Self-adhesive blanked parts for tool batteries
Bosch Group is a long-time customer of robos-labels. The internationally leading technology and service company with around 420 000 employees worldwide offers innovative solutions for Smart Home, Industry 4.0 and Connected Mobility.
For Bosch Power Tools division self-adhesive labels were requested to protect the inner workings of a tool battery against the ingress of dust.
The products by Bosch Power Tools
Robert Bosch Power Tools GmbH, a division of Bosch Group, is a leading global supplier of power tools, garden tools, power tool accessories, and measuring technology. In 2022, around 20 000 employees generated sales of 5.9 billion euros, around 90 percent of which were generated abroad.
With brands such as Bosch and Dremel, the division stands for customer proximity and technical progress. The key success factors are innovative strength and the pace of innovation. In 2023 as well, Bosch Power Tools will launch more than 100 innovations in the four business fields of power tools, garden tools, accessories, and measuring technology.
The initial situation
Robos‑labels has been contacted by Bosch Power Tools as an important supplier in the field of labeling to jointly find a solution for this functional dust protection adhesive label. Based on a detailed technical drawing, the request has been checked with the customer for feasibility.
The challenge
The label required a combination of special materials and a complex die‑cutting shape with fine details and cut‑outs and a wide variety of curves and shapes. It is based on a difficult‑to‑process die‑cutting contour that can hardly be mastered with conventional die‑cutting technology.
In particular, the challenge lies in the fact that the small round punched areas must be freed from the label material to be able to fix the component in place using screws at a later point in time. The punched material must be safely vacuumed so that it cannot get inside the battery. A material had to be found that is suitable as a dust protection, has an antistatic effect and can be die-cut in the required contour as well as possible.
The solution
A mono-material has been selected, which has been equipped with a very well adhering and durable transfer adhesive. This combination of materials can withstand temperatures from -40 °C (-40 °F) to +130 °C (+266 °F), which meet the requirements of the tool battery. The label and adhesive strength must be maintained throughout the life of the battery, which can be over 10 years. At the same time, the adhesive ensures absolute dust-tightness.
For the implementation of the complex die-cutting contour, which had to comply with the Bosch Power Tools technical drawing to fractions of a millimeter, robos-labels applied its new laser die-cutting system. Only with this die-cutting technology the high qualitative requirements for the label could be met reliably.
The implementation
At robos-labels two materials were laminated together, which had been carefully selected in advance, resulting in a new material combination that is only used in this product solution for Bosch Power Tools. Prior to the installation of the new laser die‑cutting system at robos‑labels, the company cooperated with the Italian machine manufacturer to work out the subsequent production possibilities for the dust protection labels in advance and to test them using initial samples.
This way the technical feasibility of the product could be ensured and the realization of the project could be assured to the customer. Even the first samples already had such a high quality level that they were immediately suitable for use in the tool battery. Serial production, which has started since, went flawlessly.
Frank Laux, Key Account Manager robos-labels:
“We are very pleased that our new laser die-cutting system gave us the opportunity to implement this exciting project for our long-time and important customer Bosch Power Tools in the first place. This opens up completely new possibilities for us in the production of special labels with such complex shapes and die-cuts.”
