Schopfloch 27/09/2011

HOMAG Group optimizes production of dividing and profiling lines for wooden and laminate flooring

While quality awareness has a key role to play in the purchase of a new machine line or production plant, regular maintenance is all too often neglected despite its decisive importance for ensuring optimum plant productivity and product quality. In some cases, new developments emerge after only a few years which necessitate the conversion of an existing machine line. Ideally, a machine supplier will have experts on hand to cope with either eventuality who are familiar with every detail of the equipment, abreast of new developments and able to offer helpful assistance to the flooring manufacturer.

One such supplier is the HOMAG Group. By entering into a servicing contract – for example specifically for laminate production plants – optimum maintenance is guaranteed. As these plants are particularly at risk from the abrasive effects of laminate dust, it makes real sense to keep productivity at a high level by scheduling regular maintenance visits.

The benefits are self-evident:

Preventive maintenance reduces uncontrolled wear, material fatigue or setting errors and so eliminates unplanned machine downtime.
The need for repairs is reduced and the life of the plant is extended.
Strict quality standards are maintained.
Customers benefit from cost control and a reduction of ancillary costs.
Plant availability and effective production time are increased as a result of up to 50% less downtime.

More information

A HOMAG Group servicing contract encompasses an inspection and maintenance package made up of the following services:

The plant is inspected in accordance with a maintenance plan, function tested, overhauled and maintained. The inspection and maintenance services include the exchange of wearing parts in accordance with the specified maintenance intervals.
Settings necessary for the inspection and defined maintenance work are executed in cooperation with the responsible maintenance and operating staff.
The plant is checked for signs of wear appr. 500 hours prior to the maintenance interval and a suitable diagnostic analysis is carried out. Because the procedures used here are set out in specified checklists, any problem parts which may not be included in the defined maintenance package will still be picked up. Replacements can then be made available in good time and mounted during the next maintenance interval. The spare and wearing parts in the plant are exchanged according to the defined intervals for the maintenance packages.

With its many years of experience, the HOMAG Group is ideally qualified to put together the ideal maintenance package for every specific plant.

Wood and laminate flooring technology is moving forward at a headlong pace, with new developments in surface processing or and new connection technologies such as “click” or “fold down” profiles. These product developments frequently call for further development and modification of existing machines and plants.
The following conditions have to be fulfilled to ensure optimum implementation of these new developments for production:

Perfect documentation of the machines on the manufacturer’s premises, in other words not only the as-delivered condition of the machine needs to be clarified with the aid of drawings and bills of material, but all previous conversion processes have to be meticulously recorded.
The deployment of experienced engineers who are familiar with the operating requirements and know how to correctly dimension the relevant capacities is essential.

This means that any incoming enquiry is checked with meticulous care by the HOMAG Group conversion departments and processed in direct cooperation with the development department. On this basis, the flooring manufacturer is then sent a carefully compiled quotation customized specifically to his plant. Experienced technicians are also deployed in the preparation of parts and their integration into the machine.

In the case of new developments, the feasibility of integration in existing plants is considered in advance. One example of this is HOMAG’s newly developed 5GS trimming unit. This unit was designed from the outset to allow integration into existing machines as well as new ones. Right from the early development phase, the design took into consideration all machine types for which a retrofit might conceivably come into question.

Another example is development of the magnetic chain. Because of the modular design principle of the HOMAG double-end tenoner and the forward-looking development concept, magnetic chain technology can be retrofitted in most plants. With good planning, the magnetic chain can actually be mounted in the place of a scheduled chain exchange, so doubling the service life of the new chain and ensuring a super-fast payback on the conversion investment.

Summary:
All these HOMAG Group services are tailored primarily towards the specific requirements of the flooring manufacturer, guaranteeing successful execution and ensuring that the manufacturer reaps the maximum possible production performance from his plant. HOMAG Group Engineering has the necessary expertise and highly qualified specialists in the field of project engineering, servicing, conversion and development in place to support producers in their bid to maintain production at an optimum level. Forward-looking development allows plants to be kept always abreast of the latest technological developments by implementing a range of production-optimizing measures.