2. Purpose
• General
• To ease troubleshooting on register problems
• Create a better general understanding of registration
• Apply visual models to get that understanding
• Simplify cause detection based on symptoms/measures
• Give the essential technical background
• Minimize downtime by detecting the source of the problem
faster
3. Requirements
• Hardware
• A well functioning, installed drive diagnostic system
• Software
• The in-house register monitoring tool
• Baumüller drive diagnostic software BAUDIS
4. Target User Group(s)
• Press
• Shift foremen and their stand-in’s
• Interested machine minders
• Technical
• Electronics foremen
• Shift leaders
• Interested technicians
5. Scope Of Application
• MAN Cromoman Press
• MAN Uniset Press with some limitations
• MAN Geoman 3/8 press
• Offset presses in general when covering the
more general theory behind it
6. Main Symptoms & Causes (general)
• Main principles
• Check hardware before software as in most cases its either a handling
error or something hardware related
• Hardware
• Work from easy to difficult tasks in terms of needed time
• Before swapping hardware with new one from store, try cross-
swapping amongst similar units to see if it is the part by establishing if
the error location changes with the part swap too.
• Software
• Perform seemingly obvious tasks first in order to check and evaluate
• On specific tasks, strictly stick to SOP’s where applicable
• Before intervening directly, try restarting relevant sub-systems instead.
7. Main Symptoms & Causes (1)
Visual Symptom Possible Cause Remedy
One colour register being out at
random and at random amounts
•Loose encoder
•Dying encoder
•Impression on/off compensation
moving slowly
•Tightening encoder, recalibrate
•Exchange encoder, recalibrate
•Look for air leaks in tower, follow
proximity signals indicating
impression on/off
One colour register out always at
constant amount
•Drive not recalibrated after
changing motor
•Mechanical work carried out on
couple that shifted mechanical
zero
•Calibrate drive and check zero point
•Remove the shift of mechanical zero
and re-calibrate
All colours slightly out except black
up to ±2mm
•Forgot to press saving with last
job
•Pull register in and remember to save
next time
One bridge colour register out
(UNISET, CROMOMAN)
•Loose encoder
•Dying encoder
•Tightening encoder, recalibrate
•Exchange encoder, recalibrate
Colour register seemingly
overshooting while adjusting
•Impression compensation still
active while adjusting colour
register
•Wait until impression compensation
has finished
8. Main Symptoms & Causes (2)
Visual Symptom Possible Cause Remedy
Colour register not reacting while
adjusting
•Foil keyboard stuck
•Communication between
keyboard and X-Box lost
•Value not coming through to
drives via machine PLC
•Replace stuck keyboard
•Reboot X-Box
•Investigate and reset corresponding
unit controller
•Unload & reload production
Colour register out on multiple
pages for one colour by exactly one
page
•On double round machines
(UNISET, GEOMAN) high-low plate
positioning layout wrong
•Verify correct layout
•Reload the plates in the right
positions
Colour register not adjustable 100% •Plates produced on different
image stetters
•Plates bent on different benders
•Ensure re-made plates come from
the same image setter
•Ensure a complete plate set gets
bent by the same bender.
Cut –off register out on start-up by
quite an amount on one web
•During web-up the paper was
taken to the wrong roller level
•Webs are turned where they
shouldn’t
•Correct web-lead
•Correct web-turning option in turner
bar levels
Cut-off register out on all webs by a
small amount
•Folder diameter bias wrongly
adjusted according to product
(book) thickness
•Correct folder bias Ø
9. Main Symptoms & Causes (3)
Visual Symptom Possible Cause Remedy
Cut-off register seemingly
“swimming” during production,
accompanied by a higher rate of
web breaks than usual
•Bad speed signal quality in the
central encoder unit (CEU)
•Check signals at corresponding PUC2
card in folder unit
•Check signal quality of encoder
emulation, if necessary, swap unit
Cut-off register out on all webs with
different, but constant amount per
web
•Wrong assignment of web
numbers from production
definition to drive system
•Check for correct web numbers in
drive system (BAUDIS)
•Unload & reload production
Cut-off register seemingly not
reacting upon setting from console
•Foil keyboard stuck
•Communication between
keyboard and X-Box lost
•Value not coming through to
drives via machine PC
•Replace stuck keyboard
•Reboot X-Box
•Investigate and reset corresponding
unit controller
•Unload & reload production
Cut-off register reacting on wrong
web while adjusting
•Wrong assignment of web
numbers from production
definition to drive system
•Check for correct web numbers in
drive system (BAUDIS)
•Unload & reload production
10. • Start the tool from the link provided
• Connect and select the tower in question
• The values in the boxes of the same colour should be
app. the same and ideally converge towards zero.
