After all, it is crucial to have a perfectly reproducible design project. When discussing the impact of automated gluing techniques, we often mention the speed and efficiency, cost optimization, or the easiness of setup in case of glue plotters. It would not be a complete package without a dedicated toolset that manages the process, making the adhesive application fitting a particular gluing project, existing workflows and glued substrates.
The whole glue path design process in finishing for packaging and printing usually involves determining the manufactured product function before everything else. Larger and heavier elements (e.g. POS display) may require setting up additional glue paths for cold glue, improving the bonding quality by leaps and bounds. At the same time, the placement of glue paths is heavily affected by the product structure, shape and positioning of its critical parts.
Another factor is the adhesive application itself – as we have mentioned in one our earlier articles, it is vital to introduce gluing techniques, such as glue stitching to improve overall cost efficiency.
With that in mind, it would be hard to expect to have identical setup for different products and substrates. Such design changes usually force users of other types of gluing machines (like automated folder gluers for example) to avoid doing low production runs or doing them manually. That is not the case with FELIX GLUER and our software for glue path design, FG : PRO.
The biggest innovations in glue path design
With the built-in FG : PRO features you can generate glue paths with ease, either by designing them manually or using the CAD design import from the external software (we support AI, DXF and DWG formats). When utilizing external CAD design pieces with flaps already added, the easiest way of setting up the production is using the positioning features in FG : PRO to align the design to corners of the worktable to ensure precise application. When using more than one worktable, it is also a good idea to use the Mirror tool in FG : PRO to copy the design piece symmetrically using either X or Y axis. See the article's gallery for examples.
However, there are quite a few other ways to create a path that will be used on the glued elements in your production, especially when there is no glue path design yet available.
