Barnsley based, print finishing machine manufacturer Rollem and their sister company TopDeck Print recently welcomed the Master and Mistress Cutler James and Jo Tear to visit both manufacturing facilities.
Rollem Group, the UK-based finishing equipment manufacturer for the playing card industry, is focusing on investment and recruitment for its new print division Top Deck as business booms.
Rollem have joined other companies with the National 3D Printing Society’s initiative to supply N3DPS Face Shields to the NHS.
Rollem have transformed an empty office space into a “clean room” and invested in two more 3D printers to double capacity and so far, have produced 433 face shields that will be used nationally, with around 150 being used in the Sheffield City Region.
Stuart Murphy, Managing Director said “We have complete face shields in stock for any NHS or social care workers that need them, we have also made 100 buttons for a team in Derbyshire making scrubs for the NHS. We are pleased to be able to contribute in some way to supporting the NHS and social care workers during the coronavirus pandemic.”
They are producing 40-50 a day to contribute to the scheme for the foreseeable to supply the NHS. They have dedicated all 4 printers to this project and bulk bought filament all at their own cost to contribute to the NHS. There is a justgiving page if anyone wishes to contribute to keep this going and get a consistent supply to the NHS and get every worker in the frontline the PPE they urgently need. https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/N3DPS
Here is how you can help. Your donation will purchase resources needed to 3D print frames and make visors to produce face shields as well as other PPE.
To make each complete shield and deliver it safely to the front-line, costs £1.50. To protect 10 staff, it will cost £15.00. How many staff can you protect? We are grateful for any donation you make every penny helps.
There is huge demand for these face shields and with the pandemic expanding, there is an urgent need for more.
Why help us? We are volunteers from all walks of life, who have united to help resolve the shortage of PPE in this crisis. N3DPS is a non-profit social enterprise that has diverted its focus to do specifically this task. We have an NHS accepted design and a safe pathway to deliver these face shields from printer to the front line.
To find out more or join the cause, please go to our website https://national3dprintingsociety.co.uk
An N3DPS Protective Face Shield is made with two parts: A screen and a 3D printed mount. Screens can be made from clear PVC binder covers with a 4-hole 0punch, using an A4 ISO-888-hole configuration. Mounts can be printed in less than 1 hour and can be stacked to produce multiple mounts from a single print.
The shields have more depth when worn, allowing room for larger facial features, masks and large glasses. There is no need for fibre elastic to secure it, making it easier to sanitise and less wasteful. In the rare case of needing more grip, an elastic band can be used at the back.
N3DPS Protective Face Shields are NHS accepted and we are working on getting the design CE approved. All N3DPS Protective Face Shields will be sanitised and assembled by our partners before reaching those on the frontline.
Following the recent announcement to postpone drupa 2020, we will have some machines which have “unexpectedly” become available for sale.
Normally, as a specialist machine builder, at Rollem we design and build our systems to order, however we were already committed to building the following systems purely for demonstration at the show:
System A
1 x Rollem SlipStream card cutting machine – for producing collated decks of gaming, trading or playing cards from printed sheets.
1 x Rollem AutoPunch – to punch complete decks of cards to provide casino quality finish with square or round corners.
System B
1 x Rollem 2-direction flexible finishing line, suitable for accurately and efficiently cutting printed sheets into almost any size of product from business cards to flyers or photographs
1 x Rollem Collator – to arrange, collect and stack decks of cards for onward processing eg punching, wrapping, banding etc
System C
1 x Rollem Champion – for semi-slitting, creasing, perforating, slitting and/or trimming of printed sheets up to A2 size.
We will be happy to take enquiries about these machines, either separately or as complete systems, which will be available with a short lead time, and of course, at an attractive discount to the normal price.
There is still time for us to make changes to specifications and flexibility, so we can hopefully meet any specific configurations.
If any of the above may be of interest to you, please contact Stewart Dyer with your requirements, and we will try to match these.
Stewart Dyer – European Sales Manager
We are focusing on one new feature of our new integrated card finishing machine the SlipStream III in the build up to drupa 2021 in April 2021, where you will be able to see this new gaming card finishing system running on our stand (Hall 6, Stand C61).
The SlipStream III gives you the facility to be able to cut, collate, punch and wrap playing cards, gaming cards or business cards in one pass, so increasing your productivity whilst producing an accurate finished product.
This month’s new feature – SlipStream III Collator
As most card producers can testify, one of the significant challenges they face, is to find a reliable and efficient method of turning streams of individual playing cards into a sorted deck of cards arranged in the correct order.
This is further complicated by the modern trend towards a wider range of card pack sizes, for more and more diverse applications, with decks of up to 100 cards becoming commonplace.
The SlipStream integrated card collation module is the proven and reliable solution to that problem. The cut cards are delivered from the cutting units to the collator infeed, in virtually continuous streams, at a rate of up to 2,000 cards per minute.
In the first of a series of steps unique to Rollem’s playing card system, in the collation cartridge these streams are then turned into sub-decks, each sub-deck consisting of a row of cards. These sub-decks are then collected, in sequence, in the Pack Separation Unit, or PSU, which is where the next amazing transformation takes place.
Using the proprietary software, the PSU can be programmed to collate multiple sub-decks into a single deck. Each completed deck can therefore consist of as many, or as few, sub-decks as are required.
With this feature, a deck can consist of multiple sheets, or conversely, one sheet could produce multiple decks.
