With the installation of Linx 8900 and Linx 7900 Spectrum printers, leading specialist cabling manufacturer The Pre-Wired Conduit Company Ltd is ensuring that their product coding meets their high quality standards.
The Linx Continuous Ink Jet (CIJ) printers are coding onto extruded cables and cable cores at The Pre-Wired Conduit Company’s factory in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, UK. A major benefit of the Linx coders is the quality of the codes produced. As The Pre-Wired Conduit Company has invested in a BASEC (British Approvals Service for Cables) ISO 9001:2008 quality accreditation, this is essential to meet BASEC standards, and also to reflect the premium nature of the company’s products which are used in a variety of highend applications and many prestigious building projects High-opacity grey 1311 ink in the Linx 7900 Spectrum provides good contrast on light and dark colours. Coding onto cables takes place after they have been extruded and cooled in a water bath, and both inks provide durable codes, even when printing onto damp surfaces. The touch screen interface of the Linx 8900 makes code set up and changes a quick and simple process, with codes easy for operators to store and retrieve. This is important as the Linx 8900s code onto both finished cables and cable cores, meaning more frequent changeovers are required. Line speeds can vary between products and a shaft encoder linked to the Linx 8900 measures the speed to ensure that the printer always prints at the right rate. In addition, an inter-print delay feature on the Linx 8900 is used to tell the printer to repeat the same message at regular intervals, based on the length of cable that has passed. These intervals are as prescribed by BASEC. Code heights are 2mm for cores and 2.8mm for finished cables. The Linx 8900s are capable of handling the faster line speeds of the cores, coding at up to 200m/min. without compromising code quality.
The Linx coders give us good quality prints
Graham Davies, DirectorThe Pre-Wired Conduit Company
Country UK
Industry Cabling
Product coded Extruded cable / cable cores
Line speed Up to 200m/min
Linx printer Linx 8900 / Linx 7900 Spectrum
Ink used Linx Black mixed-base 3103 / Linx Highopacity grey 1311
Linx 8900
• Flexible coder with 3 line and barcode printing capability
• Large colour touch screen
• Self-service
• Quick-change fluid cartridges
• Real-time output measurement and line stoppage logs.
The coders are operational at a minimum of seven hours aday, five days a week in a single shift. It is vital that linesremain running as much as possible, and the Linx printershave unique features which provide advance warnings whenfluids are low or intervention is needed, helping to supportproduction planning and minimise downtime.The Pre-Wired Conduit Company says the Linx coders offerlower maintenance and service costs than the coders theyhad previously used.The coders are operating reliably in an environment thatcan be dusty and where temperatures can vary. Linx’sindustry-leading sealed printhead is able to function in harshconditions, while its pioneering autoflush system thoroughlycleans the printhead every time the printer is shut down,ensuring a fast and clean start-up.“We manufacture high-quality products and this needs to bereflected in the marketplace, so printing is very importantto us,” says The Pre-Wired Conduit Company’s directorGraham Davies.“The Linx coders give us good quality prints and havethe speed and flexibility to deal with our different codingrequirements.”
The Pre-Wired Conduit Company Ltd
