German packaging manufacturer Leopold has installed a pilot MASTERCUT 165 PER Dual Stream from BOBST at its Plant III in Marbach to boost large-format packaging production.

The machine combines standard pile and high-pile delivery, with its design featuring both rear and lateral delivery capabilities.

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Before the Marbach installation, Bobst fitted a similar Mastercut 165 Per Dual Stream, with PALLETIZER, at its Packaging Center in Mex, Switzerland.

This was used to test technical changes ahead of the pilot deployment.

During the first months of operation at Leopold, a Bobst technical specialist remained on site.

Bobst Meerbusch sales manager Hans Dreistein said: “Over time, Valeri Lach and his team repeatedly approached us with requests and ideas that were incorporated into our development. Ultimately, this resulted in a machine that is truly unique on the market.”

The Mastercut 165 Per handles solid board from 300g/m² to 2,000g/m² and corrugated board from 0.5mm to 7mm thick.

It processes sheet sizes from 600mm × 520mm to 1,650mm × 1,300mm. The machine has a sheet-feeding system designed to move materials through the press with limited pressure.

Leopold said output currently reaches up to 7,000 sheets an hour, depending on the job, across both solid board and corrugated board applications. The PALLETIZER is also being used to prepare customer-specific pallet layouts for folding carton products in an automated workflow.

For tool handling, Bobst developed movable racks and an Easytransfer system for the machine.

These are used to move large-format die-tool sets and lift them to the 1.8m platform.

Leopold chose the highest machine elevation available, allowing stack heights of up to 2,000mm at delivery.

The MATIC control system can store up to 5,000 repeat jobs.

Operators make tool changes and adjustments through the SPHERE human-machine interface.

The machine can run in both format VI and format VII and is compatible with tools used on Leopold’s Bobst Mastercut 145 units.

Leopold Verpackungen Plant III in Marbach am Neckar plant manager Valeri Lach said: “With the Mastercut 165 Per Dual Stream, we can operate on two tracks and die-cut both large-format cartonboard sheets and corrugated board sheets.

“For both material types, we achieve the same high speed and quality, while performing rapid job changeovers. Bobst has combined optimal processes for both materials in this flatbed die-cutter — successfully pulling off a real balancing act.”