Apparatuses and methods for producing optical effect layers

An apparatus for producing an optical effect layer comprising:

• a) a first block comprising a1) a holder having mounted thereto a stator comprising n magnet-wire coils, disposed in n annular slots which are spaced from each other and arranged in a circle around the axis of a magnetic-field-guiding stator core;
• and a2) a winding protection plate disposed on top of the n magnet-wire coils;
• and
• b) a second block comprising:
• b1) a casing with disposed therein;
• b2) a rotor comprising m permanent magnet poles of alternating polarity arranged around a circle in or on one side of a rotor disc, wherein said m permanent magnet poles are spaced from each other;
• b3) a rotor protection plate, disposed below the m permanent magnet poles of the rotor, wherein said rotor protection plate covers the rotor from the side of the rotor disc;
• and
• b4) a permanent magnet assembly driven by the rotor, wherein said permanent magnet assembly is disposed on the opposite side of the rotor disc,
• wherein the rotor protection plate of the second block is disposed on an upper surface of the winding protection plate of the first block, and the winding protection plate is removeablely coupled with the rotor protection plate,
• wherein the stator and the rotor act together as a brushless DC motor,
• wherein n is a multiple of 3 and m is a multiple of 2, provided that n/m is 3/2, 3/4, 6/4, 6/8, 9/8, 9/10, 12/10 or 12/14, and
• wherein the first block is configured to be removeably fixed to a base of a rotating magnetic orienting cylinder or a flatbed magnetic orienting printing unit, and
• wherein the second block is removeably fixed to the first block.