CCPB7A complete machine, refined through production.

The CCPB family was created to improve an RFID ticket encoding and personalisation process that the customer performed on a slow, vertically arranged machine. The development covers CCPB2, CCPB3, CCPB4, CCPB5, CCPB6 and CCPB7. Improvements were introduced on each machine as new jobs, formats and production requirements emerged.

CCPB7 brings that experience together in a complete machine. As well as feeding, transporting and collecting the web, it coordinates RFID encoding, double-sided personalisation and product inspection. Each operation has different requirements for positioning, waiting, movement and control.

The project covers mechanical design, construction, electrical systems, automation and system integration. Its evolution combines performance improvements with changes that broaden the jobs the machine can handle and make operators' work easier.

New jobs also brought differences in the spacing between tickets. An assembly designed for a fixed pitch no longer aligned correctly when the product changed. The adjustment had to keep the stations aligned with the web throughout the encoding area.

CCPB7 incorporates a custom box-positioning system. The operator selects the format on the HMI and the assembly adjusts to the supported configurations. This allows both the usual format and tickets separated by small connecting bridges to be processed.

Adapting the RFID area required a review of its relationship with the printing assemblies. The project evolved as a whole: when a station's footprint changed, nearby components were also reviewed to keep the machine compact. Inkjet printhead adjustments remain manual.

Personalisation initially used three fixed inkjet printheads per side. New messages needed to cover more of the ticket: the commercial mount no longer met the requirement, so a custom mount was designed for five fixed printheads per side.

The next requirement was to vary message positions. The design moved to three fixed central printheads and two independently adjustable outer heads, allowing personalisation across different areas of the ticket width. A later development made the mount more compact to fit alongside CCPB7's adjustable encoding boxes.

Position references allow known settings to be restored when changing jobs. Operators keep their configurations and reapply them on later runs. Once the job is set up, the machine maintains that adjustment throughout long production runs.

Inkjet printheads, routinely replaced due to intensive use, can be changed without losing their position. Separating consumable replacement from adjustment helps maintain the print configuration during production.

Earlier versions used printed references to determine the print start and advance point. Tickets without that mark introduced a new challenge: the available reference was the shape of the product's edge, which was too small for the system previously used.

New arms and photoelectric sensor mounts were developed, together with fork optical sensors to detect the reference on the ticket edge. The machine retains the option to use marks on either side and adds detection for the unmarked format. The mode is selected on the HMI.

The arms position the photoelectric sensors across the ticket width; longitudinal travel combines coarse positioning along a guide with fine adjustment. Position references help restore known settings. The assembly supports and stabilises the web, because a small reference requires the product to hold its position as it passes.

This change resolved the missing prints reported on those jobs. Downstream inspection adds another level of control: if it detects an incorrect ticket, the process stops so the operator can intervene.

7Axis developed the machine's automation and functional integration: it controls advance and coordinates encoding, printing and vision signals.

The HMI allows supported formats to be selected and the advance to be configured. The usual setting is ten tickets, while shorter advances or continuous operation can be used for tests. The screen also includes ticket and operating-hour counters.

The HMI can also reverse the direction of the winding and unwinding plates to adapt the machine's working direction to particular jobs. Speed is adjusted with a potentiometer, directly from the operator's workstation.

Integration connects these functions with product transport: waiting for encoding, advancing with the correct reference, printing during movement and stopping when an issue is detected.

Custom guards were designed and manufactured for the PCBs controlling the encoding antennas. These housings contain the electronics at the rear of the machine, with windows that keep them visible without leaving them exposed. The guards are part of the physical integration of the assembly. The machine brings mechanics, electrical systems, control and specialist applications together at one workstation.

The developed series comprises CCPB2, CCPB3, CCPB4, CCPB5, CCPB6 and CCPB7. The latest machine draws on the experience gained with its predecessors. Its evolution responds to specific production situations: interference that prolonged encoding, messages requiring broader print coverage and products with new spacing or references.

CCPB4 shows the configuration before shielding boxes were added. CCPB5 introduced the improvement that reduced encoding retries. CCPB7 added adjustment of the box assembly and vision inspection, while integrating the evolution of the printing and detection mounts.

Several improvements were also applied to machines already in operation. This brought new personalisation options and process improvements to earlier equipment.

The value of the development lies both in building the new machine and in using what has been learned to improve existing ones. Production experience feeds back into design and guides the next intervention.

The design brings together the entire web path, station positions, enclosure volume and different adjustments. The CAD model shows how these parts relate within the assembly.

7Axis designed the machine, manufactured numerous parts on the lathe and milling machine, and carried out construction and integration. In-house work was combined with externally supplied machined aluminium parts and laser-cut machine beds. Finishing, polishing, chamfering and assembly were completed in the workshop.

Machining and assembly are complemented by adjusting each unit to its purpose: restoring a working position, making a printhead change easier or keeping the web path stable. The turned knobs are one example of these custom parts within a broader manufacturing effort.

The construction photographs show progress from the frame to the addition of machine beds, web path, stations and control components. This sequence reveals the actual scope of the project and the work required to turn the design into an operational machine.

Electrical development and EPLAN documentation are part of the project, together with automation and equipment integration. 7Axis's work includes PLC programming in TIA Portal and the development of operating screens in EasyBuilder Pro. The selected diagram shows part of that documentation. The electrical cabinet brings together machine control, power, wiring and a dedicated safety module.

As well as preparing diagrams and instructions, documentation was added to the HMI. Information can therefore be consulted on the machine whenever the operator needs operating guidance or a technical reference.

Delivering a machine also means making its operation understandable. Here, documentation accessible on the screen supports the training and physical adjustment references of the different assemblies.

Adjustment references, training and on-screen documentation help operators set up familiar jobs and perform routine machine tasks.

Before leaving the workshop, the machine underwent three to four days of testing with the web running continuously. This running-in period checked the web path and smoothed edges before the equipment was taken to the customer's premises.

CCPB7 was delivered two months after the order. This lead time refers to the physical delivery of this project and builds on developments and experience from earlier machines.

Vision testing was completed at the destination, with the involvement of the supplier responsible for its software. The installation therefore combines work prepared in the workshop with checks requiring final integration with the customer's systems.

Delivery included training. As the operators already knew the earlier machines in the series, explanations focused on CCPB7's new features, adjustments and operation of the new systems.

CCPB7's improvements address different parts of the process: less waiting during encoding, more personalisation options, support for different formats and inspection that stops the machine on a defect.

Operation retains adjustment references to restore familiar jobs. Inkjet printheads can be changed while maintaining their position, and documentation is available on the machine's own screen.

Routine maintenance is performed by the operator and includes cleaning at the end of the day and periodic lubrication of the specified components. The machine's robustness and the simplicity of these tasks reflect its use in long production runs.

The change from 11–12 to 25–27 reels per machine and shift shows the effect of RFID shielding on the reference job. The improvement was extended to all six machines in the series. If they all process that job at the same performance level, the increase is equivalent to 78,000–96,000 additional tickets per eight-hour shift.

Performance depends on the product, the checks required for its encoding and workstation operation.

The case brings together two 7Axis capabilities: developing a complete custom machine and evolving existing equipment in response to real production problems. Performance improvements go hand in hand with broader personalisation, format adjustment and product control.