An apparatus for printing a beer barrel includes a workbench, and a hydraulic pushing device, a barrel outer-sided printing device, and a barrel inner-sided printing device installed on the workbench. The barrel inner-sided printing device has a turntable rotating with respect to the Z-axis and mounted on the barrel, an inner mold installed onto a circumferential surface of the turntable for printing the inner side of the barrel. The barrel outer-sided printing device has a connecting frame moving linearly along the Y-axis direction. The connecting frame has an outer mold for printing an outer side of the barrel, and the hydraulic pushing device controls the outer mold to move linearly along the X-axis direction. The outer and inner molds print a sidewall of the barrel. This invention prevents unnecessary waste of manufacturing cost and time caused by the scrap of semi-finished products whose previous printing process becomes useless.

A thermal transfer printing machine with stationary support elements for supporting an article and a thermal transfer assembly vertically movable above the support elements, between a raised rest position and a lowered working position is disclosed. The machine has a surface heated transfer pad, supply and guide devices, a flexible printing ribbon which carries thermally transferable ink images, a position sensor providing electrical signals indicative of the vertical position of the transfer pad and a control unit with a learning phase, said control unit causes a descent run of the thermal transfer assembly, until the transfer pad engages with an article of a predetermined type. The position sensor detects and stores reference data characterizing descent run and the control unit initiates a subsequent descent run towards an article of the same type, comparing the reference data to the current descent run data, and stopping printing when an anomaly is discovered.

The machine (1) comprises: a stationary frame structure (2), wherein support elements (8-12) are provided for supporting an article (A) on which an image (I) is to be printed; a thermal transfer assembly (20) which is vertically movable relative to the frame structure (2), above the support elements (8-12), between a raised rest position and a lowered working position, and includes a transfer pad (21) having an active surface (21a) which is heated in operation; and supply and guide devices (23-36) arranged to advance, along a predetermined path extending in part between the active surface (21a) of the transfer pad (21) and the support elements (8-12), a flexible printing ribbon (N) which on a side thereof carries, at predetermined intervals, images (I) formed of a thermally transferable ink. The machine (1) further comprises a position sensor (80) arranged to provide electrical signals indicative of the vertical position of the transfer pad (21), and a control unit (14) arranged to carry out a learning phase wherein the control unit (14) causes a descent run of the thermal transfer assembly (20), until the transfer pad (21) is brought into engagement with an article (A) of a predetermined type positioned on the support elements (8-12), and through the position sensor (80) detects and then stores reference data characterizing such descent run, and a subsequent printing phase, wherein the control unit (14) causes a subsequent descent run of the thermal transfer assembly (20) towards and up to an article (A) of the same type positioned on the support elements (8-12), detecting and comparing with said reference data the corresponding data that characterize the current descent run, and stopping the printing phase when the comparison between these data is indicative of an anomaly in the current descent run.

An apparatus for printing a beer barrel includes a workbench, and a hydraulic pushing device, a barrel outer-sided printing device, and a barrel inner-sided printing device installed on the workbench. The barrel inner-sided printing device has a turntable rotating with respect to the Z-axis and mounted on the barrel, an inner mold installed onto a circumferential surface of the turntable for printing the inner side of the barrel. The barrel outer-sided printing device has a connecting frame moving linearly along the Y-axis direction. The connecting frame has an outer mold for printing an outer side of the barrel, and the hydraulic pushing device controls the outer mold to move linearly along the X-axis direction. The outer and inner molds print a sidewall of the barrel. This invention prevents unnecessary waste of manufacturing cost and time caused by the scrap of semi-finished products whose previous printing process becomes useless.