What does the machine do? The Edale FDC-510 is a flatbed die-cutter compatible with any web-fed rotary printing press. It cuts up to 10,000 strokes per hour and, according to Edale, because it’s a flatbed rather than rotary cutter, it doesn’t compromise on product quality. "We’ve taken a sheet-fed flatbed die-cutter and converted it so we can feed continuous web into it," says Edale technical director Steve Jordan. "So you get the high quality and low tool costs of flatbed die-cutting and the efficiency of a web-fed machine."

When was it launched and who was it aimed at? An FDC-510 has been in operation at Lancashire-based Reelvision Print for a year, but it’s only within the past couple of months that Edale has started to push the machine into the wider UK and global markets. It is aimed at the short-run pharmaceutical cartons market where runs are of 1,000-100,000 units. Jordan says that instead of printers geared for long-run print completing short-run client requests at a loss, that work can now be outsourced to companies with an FDC-510. "A lot of our customers have used this cost-effective short-run service to get their businesses off the ground," Jordan says, "but of course they also deal directly with clients as well."

How does it work? The die-cutter can run offline but it’s designed to be connected inline to a web-fed press, so the printed materials roll straight from the printer to the FDC-510, which uses servo motors rather than traditional mechanisms to stop and start the feed, allowing the platten mechanism to create high-quality cut-outs as they would if it was a sheetfed die-cutter.

How does it differ from previous models? According to Edale, the FDC differs simply by offering the benefits of flatbed die-cutting to web-fed products. While there is a compromise in speed when cutting flatbed compared to rotary, Jordan believes that this is more than compensated for in terms of output quality and tooling costs.

How productive is it? The FDC-510 consistently turns around 10,000 cartons per hour, says Jordan. Although single-pass rotary die-cutters are generally as efficient, he says the FDC-510 dramatically reduces job changeover time.

What is the machine’s USP? Jordan says the key selling point is that it provides the best of both worlds: the cost-effectiveness and quality of a flatbed machine combined with the speed of a rotary cutter (it has a cutting tool changeover time of under 15 minutes). Another key selling point is the FDC-510’s compatibility with any web-fed print equipment, making it well-placed to benefit from growth in digital printing presses over the next few years. "Digital print is getting a bigger and bigger market share, but the problem with it is that you can print whatever you like digitally, yet there’s no digital equivalent of die-cutting," says Jordan. "This is where the FDC-510 comes in as it can be added to the end of any web-fed machine."

How easy is it to use? "You can get an operator up to speed within a day," says Jordan. This, he explains, is because it uses traditional flatbed die-cutting tools and so, for anyone with a knowledge of die-cutters, the principles for getting good results are the same. "It has a nice big user-friendly touchscreen so all people have to do is familiarise themselves with the machine," says Jordan.

What training is available? Full training is given for every machine installed. The Edale factory has several demonstration machines which customers can be trained on for one or two days.

How much does it cost? Each installation is bespoke, but prices start at around £300,000.

What is the sales target? "The concept behind the product is very new to the marketplace so we’re anticipating that sales will be quite small to begin with," says Jordan. "But with digital gradually coming online we’d hope to be selling around four a year globally."

SPECIFICATIONS
Max speed 10,000 strokes/hr (60 linear m/min)
Max substrate thickness 0.6mm
Max web width 510mm
Max cut width 510mm
Min carton size 150x100mm
Max carton delivery five across
Price from £300,000
Contact Edale 01489 569230 www.edale.com

USER VERDICT
"The FDC-510 has helped us to reduce our tooling costs by up to 90% compared with standard solid rotary tooling. Together, the Gamma and the FDC-510 are proving to be an extremely cost-effective investment due to the focus on high-speed changeovers, minimum downtime and maximum efficiency" (5/5)
Gareth Bakewell Director of Reelvision Print

ALTERNATIVES
Gallus FSM 510 Like the FDC-510, the Gallus FSM 510 can be integrated with all web-fed machines and is ideal for short-run jobs due to its quick setup time. The main difference is that the FSM 510 comes with a window stripping unit which extends the machine’s maximum length from 6m to 8m. Where no window stripping is required the FSM 510 comes at a reduced price. Gallus also produces an FCL range of die-cutters, which come in maximum web widths of 516mm, 670mm, 850mm and 1,010mm.
Max speed up to 21,000 strokes/hr
Max substrate thickness 0.6mm
Max web width 516mm
Max cut width 510mm
Min carton size 80x85mm
Max carton delivery four across
Price on request
Contact Gallus 01254 8297 60 www.gallus-group.com