Cleaning arrangement and method for cleaning a flexographic coating unit

A cleaning arrangement for a coater that comprises a plate cylinder, the cleaning arrangement comprising:

• a cleaning web that has a cleaning surface and a back surface,
• a tangential moving mechanism configured to controllably move said cleaning web in at least one direction in a plane defined by said cleaning web,
• a radial moving mechanism configured to controllably move said cleaning web in at least one direction out of said plane,
• a wetting arrangement for wetting the cleaning web before it comes in contact with the outer surface of the plate cylinder,
• a controller coupled to said tangential and radial moving mechanisms, said controller being configured to control the moving of said cleaning web in conformity with input signals received by said controller, and
• one or more blower nozzles with an operating direction directed toward a space faced by said cleaning surface,
• wherein the one or more blower nozzles are arranged close to the cleaning arrangement in the operating direction of the plate cylinder, and at the same time, arranged before the cleaning arrangement in the operation direction of the plate cylinder.

A coater for spreading coating substance onto planar workpieces fed into the coater, comprising:

• a plate cylinder for spreading said coating substance onto said workpieces, and
• a cleaning arrangement for cleaning an outer surface of said plate cylinder, comprising:
• a cleaning web that has a cleaning surface and a back surface,
• a tangential moving mechanism configured to controllably move said cleaning web in at least one direction in a plane defined by said cleaning web,
• a radial moving mechanism configured to controllably move said cleaning web in at least one direction out of said plane,
• a wetting arrangement for wetting the cleaning web before it comes in contact with the outer surface of the plate cylinder,
• a controller coupled to said tangential and radial moving mechanisms, said controller being configured to control the moving of said cleaning web in conformity with input signals received by said controller, and
• one or more blower nozzles with an operating direction directed toward a space faced by said cleaning surface,
• wherein the one or more blower nozzles are arranged close to the cleaning arrangement in the operating direction of the plate cylinder, and at the same time, arranged before the cleaning arrangement in the operation direction of the plate cylinder.

A method for cleaning a coating unit, comprising the steps of:

• using a radial moving mechanism to press a cleaning web against an outer surface of a plate cylinder used to spread coating substance onto workpieces,
• rotating the plate cylinder to rub its outer surface against said cleaning web,
• wetting the cleaning web before it comes in contact with the outer surface of the plate cylinder,
• using a tangential moving mechanism in a direction tangential to said outer surface of the plate cylinder to bring an unused portion of said cleaning web to a location where it can be pressed against the outer surface of the plate cylinder, and
• directing one or more blower nozzles in an operating direction toward a space faced by the cleaning surface of the cleaning web to remove remnant wetting liquid from the outer surface of the plate cylinder by blowing air towards it and to ensure the detaching of a front end of a passing workpiece from the outer surface of the plate cylinder.