Charles Hewines, head of procurement at Penstripe, with the unique Renz-Palamides combination line
Leeds-based Penstripe has linked its recently purchased Renz AP-360 punching system to a Palamides Alpha-Plus stacking delivery system supplied by Friedheim – the first time such a combination has been attempted.
The combined system is now up and running at the company’s production facility.
‘We saw an opportunity to increase efficiency and product consistency by fully automating the delivery on our Renz punch,’ explained Charles Hewines, head of procurement at Penstripe. ‘The manufacturers co-operated ensuring a good mechanical and electronic handshake for the machines.’
‘Now we know the AP360 and Alpha Plus work well together it’s an option with great future potential,’ added Iain Bullock, Renz UK MD.
The modified AP360 is the second such machine at Penstripe, which has run the heavy-duty high speed punch for seven years. ‘For us the key advantage is speed and ease of make-ready, as our core business is in bespoke, short run books,’ said Mr Hewines. ‘Depending on the level of personalisation, run lengths can be extremely low […] The AP360 allows switching between dies, or from A4 to A5 format within seconds.
‘There are many punching patterns and it has the ability to disengage sections of the punch to allow for custom hole configurations,’ he added. ‘Also, the machine is capable of punching thicker substrates of up to 800-micron, which would be unusual, but we pride ourselves on being a ‘can do’ company which relishes a challenge!’
