The cutting table, which was launched last month, is due to be installed in September and will replace a Zünd G3 XL3200, which Wilmot-Budgen currently runs with an automated board-handling system installed earlier this year, the first of its type in the UK.
The new D3 XL3200 will replace the G3 and run with the automated board-handling system. The new machine has a working area of 3.2x2.3m.
Operations director Peter Burford said the company wanted to push production further and chose the Zünd G3 earlier in the year with an eye on upgrading to the more productive Zünd D3 following its launch on May 31st.
Burford said: “We saw the [D3] machine at is R&D stage in Switzerland this January. Depending on complexity of cutting, we will double the speed of the machine.
“This can range from very quick up to five to seven minutes per sheet for a complicated cut with lots of small circles or apertures, for example.
“The new system will increase our digital cutting and move work away from our traditional die-cutting – and because dies are quite expensive it will save us money.”
Wilmot-Budgen based in Coulsdon, Surrey, runs digital and litho kit including large-format Inca R50 UV flatbed machine and a six-colour B1 Heidelberg Speedmaster 102. Retail clients include Boots, Superdrug, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons.
Originally designed for the leather-cutting market and now re-engineered for display graphics and other applications, the D3 features two independent beams to enable higher levels of automation and boost productivity.
The D3 family of cutting tables features four models: the L3200 (3.2x1.8m), the XL3200 (3.2x2.2m), the 2XL3200 (3.2x2.7m), and the flagship D3 3XL3200 (3.2x3.2m).
Zünd Plotting Systems (UK) sales director Peter Giddings said: “The dual-beam system multiplies production while retaining high levels of automation, meaning even more output for less effort.
“Many of our customers use their Zünd cutting machines on double shifts and even 24/7 operation, so we needed to meet demand for increased automation and productivity.”
