MBM Cuts Time for Product Blanking in Half

Habe Taiyodo Co., Ltd.

Mr. Ikuji Habe
President and CEO

Habe Taiyōdō Co., Ltd., since its founding in 1902, has been pursuing technological improvements to its post-print finishing business. With its head office and factory near Gojō station in Kyoto, it is a long-established company which carries out integrated production of all kinds of post-print finishing, such as guillotine cutting, hole-punching, blanking, gluing, folding, foil application, threading (including rubber cord), embossing, and more.

Keys to Saving Labor and Improving Efficiency: Labor sand Job Time Reduction by Half Made Possible With the MBM and Automatic Lift Hand Fork

Habe Taiyōdō Co., Ltd. introduced the Multi Blanking Machine (MBM) and Automatic Lift Hand Fork to their site. The Multi Blanking Machine, or MBM, is a production-type blanking machine for short-run packaging, cards, mounts, labels, and more. The MBM series features a single-head type model suitable for simple fixture-free designs, and a twinhead type model for blanking of fixtures, nesting, and different shapes at the same time.

In addition to a strong frame to maintain stability, the servo motors and the ball-screw drive system make high levels of precision possible. The MBM has a powerful blanking pin system which provides high stability blanking by simply inserting the pins into the machine, and a frame that can be easily adjusted for any size by adjusting the frame screws. These two features allow the machine to flexibly handle a variety of blank shapes and sizes without the need to make separate blanking tools.

To learn more, we interviewed Mr. Ikuji Habe, the 5th CEO of Habe Taiyōdō. While continuing the "focused-papermaking" teachings of his grandfather and 3rd CEO of the company, Mr. Habe also actively incorporates the newest machines and continues to refine its processing technology to this day.

Please Tell Us Why You Chose the MBM.

The blanked materials are carried by the automatic
pickup conveyor belt and moved to the pallet by hand.

Mr. Habe: "Before installing the MBM, all of the blanking at Habe Taiyōdō was performed by hand. The work was done by two people, and when one of the two workers was hospitalized and away from the factory about three years ago, it was from that time that I began to consider automating our blanking operations.

Initially, we looked at the machines being used by other companies and listed up several companies as candidates

One company's machine was very expensive, it required additional software and other preparations to be made, a space between blanks was required in the printing itself, and working on printed materials they received from customers was a bottleneck for their company.

Another company's machine required plates to be created for blanking of special shapes, and it was an issue for us that force was not applied evenly over the whole blank shape.

A third company's machine needed a lot of preparation and could take as much as half a day, and after blanking the material needed to be moved to a pallet by human hands, which I thought was troublesome and could not be introduced into our company.

Pins are arranged according
to the shape of the blanks.

Our strengths were that we had a Thomson machine, guillotine cutting, and more inline, and that nearly all of the orders we received from printing companies were being completed in-house by us. We could charge customers when using the Thomson machine and other post-print processing technology. However, there were no charges or fees for blanking. Therefore, it was necessary to think of a way to put a cost on blanking.

"NSK proposed the MBM, which had a pin system that had no need for a specially made blanking frame. The machine is less than half the price of a general blanking machine, there is no additional software required, and just entering the dimensions into the machine means there is no need to make a margin. The flexibility of just inserting pins according to the shape we want to blank was a perfect match for our company’s needs, and so we decided to introduce the MBM without hesitation."

Are You Using the Automatic Lift Hand Fork Together With the MBM?

MBM and the Automatic
Lift Hand Fork in operation.

Mr. Habe: "Yes. We are mainly using the Automatic Lift Hand Fork when we set the materials for blanking on the MBM. When we take the materials off the hand fork, a sensor reacts and adjusts the height, cutting the need to bend over to reach the materials and reducing the heavy lifting for workers. Since raising and lowering materials is a daily task that requires a lot of physical strength, I think just being able to reduce that work load has a great deal of merit.

What Effect Has Introducing the MBM Had on Your Business?

Mr. Habe: "The largest effect from installing the MBM has been on job time reduction. The blanking work we did by hand took three hours to finish before, but with the MBM that time has been reduced by about half. Even the first time, inserting the pins and other preparations were finished in at most 30 minutes. Actually, MBM is designed for blanking of very fine shapes which would be torn apart if done by hand, but since the machine pushes out the whole design at once, we have reduced the loss from human error as well. After blanking the finished pieces are picked up and placed on a conveyor belt, and delivered to the person at the end. If you place a binding machine past the end of the conveyor belt, it is possible to fully bind the product and set it on the final pallet with one operator.

Also, in order to blank by hand, we previously had to insert notches in the material, but when using the Thomson machine these sometimes came out of place and got scattered around. When blanking materials with the MBM, there is no need for those notches. Not only does the blanking process benefit, but Thomson processing benefits as well.

Smart planning such as a bundling machine set
at the unload point ensures delivery preparation with
no wasted time or energy.

What Effect Has Introducing the MBM Had on Your Business?

Mr. Habe: "Our work is different from the printing industry in that over time our work procedures do not change dramatically. Even if minor changes occur, such as automation of work done by hand, number of revolutions increasing, and screens changing to touch panels, I think that dramatic changes are unlikely. With this background, we will pay attention to new machines that add extra value without changing current processes, and monitor the newest technology trends while also attending exhibitions frequently.

We hope to further refine our paper technology and be in the position to provide that technology to customers. Thanks to them we have been able to continue for 100 years, and I believe that continuing this relationship into the future is the most important thing. To do this, it is necessary to enhance our technology. Going forward, it is my hope that we can continue being the company that can confidently tell customers that they can rely on us for their post-press needs."