Breaking the boundaries of electronics production using Autotex S

Ian Board, Company Director at Bex Design Services, and Richard Costar, International Sales Executive at MacDermid Autotype Ltd, look at how the innovative use of screen, digital, film and ink technologies are creating a unique production process for manufacturing high value components.

In today’s challenging economic climate businesses are working increasingly hard to develop new technologies and production methods in order to distinguish themselves from the competition and meet ever complex consumer demands. This is especially true of the design and manufacture of high quality electronics, such as membrane switches and keyboards and fascia panels. These applications now offer as standard a wide range of sophisticated functions, with multiple circuit layers, tactile keys and integrated displays.

In particular, increasing focus has been placed on the aesthetic qualities of these electronic components as the demand for highly stylised parts continues to grow. In order to meet these requirements two leading suppliers have been working in partnership to develop a unique range of specialised metallic style designs for the production of high value membrane keyboard overlays, fascia panels and industrial or display graphics.

Bex Design Services and MacDermid Autotype are pioneering the use of a combination of screen and digital print processes, with the use of flexible mirror inks and a unique high performance hardcoated film that has a stainless steel grained surface texture, Autotex Steel, for producing stainless steel style finishes. In doing so, the two companies have discovered an extremely cost effective method of producing high definition images with metallised finishes on flexible film substrates. It is believed that this is the first time anybody in the UK and possibly beyond has combined these four technologies – screen, digital, ink and film – in this way.

Bex can achieve small and larger volume runs of components, produced at far lower costs than traditional metal overlays. Perhaps more importantly, using Autotex Steel enables Bex to create a low gloss, stainless steel grain textured surface that is impact resistant, will not mark or show fingerprints and that can be reverse printed to protect text and graphics from wear.

This revolutionary method of production capitalises on the high definition capabilities of digital print, to produce multi-coloured fine line text and graphics that are reverse printed onto MacDermid Autotype’s Autotex Steel film. The digital print is then overprinted using conventional screen techniques with the latest flexible mirror inks to complete the stainless steel effect; a final black print is then added to give additional depth to the colour and enhance the overall effect. The films can then be embossed, cut and finished depending on the needs of each application.

Critical to the success of this production technique is the use of Autotex Steel, a polyester based film substrate that offers a remarkable combination of mechanical, chemical and optical properties. The use of this film allowed the two companies to achieve a product that delivers real benefits, both technically and commercially, creating an innovative high quality solution, with excellent definition and colour rendition, which can be produced easily and at an extremely competitive cost.

Indeed, the unique characteristics of the Autotex Steel film make the overall production process quick and simple. For example, the new film is easy to handle and print, combining high levels of colour reproduction and definition with a tough outer surface that offers excellent resistant to abrasions and wide range of chemicals and solvents.

The innovative film is manufactured using a conventional flexible polyester substrate. This is coated with an ink adhesion layer on the second surface and a specially developed hardcoat outer layer, which is chemically bonded and UV cured. The hardcoat layer has a stainless steel grain effect finish which, when the film is printed on the reverse with standard metallic or silver inks, creates the appearance of a brushed stainless steel panel.

Furthermore, the film is easy to reverse print and, unlike competing materials, does not have an inherent colour cast, so printed colours are easy to match. Additionally, the Autotex film will not bow or buckle during UV ink curing and can easily be embossed for use with domed tactile membrane switches or in applications where keys or panel areas need to have raised edges. Embossed areas have an excellent flex modulus, with a typical flex life for domed keys being in excess of five million actuations.

Bex and MacDermid discovered that by using this film based solution represented a number of advantages over conventional stainless steel materials. Unlike stainless steel, Autotex Steel does not show fingerprints, and can easily be printed with clear display windows or contain secret-until-lit graphics, with the film offering excellent colour rendition and light transmission in clear areas. Graphics are reverse printed, so are protected from wear and abrasion by the body of the film substrate and the brushed stainless steel style textured hardcoat layer. This layer has also been formulated to resist a wide variety of common industrial solvents and cleaning fluids, including alcohols, ketones, weak acids and hydrocarbons.

This latest film technology offers product designers and screen printers an efficient and versatile method of developing striking and high quality graphics products with the appearance of stainless steel. Without this film technology it would have been impossible to develop such an effective solution, as the film is particularly easy to handle and process. Just as importantly, it helps control panels provide a long and trouble-free operating life in even the most challenging applications.

