Success Stories

Sustainability by improving productivity

RDP Marathon was challenged by a printer to correct flaws in an existing roll-to-sheet printing press that crippled its productivity by 50%. Since this was not an RDP Marathon -designed machine, the first step was a detailed survey of the existing design and symptoms. After revising the web path through the

in-line finishing and re-engineering the power transmission, the running speed was raised from an uncompetitive 600FPM to a very profitable 1400FPM.

Besides the obvious benefits to the bottom-line, less waste is being disposed of and truckloads of out-of-spec material are not being shipped back for credit. Furthermore, the characteristics of a printing machine are such that running at twice the speed does not require twice the power.

Sustainability is a long-term balance of environmental protection, business, and social responsibility. This project improved both our customer’s business performance and reduced their environmental impact.

Sustainability by improving reliability and maintainability

One of our customers operates several nearly-identical 20+-year-old web printing/coating/die-cutting lines. They know these machines intimately: how well they can produce, how to operate them at maximum efficiency, and how they break down. RDP Marathon was hired to re-engineer the printing and tensioning sections with the goal of increasing printing performance and reducing maintenance downtime.

Color consistency improved measurably thanks to a reinforced inker construction. Gear-side components were upgraded for longer life and for improved maintenance accessibility, resulting in shorter downtimes. To the operator, the unit controls look and feel the same as previously. But, behind the panels, is an up-to-date digital/networked control system that is more precise, has better diagnostics, and a higher safety level. Overall, throughput has increased by more than 10%.

By reusing over 90% of the steel in the original machine, both cost and time were minimized as compared to building a new machine. Our customer is justifiably proud of the operational achievement and of the contribution to their Sustainability Commitment.

Sustainability by expert maintenance

Every business aims to maximize the use of their capital equipment. However, especially in 24/7 operation, machinery components will fall out of adjustment, wear down, and eventually fail. RDP was contracted to perform a major maintenance blitz on a 14-year old RDP Marathon roll-to-roll press. RDP Marathon’s team of factory-trained specialists know exactly which components are the critical ones and can replace them with the latest, improved version. For our customer, bringing in additional manpower from RDP Marathon translated into shorter downtime and transferred some of our troubleshooting skills and repair techniques to their in-house maintenance team.

Sustainability by repurposing

One of our customer’s printing/die-cutting lines needed a coater……fast, and keeping the cost to an absolute minimum. Sound familiar? They happened to have an old one in storage. However, besides being severely worn-out, it was oriented Left-to-Right: opposite of what was needed.

The coater was shipped to RDP Marathon’s factory where the orientation was reversed and the web path was revised to receive both UV and hot-air dryers. The cylinders and adjustment mechanisms were stiffened and upgraded and the operator controls and safety devices were integrated into the existing press system.

What had been an almost zero-value item in the warehouse was repurposed into a value-added production asset within a few weeks. Creatively rethinking what had been assumed to be an obsolete machine resulted in a more capable production line while at the same time reducing environmental impact.