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The new 3697 high-performance gathering machine from Muller Martini.

The new 3697 gathering machine (GM), for perfect binding lines in the high-performance range, is based on an ingenious idea and produces great results:

• The lowest signature of the residual stack is peeled off parallel to the spine – the way the peel is removed from a fruit.
• During the peeling procedure, the signature is bent, greatly increasing its stability
• Then, for gentle product transport, the signature is completely wrapped in an air cushion built up from the air table and the sword
• Finally, the signature is removed from the hopper in a longitudinal direction

New dimensions
“A gathering machine should have as few signature transfer positions as possible. In our 3697 GM the suction rail follows the signature reducing the risk of machine downtime and, consequently, improving productivity. It opens up new dimensions in shift performance for products manufactured with offset printing and rotogravure presses”, affirms Stefan Zurcher, Head of Marketing at Muller Martini Bookbinding Systems in Felben (Switzerland).

Concave raceway
Besides the peeling principle, in a longitudinal direction, Muller Martini’s second, patented innovation is the concave raceway, used worldwide for the first time in a gathering machine. The signatures are picked-up from the finger of the transport chain at the transport table and supplied to the concave raceway. The raceway bends the signatures slightly, giving them a stable shape for reliable transport. This allows even oblong sizes and single signatures to be processed with an above-average output.

Stable signature transport in concave raceway

Minimal start-up time
Speaking of performance: The 3697 GM in modular design (one element consists of a base-unit with three separate feeders) achieves maximum speed in minimum start-up time,

• because all feeders are equipped with separate drives allowing automated and quick size adjustment to the finger chain (fine tuning can be performed during running production)
• because the innovative signature separation reduces hopper settings to a minimum
• because channel height adjustment is motor-driven and the required raceway clearance calculated out of product data and set automatically through the total length of the GM (fine tunings can be performed during running production, even at maximum speeds of 18,000 cycles/h)
• because each standard feeder is equipped with a transport table, which perfectly aligns the signatures to the finger, ensuring maximum production reliability.

Easy and quick changeover
Increased stability of the signatures bent during separation and the stable transport process through the concave raceway channel is one of two reasons why the new 3697 GM achieves the best net output in the high-performance class of perfect binding. The other reason is that, with the possibility of fine tuning during running production, the high degree of motorization allows extremely short changeover times.

An additional market innovation is the way feeders can be changed: they can be changed in no timeusing a small cart and without the support of a crane.

1. With the 3697 gathering machine’s innovative signature separation system, as the signature is peeled off the stack it is bent to give it greater stability.

2. To ensure delivery without damage, the signature is completely enveloped in a cushion of air, created by the air blast table and sword.

3. Finally, the signature is fed out of the hopper lengthwise with maximum reliability and stability.

Standard feeder even for fold-out signatures
Standard feeders, which can be automatically loaded with stream feeders, are impressive with their universal use options and assurance of high flexibility. At the same time, they process a wide range of printed and fold-out signatures avoiding the use of special feeders for the finishing of fold-out signatures.

The sample gluer allows the addition of a wide range of inserts of different sizes such as CDs, DVDs, stitched-in inserts and product samples on a large area of the base signature.

CASAC and Asir
CASAC, the contact-free, signature thickness measurement device, used for the first time in a Muller Martini system, prevents markings and continuously detects reference values during running production. This feature ensures that missing or double sections can be reliably recognized even in cases of temperature changes or paper alterations. Asir 3, the optical scanning system, recognizes wrong signatures in the image recognition and barcode mode.

The central commander control system, with its clear and self-explanatory display (an additional extraordinary feature of the new 3697 GM), controls all assemblies located in front of the perfect binder:

Quality controls, stream feeders, gathering machine, divert gate and transfer elements of the perfect binding system. Running production can quickly be examined and optimized with the integrated feeder statistics.

In addition, the machine operator is automatically supported by the electronic user’s manual. HMI panels are used for direct operation at the feeder as in the perfect binder.