correctly setting side lay on lithrone28

Hi everyone.
Ive just found this site and already found some answers to some of my queeries. The company i work for have just bought a 1998 komori lithrone 28 which i dont have a lot of experiance on as ive always run heidelbergs! The press has been bought 'sold as seen ' from a company in leeds.i was supposed to be getting a full weeks training once the press had been installed but ended up getting one day.so as you can imagine i' m now inheritting all the previous printers problems.i will no doubt be on here regulally,but firstly could anyone help me with setting the side lays for different stock. At the moment im taking the lay in use to its fully down position then putting 2 sheeets of the stock to be used into the lay and then adjusting the tensioning spring untill there is a light tension between the 2 pull wheels.?? Im finding when running at speed im getting some movement .ive also changed the brush wheels and made sure they are set correctly for the sheet size. Any help would be grateful.

 

Well , i would ask your boss to call in for Kevin
KevinMchaleServiceslimited
Komori trained print specialist
www.komoriprintspecialist.com
Kevin@komoriprintspecialist.com
00447967179956
he will sort you out in no time

 

Komori's sidelay, although looking a tad last century, is robust and accurate. First off I would check that the segment under the lay is set to smooth if you're running paper or rough if you're running heavy board (over 350gm). The sidelay wheel itself is mounted on an eccentric pin, which alters the sidelay plate height (although once set it almost never needs resetting if you run 70gm to 350gm). I'd check that it clears 3 sheets of the material you run the most of. The tension spring should be correct for the weight of material, but there is a fair amount of latitude. Too much tension spring pressure is as bad as too little but ingeneral I'd release pressure til it fails and then tighten until it pulls clean without bounce.

Do you have print front lay and sidelay marks for checking? is the sidelay mark at the correct distance from the grip edge? If it doesn't co-incide with the physical position of the sidelay then you could get inaccurate readings if the paper isn't trimmed 'spot-on'.

You also need to check the tail edge wheels are clear by 1-2mm off the tail of the sheet and that any smoothers at the infeed are set to minimum drag. Brush wheels are also set to gently 'sweep' the tail edge into the front lays. Check the lay hoods aren't too low...also if they're sharp at the lead edge they may need to be replaced.

If you're getting sidelay variation after checking all that...then it's engineer time.

Finally, do check that the opposing lay isn't actuating on the sheet as well as the lay you're using ... you'd be surprised how easy it is to overlook.

 

Something else occurred to me...check that the sidelay wheel itself runs free and without tight spots.

I see you're Derbyshire based...we're almost neighbours!

 

Hiya rich.thanks for the reply.i shall check all the things you mentioned and get back to you.ive run a couple of jobs today and didnt seem to have any major bouncing in lays.I think i may have got the brush wheels trapping the sheet! Ive tried getting the repro guys to put proper side lays on the plates but its like banging my head against a brick wall!! I always put a lay mark on the plate with a scalpel blade..not ideal i know.(very lightly i might add so as not to score the the damp form roller). i usually try and put it as close to grip as possible.....i didnt realise there is a specific distance??
I'm usually running 150gsm silk b2/sra2 but occasionally run 250/300 gsm on covers.
By the way i work for a small printers in Annersly/Notts but live in Chesterfield/Derbyshire. where is it your from.?

 

P.S. Thanks also to Meny.I'll mention that Kevin guy to my boss,although we do already use an ex komori engineer called Andy from ALPE engineering .

 

My Friend

I know a big part of komori print instructors around the globe.
Some are "com-ci com-sa"
Some are very good
Some are very very good
But Kevin is the best . simply the best
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