Engraving head control device for initial positioning of a gravure engraving head

摘要

An engraving mechanism for engraving gravure cylinders having an engraving head, an engraving head movement mechanism, a sensor coupled to the movement mechanism for sensing the relative position between the engraving head and the gravure cylinder, and a control unit connected to the sensor and the movement mechanism. The control unit has a CPU and memory to store data related to the engraving of one or more gravure cylinders to determine the length of the cylinder in response to movement of the engraving head and sensor information from the sensor, to determine an initial position for positioning the engraving head prior to each engraving operation based upon the length and diameter of the gravure cylinder, and to determine a gap between the engraving head and the cylinder prior to engraving. After the controller unit computes the diameter and length of the cylinder, it controls the movement mechanism to adjust a gap between the engraving head and the gravure cylinder and to position the engraving head lengthwise to the cylinder in an engraving start position. Thus, the engraving start position and the initial gap are automatically varied from one gravure cylinder to another.