Zünd has released the world's fastest digital cutting machine, the Q-Line.

Zünd is further expanding its powerful digital cutting solutions portfolio with the new Q-Line featuring the BHS180. This addition complements Zünd's current products, elevating industrial-grade, efficient, tray-to-tray production standards. The new Q-Line with BHS180 is an integrated system solution designed specifically to meet the needs of highly automated, industrial finishing for display, POS, and packaging print boards. The individual components - the board feeder with UNDERCAM, the new generation Q-Line cutter, and the unloading device - are optimally coordinated to deliver productivity levels previously unattainable. They collectively provide unparalleled cutting precision and reliability, making it easier than ever for packaging and display manufacturers to carry out automated cutting operations and achieve maximum efficiency. The Q-Series equipped with BHS180 helps manufacturers optimize their production processes and enhance their overall productivity.

A new machine concept that achieves ultimate performance

The Q-Line equipped with BHS180 is a comprehensive, advanced system solution that elevates digital production to a new level. It delivers outstanding performance for any display and packaging manufacturer. Each component of this advanced digital cutting system is packed with exciting new features. They work together to achieve unsupervised, uninterrupted production workflows and offer significant cost-saving potential for users of all sizes. Ultimately, this represents an investment that can help customers sustainably improve their competitive advantage.

The new machine concept behind the Q-Line with BHS180 redefines performance in many ways. The new machine parts work together to produce impressive speeds, reaching up to 2.8 meters per second. The new lower structure of the Q-Line milling excavator is made of exceptionally stable concrete. This ensures very smooth operation and optimal cutting precision, even at extremely high speeds. The beams are made of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, making them lightweight and extremely durable. This means that even materials with high demands can be processed at the highest speed and quality levels. Unprecedented performance is also reflected in other aspects, including increasing tool acceleration to 2.1g through the new linear drive system. As a result, work can be handled at higher speeds, leading to significantly reduced cycle times for each job.

The Q-Line with BHS180 is equipped with the latest generation of modules and tools. AUTOMO L is all about force, providing up to 50 kg of creasing pressure. This makes it the perfect carrier module for creasing with large creasing wheels, such as CRETO 150. AUTOMO E excels in lowering and raising the speed of tool usage. Each beam is equipped with a total of four modules: two AUTOMO E modules, one AUTOMO L, and a fixed INCAM sensor module for capturing registration marks, QR codes, and material edges.

Tools

UNITO is a tool used in conjunction with centering and eccentric drag knives for processing materials up to 5 mm thick. ELOSTO has two different variations for swinging cutting operations that require an electric motor drive. If creasing wheels are to be used, the CRETO tool is required. CRETO 24, CRETO 61, and CRETO 150 are designed slightly differently to accommodate different types and diameters of creasing wheels. PERTO is a tool used in conjunction with punching wheels. DRAWTO is used for marking and drawing on a wide range of materials.

The new tool management system for the Q-Line with BHS180 makes digital finishing more efficient than ever before. The standard configuration of the Q-Line milling cutter includes an automatic tool change system. The TOMAC tool management client is responsible for tool management from start to finish, ensuring a simple process, particularly in automation. Tool management digitally links tools with preset values, saving valuable time in setting up and changing tools.

Tray-to-tray automation production

The Q-Line with BHS180 eliminates bottlenecks in digital cutting, eliminating the need for manual material handling. Automated material transport between trays maximizes productivity in production workflows and prevents idle time. A customizable, transparent production workflow also ensures smooth and reliable order processing. The system captures information stored for each job using two-dimensional codes to ensure an intelligent, error-free, QR code-based production workflow. It can handle a variety of jobs in the stack. Processing starts automatically.

UNDERCAM integrated in the feeder can capture the precise position of images printed on cardboard. It reliably identifies any deformation in printed material and compensates for it, ensuring a perfect match between cutting and printed material every time. With each scan, the software adjusts the cutting path in real time based on the printed image, greatly reducing cycle times for each job.

During the feeding process, sensors capture the edges of the material, ensuring proper alignment of the sheets. If the board is out of tolerance, the feeder will grab the board again and realign it, continuously feeding it into the cutter. This allows even incompletely stacked materials to be processed, further streamlining the production workflow. To ensure reliable separation of cardboard and sheets, the redeveloped suction cups can be individually adjusted for different materials via Zünd Cut Center - ZCC.

The innovative design of the unloading device allows boards cut without a bridge to be easily and neatly stacked. Different jobs are slightly offset in the stacking, making it easy to remove completed work for downstream processing in a neat and orderly manner. Any problematic boards are also stacked sideways for easy identification as the trays are removed.

The new Q-Line with BHS180 is an all-in-one solution. In addition to hardware, it includes a comprehensive range of services, intuitive and simple software such as the latest Zünd Cut Center - ZCC operating software version 4.0, or Zünd Connect production monitoring and analysis tools, and a variety of consumable choices. The development of all components has always focused on maximizing machine performance and productivity while minimizing setup time. Most importantly, they have been extensively and successfully tested by various pilot customers to ensure outstanding results at high speeds.

 Tool sizes

Initially, the new Q-Line with BHS180 is designed as a dual-beam system with three different sizes. Users can choose the appropriate machine size based on their specific requirements, whether their production involves one-off, small batch, or large volume orders. The working width of the Zünd Cutter Q 32-32 D is 3.2 meters, the Q 22-32 D has a working width of 2.2 meters, and the Q 18-32 D has a working width of 1.8 meters.