After a longer preparation and conception phase, the Prefeeder ADVECTOR was launched, combining the required features such as short installation length, lateral infeed and a continuous rubberized chain on the telescopic table in full working width.
Initially, MINDA did not want to launch this product on the whole market but set up the prototype at one customer only. We succeeded with Kunert Wellpappenfabrik in Bad Neustadt. MINDA convinced the group's technical manager of the idea and the concept. It was installed in front of a 3200 inline machine and was a complete success for both sides. A sheet feeder with lateral infeed and an output of up to 20,000 sheets per hour - the ADVECTOR 3200. Only a few points had to be revised, and follow-up orders came.
Nowadays, MINDA covers the entire range. The ADVECTOR is available in working widths of 1,700 - 2,100 - 2,400 - 2,800 - 3,200 and, since 2024, also in 3,600 mm, with a choice of working depths of 1,300 - 1,700 - and 2,200 mm.
The success of the machine can also be read in figures: the hundredth Prefeeder was already produced and installed at a customer. Of course, development went on. We are currently in the 3rd generation of development. This means that we have moved away from individual production. The Prefeeders are now produced in series in a continuous flow production.
A success story: With over 100 installations, the MINDA Prefeeder ADVECTOR has become an all-rounder in front of processing machines.
Milestones - combining flexibility and standard
MINDA sticks to its goal of customer-specific solutions along the way. Regardless of the machine manufacturer, the ADVECTOR now stands in front of a wide range of different processing machines. This valuable experience has resulted in a product with extensive features giving every processing line the best possible performance.
Each ADVECTOR achieves uniqueness by its wide range of configuration options and cost-optimized production. Lateral infeed from the left, from the right or straight ahead. Apart from the infeed direction, the operating side can be selected, too. The customer decides whether the stacks should enter without or with a pallet. The discharge of residual sheets or pallets is possible in different directions. Overall, MINDA achieves a wide range of options and many configuration possibilities for the ADVECTOR. A wide rubberized plastic chain on the telescopic table and the adaptation to highboard lines are only small milestones compared to the ADVECTOR verto and ADVECTOR brevis.
The ADVECTOR verto is supplied with a package turner between the lifting table and the shingling gate. Thus allowing corrugated board sheets to be turned before entering the processing machine. This option is particularly interesting for Top Printer machines and for inside and outside printing with double pass.
The ADVECTOR brevis is specially adapted to the conditions and functions of a flatbed die-cutter. Due to the already limited output of 7,500 sheets / h, here the focus was placed on a very compact design and therefore a very small space requirement. Perfect for any flatbed die-cutter and corresponding machines with the right output. A benefit for the customer: Installation work and transportation to the construction site are reduced to a minimum.
The Prefeeder ADVECTOR achieves outputs of over 20,000 sheets per hour, depending on the sheet types, the incoming stack height, quality and flatness. The peak output can be called up at maximum stack heights and for single flutes. Output values between 20,000 and 25,000 sheets per hour are achieved under optimum conditions.
Optimization of set-up times
Progressive development and market requirements between our customers and their end customers result in ever smaller but recurring batch sizes. Simply optimizing performance to sheets per hour is only a partial solution, as set-up times are becoming a decisive factor with decreasing quantities. By extended interfaces and data exchange with various manufacturers of processing machines, we influence the reduction of set-up times. This optimization can be rounded off by an automatic system for initial filling. Thus, manual feeding of first sheets in the infeed area of the processing machine is a thing of the past.
Advantages of the MINDA ADVECTOR
A flexible material infeed and the option of feeding stacks with or without pallets are advantages that have already been mentioned before. Furthermore, the Prefeeder is explicitly dependent on an electrical and pneumatic power supply. The absence of hydraulics results in lower maintenance costs.
A balanced energy concept is a milestone on the way to sustainability.