As businesses explore ever innovative ways with print, films and inks they are opening up a world of opportunities for the production of high value keyboard, fascia and panel components, which are ideal for instrumentation, industrial equipment and even consumer white goods.

http://www.macdermidautotype.com/

Bex Design – Metallic Solutions
using Autotex S

Greater productivity and print quality for Bex Design Services with screen and digital films from MacDermid Autotype

The latest range of hardcoated screen and digital film materials,developed and manufactured by MacDermid

Autotype, are helping Bex Design Services improve still further the productivity of its print operation, while delivering enhanced product quality, consistency and reliability. In addition, the latest films are enabling Bex Design Services to explore new and innovative methods of production, especially for high value membrane and fascia components, helping the company add even greater value to the services it offers its customers.

Bex Design Services was established in 1998 and has rapidly grown to become one of the leading specialist designers and producers of high quality screen and digitally printed electronics, fascia, nameplate, point of sale and display graphics products and components. Based in a purpose built factory in Calne, Wiltshire, the company produces parts for many leading brands in the fields of telecommunications, white goods, instrumentation and industrial products, with a major proportion of its business now being exported to other countries in Europe, plus Asia and North America.

Company Director, Ian Board, explains that, “Our success is based on a number of factors. These include an ongoing commitment to ISO standards, a determination to minimise the impact our operations have on the environment, continuous staff training and development, plus constant innovation, with the goal of always improving the quality, performance and value of the products that we produce. In turn, this depends on the relationship that we have with our suppliers, especially machinery, inks and films.

”Bex Design Services now sources all its screen and many of its digital films exclusively from MacDermid Autotype. This is especially important for high value products, such as membrane keyboards and fascia panels, as the company’s customers expect the highest quality with, for example, exceptional mechanical, optical and chemical resistance properties.

In the past, Bex Design Services has trialled materials from other suppliers. “However, we have always found these to be inferior to those produced by MacDermid Autotype”, explains Ian Board. “For example, competing materials can be difficult to handle, can mark or scratch easily in production and do not offer the same combination of hard surface finish and chemical resistance, so we end up having a significant proportion of reworked or rejected parts. Even something as simple as interleaving the films with protective sheets, which is standard with MacDermid Autotype materials, but not generally done by other suppliers, can make a huge difference in production, as it ensures that every box of film is in perfect condition when it arrives at our factory”.

Perhaps as importantly, by working closely with key suppliers such as MacDermid Autotype, Bex Design Services is able to pioneer new and often innovative techniques that add additional value to the services provided to customers. These have included the ability to produce large area, high definition glass panels for vending machines, investment in LED, cold cure, UV print systems that reduce production stages and, most recently, the use of MacDermid Autotype’s Autotex Steel film materials.

“Combining screen, digital and flexible inks with Autotex Steel is allowing us to create flexible membrane and graphics overlays that look like they have been manufactured from stainless steel. In addition, we’re able to carry out all the normal production techniques, including embossing for tactile keys, while still retaining the traditional combination of hardcoat mechanical and chemical properties, with a typical flex life of over 5 million actuations”.

Ian Board concludes, “We’ve now worked with MacDermid Autotype for many years. Their film materials have always performed exactly to specification, indeed, we’ve never had cause to return a batch, while their technical and customer support has consistently been second to none. All in all, when it comes to advanced, high quality films for screen and digital print we will choose MacDermid Autotype every time”.

http://www.macdermidautotype.com/autotype.nsf/pages/home

Bex Design takes the heat out of production with the latest UV Digital Flatbed Investment

Bex Design are the 1st in the country to get creative with the new UV Digital Mimaki JFX flatbed UV printer

Nestled in the heart of Wiltshire, family owned print company, Bex Design Services Ltd continue to thrive in a tough economic climate through their dual commitment to investment in technology and by delivering a quality product to their expanding customer base.

With a geographically and product diverse customer base, Bex Design employ 32 people and export to the likes of Poland, the USA, France and China - bucking an industry trend of importing through the global appeal of their ISO 9001:2008 quality accreditation.

Their core products lie in the graphical overlay market - the production of the fascia panels that users of electrical products interact with, yet rarely give any thought to their creation. Always a reverse print to a clear substrate, these have to be robust and accurately registered and were traditionally screen printed in limited colours. Now, with their recent investment of a grand format Mimaki JFX-1631 LED UV printer, Bex are able to massively improve the creative content of their work, reduce their lead times and wow their customer base. The investment in the new Mimaki came about after some extensive testing of alternative flatbed units and various tests on different media.
The benefits of LED UV technology
The cold cure technology utilised by the Mimaki JFX enables Bex Design to output to substrates that are heat sensitive, and under traditional UV curing lamps are prone to bowing and buckling - often resulting in head strikes that can be costly in terms of time, materials and potential hardware damage. The other vital facet of the solution is Mimaki's unique flexible inkset. Produced in partnership with 3M, the flexible nature and excellent adhesion of the ink allows Bex to print, cut, hydroform and emboss to create stunning final products with many production stages removed.

