Design and Manufacturing Process of Large UV Double-Sided Printing Platform for UV Printers

In recent years, the market for large UV double-sided printers has shown rapid growth. However, ensuring printing accuracy and long-term stability for large-format printing materials has been a persistent challenge. This article introduces a design and manufacturing process for a large UV double-sided printer platform, which can effectively address printing deformation issues during the production process.

With the continuous development economy, printed materials catering to personalized demands and high-end outdoor advertising have gained increasing market favor. Initially, digital printing in these fields was mainly done using single-sided printers, which were less efficient, had more complex processes, and delivered lower print quality compared to the later-developed double-sided printers.

Upon analysis, it is clear that the primary issue with current UV double-sided printers is significant errors in the alignment accuracy of the two sides, which directly affects the print quality, including clarity and saturation. This problem is especially problematic for printing surfaces in the range of 3–5 meters, where maintaining both printing precision and long-term stability is challenging.

The main component that determines alignment accuracy and image clarity is the printing platform. To ensure high-quality double-sided printing with precision and clarity, the flatness of the printing surface must be guaranteed. This article discusses a "large UV double-sided printing platform design and manufacturing process" that effectively addresses the deformation issues during the UV double-sided printing production process.

Factors Affecting Platform Accuracy

1. Heat Dissipation of UV Lamps Leading to Platform Accuracy Decline

Currently, large-format double-sided printers are primarily UV printers, named after the UV inks they use. UV printers are equipped with UV lamps (mercury lamps or LED lamps) that allow prints to dry instantly, facilitating quick sampling. While this feature greatly benefits production and sampling, it also introduces some issues, the most prominent being heat dissipation. UV lamps emit heat while shining on materials like leather or other substrates placed on the platform. Over time, the heat from the UV lamps can be transferred to the platform, causing local deformation of the platform and leading to a decline in accuracy, which negatively affects print quality. Thus, controlling the geometric tolerances of the printing platform directly influences print quality and media feeding accuracy.

2. Difficulty in Controlling Processing Accuracy of Large-Format Platforms

For a large UV double-sided printer platform like the DLA-05-00 model, the platform consists of the main body, air duct connectors, water pipe connectors, water supply pipes, automatic platform deformation adjustment device, platform leveling mechanism, side arc plates, and arc plate adjustment frames. The most challenging task for the platform is achieving the required flatness tolerance of 0.05mm for a surface length of 3350mm. As a slender structural part, the platform is prone to deformation during processing, which can impact part accuracy and result in unqualified parts. Furthermore, the heat generated by the UV lamps can cause local deformation of the platform, leading to unstable print alignment.

Platform Selection and Structural Design

3. Selecting the Platform Main Body Scheme

Large-format printing platforms generally fall into two categories: air-cooled platforms and water-cooled platforms. Their performance characteristics are as follows:

. Air-cooled Platform: This platform is simple in structure and low in manufacturing cost. However, after prolonged use, the air cooling device may leak air, reducing cooling efficiency, leading to platform deformation and wear, which negatively affects printing accuracy.

. Water-cooled Platform: The water-cooled platform is structurally simple, using circulating coolant inside the platform to avoid local deformation due to prolonged heat exposure. Its downside is higher costs, with the panel made from 2.0 hard anodized aluminum and the base plate made from 2.0 polished aluminum.

In order to ensure the flatness of the printing platform, the water-cooled platform was ultimately chosen for the large UV double-sided printer.

2. Structural Design Determination

The water-cooled platform main body consists of an upper and lower surface, with several air ducts running through both sides between the surfaces. The upper surface is equipped with air intake holes. The platform body is divided into three suction areas, and air duct connectors are installed at the bottom of the platform, connected to an air pump via soft hoses. Water supply pipes are connected via water pipe connectors and run through the platform body. The water outlet is located at both ends of the platform and connects to a cooling unit.

Platform Manufacturing and Assembly

1. Support Beam Using Hollow Rectangular Steel

Considering the platform’s strength, stability, and cost-effectiveness, the support beam of the water-cooled platform is typically made of hollow rectangular steel. For example, in the DLA-05-00 printing platform, the dimensions of the rectangular steel are 120mm × 80mm. The support beam must maintain a flatness tolerance of 0.1mm on its top surface. The manufacturing process includes welding, heat treatment, straightening, rough milling, aging, semi-finish milling, and fine milling to meet precision requirements.

2. Platform Hardness and Thermal Insulation Treatment

After rough processing, the upper surface of the water-cooled platform undergoes straightening and precision grinding to meet the dimensional tolerances specified in the design. A hard anodized coating of 250μm thickness is applied to improve the surface hardness and thermal insulation properties, stabilizing the performance of the platform. The platform’s flatness is then fine-tuned to the required range using an automatic deformation adjustment device that connects the water-cooled platform to the support beams.

3. Platform Overall Leveling Mechanism
In addition to ensuring the precision of the platform itself, a leveling mechanism is used to adjust the platform to be parallel to the printing head. This ensures that the UV printing head remains parallel to the printing surface throughout operation, ensuring consistent print quality.

4. Automatic Platform Deformation Adjustment Device
During production, the platform can experience local deformation due to heat from the UV lamps, which causes a change in the platform's flatness. This leads to issues such as unclear print images, alignment difficulties, and inconsistent feeding accuracy. Moreover, during transportation and handling, external factors like bumps or vibrations can further cause platform deformation.

To address these challenges, an automatic platform deformation adjustment device is designed to release horizontal stresses on the platform and adjust local deformations caused by heat or external impacts.

Conclusion

This article addresses the printing deformation issues in the production process of UV double-sided printers and proposes a design and manufacturing process for the large UV double-sided printer platform. The solution offers the following advantages:

1. The support structure and manufacturing process of the water-cooled platform are optimized, ensuring the geometric accuracy of the printing surface and meeting design specifications.

2. Platform deformation is strictly controlled through design, material selection, processing, heat treatment, and assembly, ensuring overall deformation remains within the allowable range.

3. This solution is applicable to the manufacturing of similar components in other equipment, improving operational accuracy and enhancing print quality.

Posted on 2024-11-08 by ZXC Print