• All plate cylinder circle fillings should be green,
indicating the drive has finished moving the
requested offset
• Follow the judgement hints on the tool
Register Monitoring Tool
11. Register Monitoring Tool (Values)
• The sched. column contains the values as sent from the
machine control system in degree the drive has to move
• The column actual contains the values as performed by
the drive already in degree and during movement will
differ from scheduled.
• The column console contains the values as displayed at
the press operating console, thus can be used to verify
that they correspond with the actual values.
• In general, the difference in the console column
between two neighbouring cylinders of the same color
should always be the same and for a Geoman 3/8
machine range in the vicinity of 48.16mm. Other
machines might differ, but the principle is the same.
• The biggest offset is between the yellow and blue colour bridge
• The cylinders are slightly tilted to one another to control paper contact slung and to prevent
wrappers in the event of web breaks
• The tilt is 15 degrees which in turn results in an offset between front and back cylinder of
48.16mm in theory.
• The black bridge keeps that at best, while blue is the farthest out.
12. Register Monitoring Tool
(interpretation & evaluation example)
• The biggest offset is between the yellow and blue colour
bridge
• The cylinders are slightly tilted to one another to control
paper contact slung and to prevent wrappers in the event of
web breaks
• The tilt is 15 degrees which in turn results in an offset
between front and back cylinder of 48.16mm in theory.
• The black bridge keeps that at best, while blue is the
farthest out.
• Point 1 and point 4 direct us to couple N°1 being the cause
• If the machine minders run a good product with these
settings, there might be a mechanical problem.
• First, check the calibration value as laid out in the SOP for
calibrating a drive. If found to be out, calibrate.
• Ensure that a same aged pairing of blankets runs on front
and back cylinder of blue, correct if necessary.
• Was there a recent mechanical maintenance carried out on
that couple ?
• Has there been a wrap by any chance recently ?
1
2
13. Register Monitoring Tool
(theory behind evaluation and display)
• A = difference between front/back cylinder offset
• B = difference between colour cylinders of the red/blue
and yellow/black pairs
• C = difference between colour cylinders of the
red/yellow pairs
• D = difference between colour cylinders of the red/black
and blue/yellow pairs
• All values each of A,B,C & D should be the same,
assuming tower is mechanically symmetric between top
and bottom print H
• By comparing first all A – values and establish the colour
bridge where A differs the most from 48.1 and then
looking from left to right and comparing each of the
other letters which one shows the most difference will
point eventually to the cylinder where the problem lies.
• The method above is good for finding colour registration
value and/or mechanical problems quickly.
• To find out if there is a value incorrectly sent from
Pecom, keep value settings that work on a tower as a
reference template.
14. Types Of Register Value Sets
• Calibration
• Taken into account when starting the machine and synchronizing all
cylinders to the virtual line shaft, not controlable
• Colour Register
• Used to control bridge, circumferencial, front/back & colour pair
(between printing H’es) registers
• Cut Off Register
• Used to align the individual webs to one another towards the folders
cut-off position
• Impression ON/Off Compensation
• Taking place every time the impression on/off command is given, not
controlable
15. Types Of Register Value Sets
• Four separately administrated angle sets are
used to control different technological
functionalities.
• They are all added together, but can have a
negative sign and therefore can result in less
then all symbols together as illustrated in the
graphic.
• Cut off and colour set are used during the run of the machine and actively
controlled by means of an HMI from the press consoles.
• The calibration and impression set are used based on configuration and
are automatically taken care of.