Board is also impressed by the quality of the machine. "The print from other UV machines was grainy and with visible banding. Mimaki's flexible ink took us into a whole different ball game."

"If we tried to guillotine foam core boards printed on standard UV cure printers, the ink just fractured. The print on the JFX keys, doesn't mark and guillotines perfectly"

Choosing the Mimaki JFX
"The flexible ink is the holy grail for us," said Board. "It works for almost all our applications, but what surprised me most was the quality of adhesion to other substrates. The variation of media we can print to; foam core trade work, point of sale items that are produced direct to the board; and the adhesion on foam core has been superb. When embossing the graphic overlay panels, it's the only digital ink type that's worked."

Beating the 'two shades of grey' syndrome
Because the standard screen print model costs print jobs on the number of colours used, the norm for graphic overlay panels has been what Board refers to as 'two shades of grey'. With his investment in the Mimaki, he intends to turn that on its head. "It was always about the quality and fine detail.'' remarked Board. "For us, it's bespoke, low volume work where quality is paramount."

Active promotion of how their capabilities have improved is leading Bex's marketing. Gone are the days where unexciting graphics ruled the roost. For the same price, his customers can have highly creative multi colour overlays that incorporate their true logo, a build up of imagery, drop shadows and so on. "It doesn't matter how it's achieved," says Board, "It's the potential for improving their product. The swaying factor in our investment was that I knew I could sell this very quickly."

Getting bigger, not just better
"The Mimaki JFX has added a few strings to our bow," Board continues, "We're really pushing the larger format rigid work. By supplying our existing customers with new products, they can consolidate their supplier base - plus it protects our position too."

Bex were previously constrained by 60" x 40" screen printing in process colours - but now can offer much larger short run work with their JFX. Point of sale onto foam board can then be routed on one of their two machines, and harking back again to the advantages of the cold cure technology employed by the Mimaki, Board laughs; "It's a lovely machine to print the foamboard with, because you're not cooking it!"

"The UV cold cure lets us produce a fine tonal image that won't scuff or mark and is stable under the lamp. Other UV printers we've tried gave us warped ends, with the head often hitting the substrate - we've had none of that with the JFX."

Full service
In spite of their substantial investment in digital, Bex Design still maintain an impressive screen print capability with manual and semi automatic machines producing volume work that still benefits from a screen printed finish. In addition to their printing capabilities, Bex also offer a manufacturing skill too, as Board points out; "We're not just a print house - we try and do as much as we can for the client. "

Keeping a creative edge
Bex Design's new website has examples of their current work, news pages and a blog - all designed to entice new customers into investing in digital print. Board's vision is further expansion; "We've come through a difficult year. Investing in two new machines has given us a head start on our competitors, that was the mindset we had for 2009. Get through it, survive - or even thrive as we have done, then get set for 2010 with a vengeance! My dream is further digital expansion. We've got a creative edge that I want to keep for as long as possible."

Bex Design Services Ltd Exports Hit Record High

Sterling’s slide against the dollar and its continuing weakness against the euro have both contributed to Bex designs highest ever sales export of manufactured goods.

The weakened pound has made British goods cheaper abroad and has helped our core printed products become very attractive for foreign markets across the whole of Europe, Us and Asia.

Exported sales have increased by a third and forward orders confirm this trend will continue for the foreseeable future. Further benefits for our growing foreign client base have been the reduction in our standard manufacturing leadtime, low to mid volume batch sizes and the ability to purchase goods in either us Dollars ($) or in Euro’s (€), for further details please email sales@bexdesign.co.uk

Bex signs for Derry Hill Fc

Hello Ian,

It gives me great satisfaction and pleasure to write to inform you of our delight over the signage you have provided for us at Bowood Sports Ground.

The finished signs exceed our original expectations and so richly compliment our new facility. It was a pleasure to work with you. We found your approach, guidance and expertise invaluable when considering what would look best at Bowood Sports Ground.

We are sure to return to you if we have signage needs in the future.

Keep up the good work.

Regards,
Alan

Chair, Derry Hill United FC www.dhufc.org