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Feeders : Stream Feeder

Fig. 1 Stream feeder.

a Diagram of the sheet transportation;
b Example of a sheet stream feeder (Heidelberg)
With stream feeders (figure 1) the sheets are separated initially by a suction head(figure 2) at the rear
edge only. Lifting suckers lift the rear sheet edge, and here again sheet separation is supported by blast air
and sheet separators. Cycled blast air is now blown between the sheets and causes the entire sheet on the
feed pile to float on an air cushion. In another movement sequence the sheet is fed to the stream of sheets
on the belt table using forwarding suckers. The next sheet is lifted from the pile when the preceding sheet is
about a third of the way along the feed pile. The rate of motion of the sheet stream is in this example
approximately a third of the production speed, as a result of which it is in fact possible to achieve high
production speeds while at the same time maintaining high sheet-alignment accuracy.

Fig. 2 Suction head.

a Diagram of sucker, blower and conveying system;
b Suction and blast air control;
c Suction head on a stream feeder (Heidelberg)
A forwarding roller on the belt table, which runs synchronously with the press, clamps the sheet upon its
entering the belt table, thus placing it into synchronous movement with the sheet stream. The time of arrival
of the sheet in the feed guides is determined by the moment the sheet is clamped on the forwarding roller.
Slight variations in the sheet stream may lead to early or late sheets. The arrival of the sheets at the feed
guides is subject to a certain variation. To avoid press stoppages and ensure a proper sheet alignment at
thefront
and side lays, the sheet arrival is set to a mean value of the optimal feeding time and the range of variation
optimized by adjustments at the feeder.
 The sheet separation process and the feeding of the sheets into the sheet stream essentially depend on
the substrate. Differences in surface properties, paper thickness, grammage, porosity, electrostatic charges
and so on affect the sheet travel. Therefore, it must be possible to adapt the entire feed system to extremely
varied paper qualities. Since with high-speed presses the feed behavior of the sheet cannot be followed by
the naked eye alone, state-of-the-art accurate measuring, display and control systems are used to monitor
the sheet travel from the feeder through to the delivery.

Figure 3
Stream feeder with suction tape feed table (Speedmaster SM 74,
Heidelberg)
The two feed systems, the stream feeder and thesingle-sheet feeder, are very different in their structural
design, the way they are set, and their application. The single-sheet feeder has the advantage that its
structural design is comparatively simple, which makes the operation uncomplicated. The single-sheet
feeder requires significantly shorter set-up times for a change of format but is, in principle, only suitable for
smaller formats and lower printing speeds. Using a single-sheet feeder on a high-speed, large-format press
would lead to erratic movements. It was also necessary to have sheet transport that is free of scratches and
abrasion for stream feeders. This is resulted in a feeder table using stream feeders which are easy to
adjust. This led to the development of a suction tape feeder table (figure 3) which operates without pressure
rollers acting from above upon the sheet.The transport of the sheets is only assisted by brushes when
necessary.

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