16. Calibration (zero point values)
A reference point for calibration is the touching
point of the two blanket channels. This is
done by locking the cylinder with a steel
bar inserted into a reference bore in the
side wall of the machine body
The calibration run starts from that position
and stores the measured difference
between encoder zero point and machine
zero point for further usage.
The determined value does not get stored in
the encoder, but in the software of the
drive system, swapping motors/encoders
requires recalibration.
To minimize damage caused by wrappers
arising from web breaks during run, the
front/back page cylinders are slightly tilted
to one another which will be taken care of
too by calibrating the drive.
17. Colour Register (circumference register)
• Used to control the colour registration :
1. For front and back page (A)
2. Between the bridges (B)
3. Between the printing H’es (C)
• Works different, depending on the type of
drive technology used
• 1 motor per printing H (as shown in figure),
the offsets A and B are done mechanically
• 2 motors per printing H (as shown in
figure), the A is done mechanically.
• 4 motors per printing H (as shown in
figure), A, B & C are done electronically
• If done electronically, the values are sent
as data on request (asynchronous), so
there is a chance that the requested values
do not reach the drive, bridge or H in
question.
• The value per drive always consists A, B & C together as applicable (H1, H2 or H4 technology)
and will be individual for each drive motor.
18. Cut Off Register (heads)
The cut off register is the fractional remainder of one section length after subtracting whole sections lengths
from the distance between tower output (A) and kite roller entrance (B) for each tower/web.
This ensures that all the webs are aligned on top of each other regarding page layout and always cut at the
same position.
19. Impression On/Off
Compensation
• Applicable only to electronic line shaft
machines with H4 technology (1 dedicated
drive per cylinder that is)
• The movement of the cylinders during
impression on/off causes an offset of
position in relation to the web and needs
compensation.
• The compensation angle is applied either
negative or positive, depending on the
movement direction
• The compensation is done either using
quick mode (the machine plc triggers that),
or normal mode (difference between plate
cylinder and blanket cylinder encoder gets
measured online)
• The latter mode moves much slower and can result in the visual symptom of the colour register
being seemingly out while compensation has not finished yet. Main causes for that are leaking
air pipes, mechanical stiffness of the moving plate or problems regarding the end position
proximities, resulting in slow movement of blanket cylinders past the granted timeout for the
quick mode.
20. Parameters - Drive Angle Sets
Angle Set Scheduled Rel. Scheduled Abs. Actual Abs.
Ref. /Synch. 818 823 848
Positioning 819 824 849
Colour Register 820 825 850
Cut-Off Register 821 826 851
Impression On/Off
Compensation
822 827 852
• The numbers in the table above represent parameter numbers that can be
read out in the drive aggregate window to perform certain checks.
• Sets 5 is only used on drive systems with H1 technology (one motor per
blanket cylinder)
• Set 2 is a client request feature, but not in use on every machine type. It can
be used to make the cylinder stop automatically at a plate gap position while
loading plates.
21. BAUDIS Aggregate Window (set 1)
• Angle set 1 is used for
internal synchroni-
sation and refer-
rencing purposes
• 848 contains the
actual angle that had
to be applied during
the last start-up to
make this drive
synchronous to the
virtual line shaft
• 823 is given by the
system itself during
sync./reference run
with every startup.
22. BAUDIS Aggregate Window (set 3)
• Angle set 3 is used
for adjusting the
colour register
• 850 contains the
actual angle that was
applied during the
adjustment from the
operating console .
• 825 is given by the
operating console
and received as data
on request via fibre
optics from the
machine plc.
23. BAUDIS Aggregate Window (set 4)
• Angle set 4 is used
for adjusting the cut-
off register
• 851 contains the
actual angle that was
applied during the
adjustment from the
operating console .
• 826 is given by the
operating console
and received as
synchronous data via
fibre optics from the
the corresponding
SDC/MDS controller
for the appropriate
web.
24. BAUDIS Aggregate Window (set 5)
• Angle set 5 is used for
compensating the
impression on/off
movement, thus
allowing immediate
good production upon
paper contact.
• 852 contains the actual
angle that was applied
during the adjustment
triggered by the
impression on/off
proximities and the
machine plc .
• 827 is given internally
as calculated by the
compensation module.
