mm × 5, 515mm × 1. With three patterns in the horizontal direction having an actual size of 61mm, looping twice would result in overlapping, indicating it is not feasible, as shown in Figure 2③. Based on the above, considering a step pitch greater than 61mm and less than 78.7mm to see if there is a suitable step pitch, further calculation shows that with a step pitch of 75mm, the first step pitch of 75mm allows for 5 loops, and then the second step pitch is 310mm, and so on. This can cycle through aluminum, as shown in Figure 2④, with step jumps: 75mm × 5, 310mm × 1.
By organizing the above three feasible step jump schemes, the aluminum foil usage is calculated as follows: the first scheme uses 0.045 × 0.31 / 4 = 0.0035 m²; the second scheme uses 0.045 × 0.2 / 5 = 0.0018 m²; the third scheme uses 0.045 × 0.216 / 6 = 0.016 m². Therefore, the third scheme is the most economical in aluminum foil usage.
The step jump of aluminum foil is not fixed; it is necessary to maximize the utilization rate of aluminum foil while also considering other factors, such as the weight and diameter of the aluminum foil, the stamping speed, the extendability of the aluminum foil, the length of the step pitch, and the tension of the aluminum foil, all of which can cause foil overlap. Reasonable product design and layout methods can significantly improve the utilization rate of aluminum foil. Some products can also use simultaneous horizontal and vertical stamping, greatly reducing aluminum foil usage. In the future, there will be more methods, faster procedures, and better intelligent software to help us improve work efficiency.