Plating lines comprise a series of different cleaning and plating tanks for alkaline and acid copper, zinc or chrome. K.Walter’s plating tanks cover all applications and can handle cylinders of all sizes, with or without adapters.

The appropriate machining method gives printing form cylinders the required diameter and the necessary surface quality with micrometer precision. This is important, because it has a big impact on the achievable print quality. High­-precision machines from Daetwyler Graphics turn, mill, grind, and polish copper surfaces. Polishing machines with various abrasives are available for all surfaces. It is also possible to integrate the polishing machines into automated lines.

Fully automatic operation of production lines using equipment from Bauer ensures fast process flows and top-­quality results with the lowest possible manpower. Trolleys, shuttles, cranes, buffer storage, and the necessary safety technology ensure fully automatic cylinder transport from station to station for a good workflow and the best possible operator protection. Print shops with their own cylinder making operations can integrate all production areas – from fully automated cylinder storage racks to cylinder making lines, to gravure press loading.

K.Walter ensures that the process technology used combines high performance with environmental compatibility. The complete solution concept spans four areas – first, optimum chemical formula­tions; second, automatic process control through automated recording of parameters combined with centralized, fully automatic dosing of chemicals into the plating tanks; third, optical, mechanical, and electromagnetic measuring methods to determine the roughness, hardness, and thickness of copper and chrome layers and cylinder diameter, extending all the way to complete automatic measuring systems for all cylinder parameters; and fourth, Heliograph service with its global customer proximity. Our staff optimize the installations on-­site and perform chemical analyses on the electrolytes and material samples submitted.

Automation requires precise coordination and control of the individual processes. Starting from full process automation, K.Walter’s aim in automating the entire production operation is to ensure cylin­der­-specific prioritization when passing through all stations and optimum coordination of production processes and production flows. The necessary IT infrastructure comprises machine-­oriented master control, visualization for users, database system for cylinders, production formulations, process data, and connection to business information systems. The status of each and every job can be perma­nently tracked at the planning and production stages. Storage, transportation, and the fully integrated imaging workflow with job tickets round off the solutions we offer. All this is essential for Heliograph solutions to optimally meet the high demands relating to both productive cylinder making and appli­cation specific cylinder quality.