Complete decks are delivered from the PSU ready for the next process in the in-line system, the Rollem AutoPunch.
To discuss please contact Stewart Dyer on +44 1226 745476 or click here to email
Next month’s new feature will be the Updated Control Systems
We are focusing on one new feature of our new SlipStream III card finishing machine per month, in the build up to drupa 2020 in June, where you will be able to see this new gaming card finishing machine running on our stand (Hall 6, Stand C61).
The SlipStream III gives you the facility to cut, collate, punch and wrap your playing cards, gaming cards or business cards in one pass, so increasing your productivity whilst producing an accurate finished product.
The heart of the SlipStream III playing card finishing system is the cutting module, which combines the two slitting heads with the intermediate registration device, in a single unit. This is the part of the system that converts the complete sheets into individual cards, in two integrated operations, encompassing unique Rollem slitting technology.
The Rollem SlipStream III print finishing system automatically processes full sheets, trimming and slitting them in two directions, providing a cutting accuracy that is consistent and repeatable, with variations of less than 0.05mm achievable. The printed sheets of cards are slit in the first direction, with or without bleed, and fed at right angles into the second direction cutting unit, and the resulting cards are delivered to the collator.
The customised Rollem slitting technique is able to hold the sheet in tight control throughout the entire cutting sequence. This unique capability ensures the SlipStream III delivers maximum productivity, minimum waste and optimum quality of game cards. The system is designed to accommodate a wide range of sheet sizes up to the popular B1 (1000mm x 707mm), which allows for 2 full decks of playing cards, even including the Jokers, on one sheet!
To discuss please contact Stewart Dyer on +44 1226 745476 or click here to contact us
We will be highlighting a new feature each month in the build up to drupa 2020 in June where we will be demonstrating the new SlipStream III. For more on our drupa presence please click here.
The hand-feed table, or early automatic feeder, will be replaced with an up-to-date, high capacity, Rollem Deep Pile Feeder, and highly accurate register table, integrated with the rest of the machine, to provide unprecedented periods of continuous running.
The new Rollem High Capacity Deep Pile Feeder is a suction feeder that will be electronically controlled with the rest of the system.
To discuss please contact Stewart Dyer on +44 1226 745476 or click here to contact us
Rollem and Rollem International will be exhibiting at drupa 2021 at Messe Dusseldorf in Germany from Tuesday 20th to Friday 30th April 2021 in Hall 6, Stand C61.
Rollem will be demonstrating their New SlipStream III system with the Rollem Auto Punch running Playing and Gaming cards. Along with a Business Card System with a feeder, 2 direction cutting and autocollator.
Rollem International will be demonstrating their Insignia die cutting systems which will be producing packaging cartons.
Come along to the stand and see the demostrations and meet our sales teams to discuss your print finishing requirements.
To find out more about the exhibition please visit the drupa website here.
The drupa trade fair scheduled for 16-26 June 2020 will be postponed to 20-30 April 2021. In doing so, Messe Düsseldorf is following the recommendation of the crisis management team of the German Federal Government to take into account the principles of the Robert Koch Institute when assessing the risk of major events. Based on this recommendation and the recent significant increase in the number of people infected with the new corona virus (SARS-CoV-2), including in Europe, Messe Düsseldorf has reassessed the situation. In addition, there is the general ruling issued by the city of Düsseldorf on 11 March 2020, in which major events with more than 1,000 participants present at the same time are generally prohibited.
For the full press release from drupa click here
Details updated 17th March 2020
Rollem Electrical Engineer, Adam Huckle, has gained first class honours in his BEng (Honours) Electrical and Electronic Engineering degree from Sheffield Hallam University. The course took four years of part-time study alongside full-time employment.
Adam joined Rollem in 2014 and has become a key member of the team. Stuart Murphy, Managing Director said “We are delighted and proud of Adam on his achievement. It is well deserved for the hard work he has put in.”
The course included modules on analogue and digital, embedded networks, communication protocols, maths, control systems and digital signal processing.
Adam’s final year dissertation project was based around sensors reading temperature and water levels and displaying them back to a user interface using wireless Bluetooth communication. Adam designed, manufactured and tested the product and received 2 offers to take the product into production.
Adam said “As if working full-time and studying for a degree wasn’t hard enough, I’ve also travelled internationally for weeks at a time as part of my job during this time. Two years into the degree my partner Stacey was due to give birth to our son, Logan, on the day of one of my exams but fortunately he was late!”
Print finishing systems manufacturer, Rollem, have been awarded the internationally recognised quality standard, ISO9001:2015.
The ISO9001 standards have helped Rollem continue to improve their process and streamline operations to maintain a high quality of products and service throughout the company.
Stewart Dyer, European Sales Manager, said “As we are increasingly working closely with major OEM’s in the print industry it is becoming a requirement for us to hold the ISO9001 standard.”
Rollem, who are now in their 90th year in business, supply print finishing systems across the world, with 80% of business being export.
Rachel Murphy, Business Support Manager, Rollem said: “Having worked with our ISO consultants, Darren Forder at Clear Quality over the past 2 years, this accreditation process has helped improve the efficiency of our day to day operations. The process hasn’t slowed or stopped operations as we worked through it and it has streamlined some areas making them easier for us than ever before.”
Darren Forder, ISO Consultant, Clear Quality said, “Working with Rollem has been great, we had such a methodical approach that each section of the business really understood and took the quality management system on board to improve some business processes.”
