(1) The surface of the steel roller must be clean, smooth, and free of dents and rust.
(2) The straightness and ellipticity of the steel roller must meet the quality requirements of different printed materials.
(3) Sufficient wall thickness is required to prevent the roller from bending or deforming during printing. Dynamic balancing is also necessary.
(4) Rolling of the anilox roller. After fine grinding, the steel roller is placed on a lathe and continuously rolled from one end to the other using a knurling tool without interruption or tool marks. The knurling tool is selected according to customer requirements, using different patterns, i.e., the shape of the anilox mesh. The linear count for mechanical rolling is generally 50-360 l/in. For higher linear count requirements, laser engraving using ceramic anilox rollers is necessary. Rolling patterns include hexagonal, hexagonal connected, four-cornered pyramid, and grooved. After the surface of the 20# steel roller is rolled, the edge of the mesh cavity will be raised and protruding. Then, the protruding edge is ground off by a grinding machine, and the inside of the mesh cavity is cleaned and sent for electroplating.
