Services & tooling

Services and tooling

LVM printing machine designs and produces your tooling for optimum optimisation of our decorating machines. We offer you complete sets of tools made to measure on the basis of your 3D DFN and finished parts ready to be decorated.

1. What are the tools for decorating machines?

Hot stamping and screen printing are two techniques commonly used for personalising and decorating objects. To carry out these processes, different tools are needed to obtain precise, high-quality results. The essential tools for hot stamping and screen printing include screens, silicone punches and fixtures. Let’s take a closer look at these different items of equipment.

2. Tools for screen printing on digital machines

First of all, screens are an essential part of screen printing. These are metal or wooden frames covered with a porous material, such as a finely woven fabric or synthetic mesh. The screen is stretched so that it is perfectly flat and wrinkle-free. To produce a precise pattern, image or text, a transparent positive film with the elements to be printed is positioned on the screen. A photosensitive emulsion is then applied to the screen and dried. The emulsion hardens when exposed to light, creating a stencil. During the printing process, the ink is pushed through the mesh of the screen using a doctor blade, transferring the design to the material to be marked. Screens are available in different sizes and with different mesh densities, enabling the screen-printing technique to be adapted to different substrates and to the details of the designs to be printed.

3. Tools for hot stamping decoration

Silicone dies play a key role in hot stamping. Silicone stamps are flexible dies made from heat-resistant silicone rubber. They are used to transfer patterns or logos onto a surface by applying appropriate pressure and heat. Silicone punches can be customised to exactly match the designs required. They are designed to withstand high temperatures, allowing them to be used in the hot stamping process. The punches are attached to a hot stamping machine, which heats them to the appropriate temperature. When the punch is pressed against the material to be marked, the pattern is transferred using heat and pressure. Silicone punches are highly accurate and can be used to make sharp, durable markings on a variety of substrates, such as leather, plastic and paper.

4. High-definition posing

Fixtures are also important for hot stamping and screen printing. Fixtures are holding devices used to position the object to be marked correctly and hold it in place during the process. They are often used in hot stamping to ensure that the design or logo is applied accurately and consistently to each product. Fixings can be made to measure to suit the shape and size of the object to be marked.

Services

1. Training

LVM Printing Machine is an approved training centre – QUALIOPI

Our expertise in all areas, from design to manufacture and the fine-tuning of decorating machines for all plastic and glass articles, enables us to offer our customers training modules in the use of our digital machines or on your own machines.

We provide support to user teams to optimise machine operation. As industry experts, we offer a wide range of training courses in hot stamping, screen printing and digital printing techniques. We can therefore support our customers from the installation of their equipment right through to series production.

2. Maintenance

Industrial Maintenance Management in the Glass and Plastic Decorating Industry

Preamble

The glass and plastic decoration industry plays an essential role in the production of everyday consumer goods, such as plastic cosmetics, glass bottles, perfume bottles and embellishment items for the automotive industry. To ensure that decoration machines operate at optimum efficiency, industrial maintenance is crucial. This involves putting in place rigorous processes aimed at preventing breakdowns, optimising performance and minimising downtime. In this text, we will explore the main aspects of industrial maintenance applied to decorating machines for glass and plastics.

1. Importance of industrial maintenance

Industrial maintenance is a fundamental pillar of continuous production in the glass and plastic decoration industry. Decorating machines in good working order guarantee quality end products, increased productivity and reduced operating costs. What’s more, well-performed preventive maintenance prevents costly production interruptions and ensures worker safety. The entire spectrum is covered by the LVM printing machine maintenance department.

2. Maintenance planning

The first step to effective industrial maintenance is planning. A preventive maintenance schedule is drawn up, specifying time intervals for inspections, repairs and parts replacement. These operations are planned so as not to disrupt normal production. LVM printing machine offers its customers service contracts covering all stages of maintenance.

3. Preventive maintenance

Preventive maintenance is based on regular inspection of decorating machines. Qualified maintenance teams carry out periodic checks to detect signs of deterioration and potential failure. Parts subject to wear are replaced at pre-established intervals to avoid unexpected breakdowns. The LVM printing teams will support and guide you through this process.

4. Curative maintenance

Despite well-planned preventive maintenance, breakdowns can still occur. Curative maintenance comes into play in these emergency situations, when machines need to be repaired as quickly as possible. Responsive maintenance teams are available to diagnose and resolve problems to minimise downtime. LVM printing machine offers you a remote maintenance service controlled from our head office in Villes in the Ain region or from a centre based in the USA or China, depending on the time zone.