What Is an MCB Indicator Flag and Why It Needs Two Colors<\/h2>\n
The MCB indicator flag, which can also be referred to as the ‘ON\/OFF indicator’, ‘status flag’ or ‘trip flag’, is a small molded slider that is linked to the mechanism of the breaker in question. It acts like a visual representation of the action of the contacts opening and closing and gives a different color appearance in the window of the MCB based on the position of the slider. There is hardly any other method of determining the position of the switch used by an electrician other than using this method.<\/p>\n
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- The flag moves in accordance with the movement of the disbreaker, which means that it shows if the contacts are made or broken.<\/li>\n
- A\u00a0green indicator flag<\/strong>\u00a0area shows when the breaker is closed and carrying current \u2014\u00a0green = ON.<\/li>\n
- A\u00a0red indicator flag<\/strong>\u00a0area shows when the breaker is open, switched off or tripped \u2014\u00a0red = OFF.<\/li>\n
- Both of the blocks of color are on a little space right next to each other, always on a slope or step, which is what makes its application so accurate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Due to the fact that the flag is a product of the injection mold process, coloration is not obtained from the plastics themselves, but from the process applied after the plastic is formed and is called coloring process. (For how the housing and small parts around it are tooled, see our walkthrough of the <\/span>MCB injection mold development process<\/a>.)<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The finished part: an MCB ON\/OFF indicator flag with the green and red blocks printed adjacent on a stepped face.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Why Pad Printing Is the Right Process for Indicator Flags<\/h2>\n
The process of pad printing entails the application of ink from a plate (which is known as the clich\u00e9) using a flexible material called silicone rubber. The silicone pad picks up ink from the plate, and then presses against the substrate into which the coloring has to be introduced. This is the defining characteristic of the pad printing process: because the label is ultimately a small-step shape with insides that cannot always be reached by other methods, pad printing wins hands down.<\/p>\n
Both screen printing and inkjet requires a flat surface. However, this is not possible in flag printing. A silicone pad wraps around and will create clean and distinct prints. As a result, MCB flags are typically printed using pad printing machines.<\/p>\n
How the MCB Indicator Flag Automatic Pad Printing Machine Works<\/h2>\n
The primary goal of the automatic pad printing machine is to convert the part from bulk to printed-and-sorted without involving any manual operation. The operations on this machine are completed in a total of five stages:<\/p>\n
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- Vibratory bowl feeding entails putting flaps in bulk into the feeder bowl, which helps to orient and separate them so that they do not end up being dumpted upside down.<\/li>\n
- Inline conveying refers to the fact when the linear track transports the oriented flags toward the printing fixtures in a constant flow which moves with indexing system.<\/li>\n
- Fixture loading – any flag is dropped into a precision nest, which secures it in a constant position; repeatability of the nest determines if the two respective colors are registered properly.<\/li>\n
- The dual-color pad printing process works by having one flag pass through two different stations in order to create the green and red color respectively.<\/li>\n
- Unloading \u2014 finished flags are ejected into the output bin, ready for the breaker assembly line.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The whole process has a pneumatic system that runs automatically without the need for any personnel to work on the machine, thus ensuring steady production from the machine without a worker.<\/p>\n
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The dual printing station in operation \u2014 two sealed ink-cup heads apply green and red in one indexed cycle.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Two-Color Registration: Printing Green and Red in One Cycle<\/h2>\n
Registration is said to happen when the two colors are printed on top of one another, with neither overlapping nor leaving any white space in between. The parts of the indicator flag that are printed in green overlap with those that are printed in red, which makes any slight misalignment obvious.<\/p>\n
The machine operates in three different ways: first, with a repeatable fixture nest system that ensures each flag is positioned in the same spot; second, through an indexed transfer system that moves the flag by a specific distance between the green and red heads; and third, with an independent setting system whereby the two heads can be adjusted separately. Once the registration has been done properly, the printed material will continue to be the same for the entire job.<\/p>\n
Key Technical Specifications<\/h2>\n
The configuration below is typical for an MCB indicator flag automatic pad printing machine built around a sealed ink cup pad printing<\/strong> head:<\/p>\n
- A\u00a0red indicator flag<\/strong>\u00a0area shows when the breaker is open, switched off or tripped \u2014\u00a0red = OFF.<\/li>\n