Spotlight on – HOMAG rolls out the laser! 

Quantum leap in edging – laserTec for CNC processing centres

Laser edging is evolving as an all-round success, as HOMAG once again provides irrefutable evidence of its technological leadership: by equipping its CNC processing centres with laserTec, Homag is consistently transferring the quantum leap it has already achieved in edging joint quality for straight-edged components also to curved parts. Over recent months, several processing centres equipped with laserTec have been sold and an optimum degree of process reliability achieved.

No matter whether stationary or throughfeed technology is involved, now almost any material can be simply and reliably processed with a zero joint. This innovation has allowed all kinds of workpieces to be produced with the same attractive appearance and outstanding edge quality – no matter what their shape. Whether table tops or shop fronts, work tops or kitchen cupboard doors, whether roller shutter cabinet side elements or shelves for caravans – HOMAG offers its customers cohesively perfect edges across the board.

The appearance and quality of furniture items boasting the “zero joint” is recommendation enough – but these are not their only benefits: Process reliability, machine availability, the complexity of cleaning work and energy consumption are all factors which have benefited significantly as a result of the laserTec method. Edge banding using stationary technology is being perfected all the time, and manual intervention to reset the gluing unit is no longer required. The work involved in monitoring, maintenance and cleaning the glue tank and the application unit is a thing of the past. And the elimination of glue means no more time wasted waiting for glue to heat up. As a solution, the laserTec method is not only smart but also efficient. Compared to traditional methods, it reduces energy consumption by around 20%.
To ensure the availability of edges, HOMAG additionally offers the new KBE 100, a system designed to permit the in-house manufacture of laser edges. This machine ideally prepares edging material for processing using the laserTec system.

STATIONARY TECHNOLOGY
World premiere Venture 316: 5-axis technology for all

Based on the new BMG 300 platform, HOMAG will be unveiling a completely new machine. Set to be a “smash hit for all”, the VENTURE 316 on show at the Ligna promises to reveal to visitors a whole new world of stability and precision in this machine category. From now on, 5-axis processing to a high standard of quality and flexibility will be within the reach of every budget. Here, it is the customer who sets the standard: The new Venture 316 has everything it takes to address practically any customer requirement in the furniture and door production and interior fittings sectors.

Benefits include a rigid, heavy-duty basic frame for optimum processing results, a large and stable moving gantry, extensive scope for equipment with processing units and a coupled-motion housing for a clear view and optimum accessibility of the machine.
This creates the ideal basis for upgrading, as the machine is fitted exclusively with professional components. Drilling heads, tool changers, processing units and clamping technology are all based on tried and tested elements from the modular HOMAG BMG range. The components selected for use in the Venture 316 are designed specifically with the needs of woodworking shops and industrial special element production in mind.

THROUGHFEED TECHNOLOGY

flexTrim & powerTrim: Productivity increases of up to 50 %

flexTrim – flexible profile changeover for two profiles

The principle is a simple one: Few profiles, short resetting times, increased productivity – from the woodworking shop through to the industrial manufacturer. Maximum flexibility and a minimal error quota for trimming operations – these are only two of the benefits provided by HOMAG’s new flexTrim development. With its new flexTrim processing unit, HOMAG has laid another major milestone in the field of batch size 1 production.

The operating error quota is substantially lower than when using comparable products. Primarily responsible for this is the facility for rapid tool displacement in the unit, and the structure of the trimming head. The head is fitted with two differently sized profiles (such as R2 and R3). These are arranged one inside the other, with the larger radius or profile trimming tool permanently fixed in place. The smaller trimming tool is set back and can be automatically pushed forwards as required. This means that automatic resetting between the two radii and different chamfers is possible within a workpiece gap of just 400 mm.
flexTrim is suitable both for use in 4-motor contour trimming units and also for 2-motor contour and profile trimming units. The new technology represents a number of major milestones in terms of precision, time savings and flexibility. Used in combination with the new profile scraper blade flexBlade for faster exchange between two profiles during trimming and profile processing operations, the flexTrim offers unbeatable benefits – particularly for batch size 1 production.

powerTrim contour trimming – around 50 % faster for flexible furniture production
powerTrim (3 profiles) represents a consistent further development of the flexTrim (2 profiles), and will be showcased at this year’s LIGNA in conjunction with the new K350 using the following units:

• Multi trimming unit with servo adjusting motors for trimming work from above and below
• Profile trimming unit powerTrim for corner rounding
• Multi scraper blade with servo adjusting motor for workpiece finish processing

Using these 3 units in combination, flexible production can be achieved with three different profiles and chamfer at an output of 30 m/min., alongside profile changing within a resetting gap of just 400 mm. All these benefits add up to a productivity increase of around 50% compared to conventional solutions available on the market.

SOFTWARE
woodWOP 6.0 – now with CAD functionality
woodWOP 6.0 is the new, innovative programming system for CNC machines from the HOMAG Group. In the software sector, the new woodWOP CAD plugin can be counted one of the highlights of the LIGNA 2011. This plugin extension module allows contours to be generated with far greater speed and convenience. It allows lines, arcs, circles, ellipses and splines to be interactively drawn. In addition, a large number of editing functions such as cropping, flipping and stretching are also possible. A smart search algorithm converts generated drawing elements into a contour, recognizing and displaying crossing points. The further direction is indicated by a click of the mouse.
The CAD plugin is fully integrated into woodWOP, allowing users to quickly attain the operating skills needed to generate a finished CNC program from the drawing using the familiar woodWOP functions.

MMR - Machine Monitoring & Reporting
Optimum machine and plant utilization is decisive when it comes to determining successful production. HOMAG has developed a new software solution which goes by the name MMR (Machine Monitoring & Reporting) in time for the Ligna 2011, whose function is to optimize resource efficiency in the field of machine utilization.
One of the fundamental benefits of MMR is its ability to centrally log and display all error messages. The produced evaluation dialogue clearly shows the most frequent root causes of faults at a glance. This is particularly effective in networked plants which generally comprise several individual machines. In the past it was often difficult to obtain a meaningful diagnosis of production bottlenecks. Using a range of sorting and filtering functions, the MMR now allows all faults to be simply determined and eliminated, taking into consideration not only technical faults but also errors caused by operators or by environmental factors such as missing material.
The capability of MMR goes far beyond the functional scope of classical machine data acquisition tools. The intelligent acquisition logic records optimization potential and illustrates it in the form of graphic analyses.
Alongside this optimization function, MMR also displays all important key indicators of a machine such as output and main utilization rate. Using the Office module, all evaluations across several machines can be generated centrally from the office workstation.