Cutting to the point with Protek Unico TT

Something interesting occurred at Sign and Digital UK this year, but I only really realised it afterwards. Just a couple of years ago you would only see printer manufacturer after manufacturer displaying every shape, size, and type of printer using every variation of ink you can imagine. This year, though, for the first time, finishing kit was in greater evidence.

Traditionally, sign-makers needed a CNC router with a certain level of power to repeatedly handle a range of resistant materials with ease, so durability was the key. Digital printers, however, would always go for a digital cutter from the likes of Zund or Kongsberg—both of which have a long-standing reputation for manufacturing highly accurate cutting systems aimed generally at the printer market. These machines tend to have greater accuracy and additional tooling for creasing and folding, all based around tangential knife systems.

Blurred lines

As the years have gone on, and the lines have blurred between sign-making and printing, companies have increasingly taken what were once distinctly separate businesses and housed all the capabilities needed to address them under one roof.

The need for kit that can handle a multitude of tasks effortlessly with perhaps fewer trained operators has also increased. The likes of Zund and Kongsberg have always offered additional router heads and dedicated router manufacturers have experimented with knife units and camera systems. Both approaches, to-date, have been something of a compromise.

Print finishing and routing demand different abilities to carry out their allotted tasks. Whether it is waste extraction on a router, which is absolutely essential, or high speed accuracy for knife work, they both have complex but differing requirements for effective results.


There are plenty of options around in the CNC router market at the moment; like most technology the entry point has come down in price as technology has improved, but it is worth taking the time to really understand what you want from it and what volume of work it will need to do.

Get this bit wrong and whilst you may have got yourself a budget system you will also have landed yourself with the problem of paying someone else to do work you thought you were bringing in house, get it right though and you have one of the most productive systems money can buy.


So, you know you need a router perhaps, you are thinking of direct-to-board printing too, so a really good finishing system will complete the production cycle. One system that is relatively new to the UK market is the Unico TT from Protek, which is distributed in the UK by Complete CNC Solutions. It might be new to us here in the UK, but this Italian company has been in existence since 1996 and has a stable of milling and routing machines available in a range of sizes to suit the most demanding engineering applications known.



Of particular interest to sign and digital print manufacturers is the Unico TT; it is billed as a multifunction digital cutter but it also has on-board a 3.6kW spindle. These, and its other talents, make it a digital cutter capable of outperforming many dedicated routers. This versatile system is also available in a variety of sizes and configurations.


Protek seems to have really come up with the ultimate workhorse here. Standard items on board are a six bay auto tool changing unit, knife bays, and a Visiotek cut-to-print camera. To comply with current health and safety requirements, it also comes with a guarding and scanner system, which creates dedicated exclusion zones to help to protect the operator and workforce.

Solving problems

Anyone who has ever had use of a CNC router system will know one problem area when routing can be material thickness. The Unico TT has a flatness probe, which consistently monitors the material ensuring that the depth of cut is consistent even if the material is not.

Particular attention has been paid to the table, which can cause problems, so the Unico has a precision-machined phenolic surface, adding to the accuracy of depth of cut. Combine this with the integrated vacuum hold down and switchable zones, and even the most difficult of substrates will be machined accurately.

It is hard not to see just how well engineered the Unico TT is. Add to this the fact that the company is experienced in providing equipment capable of milling to the finest tolerances needed by some very high tech industries, and its pedigree really shows.

So, the Unico TT is both a digital cutter and a router capable of serious production. It is also worth noting that the class of output produced is above and beyond that yielded by many other systems.

A suitably tooled and equipped Unico TT is also capable of producing output that is ready to use, rather than ready to finish. Cut acrylic that comes off the bed looks as though it has been hand buffed or polished. At the show, it was questioned as to whether it was the product of a laser cutter.

This quality is a reflection of engineering standards and of the degree of control exerted over the machine by its drive system. It is all massively over-engineered using big helical rack and pinion driven by high-end electronics.

The system is really clean to operate too. The extraction system does a great job, even when the router is powering through thick materials. Vacuum hold down hangs on to small parts without any fuss too.

It is hard to draw a ready comparison with any other system when you have an eye on the Unico TT. You really have to compare it with two systems. Make that comparison and it is clear that, on the one hand, you have a highly productive print-finishing digital cutter, and on the other, a router that really is capable of outperforming many dedicated systems.
 
It looks as though Complete CNC Solutions has a great system in the Unico TT. It challenges conventions and at the moment is defining a class of its own. If the success at Sign and Digital UK is any indication, it is going to be extremely popular with signs and graphics producers.


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