Woodtech widens its offering

Pallet-making machinery and kilns were among the new additions to Woodtech Machinery‘s stable.

The company has teamed up with Italian manufacturer Storti to offer a top deck pallet machine, the Flex 60, the prototype of which has been running at a UK customer for about six months.

Storti has also launched a flexible high-speed line running up to seven pallets per minute to meet the needs of UK customers.

The appointment of dust extraction system manufacturer IMAS of Italy also allows Woodtech to offer a complete package to customers who buy items such as the Paul Push-Cut saw.

Woodtech used the show to announce a collaboration between Nardi and Windsor Kilns of New Zealand, an agreement which allows the former to tap into southern hemisphere kilning technology, where high drying temperatures are being used.

Elsewhere, the Avola saw on display featured a new design of combination hood/timber clamp, added to meet the needs of the truss and timber frame sector.

Three times as sharp

Vollmer managing director Graham Hopkins described the response to the new models on show at Woodmex as “fantastic” – in fact he had to leave the company’s press conference half way through to finalise another sale.

At the show, the blade and tool servicing equipment producer featured new developments for all three of its main market areas.

For the sawmill sector, the company introduced its CVF310 side grinder for Stellite-tipped bandsaw blades. The machine replaces the hydraulic system of its predecessors with four CNC-axes working.

Another Woodmex first was the MAT300 benching machine for tensioning and back straightening bandsaw blades.

For the TCT sector Vollmer demonstrated the akemat UR62 with a two-stage loading robot which can handle blades up to 600mm in diameter.

Hot from the factory was the prototype CHD270 which is built on a polymer concrete base for added stability and damping and features eight CNC-axes.

And new for sharpening and manufacturing PCD-tipped blades was the QM110 which uses a CAD/CAM system and has five CNC axes with simultaneous path control.

AXYZ demonstrates versatility

One of the most popular, as well as the most novel, “give aways”, at Woodmex were the plywood bird houses being presented to visitors by AXYZ Automation.

These were all made at the show using an AXYZ 4008 router both to cut out the components and rout the shingle-effect roofs. The machine features a 2440x1466mm bed and fully automatic tool changer.

Also on the stand was AXYZ starter model, the Millennium which has a bed-size of 1m2.

Small spells success

The new smaller Striebig Compact unveiled by TM Machinery Sales attracted a lot of interest – in fact, Churchill Brothers Bespoke Kitchens of Leavenheath were so interested they bought it.

The new vertical panel saw, called the TRK 4164, is the smallest in the range to date, with a maximum cutting size of 3100x1644mm. It has also been designed to be especially easy to use, with a redesigned control panel, saw head housing and operating system. Work piece supports along the full length of the machine make it simpler to tackle smaller pieces and an additional TRK dust extraction point in the horizontal cutting area means that the machine easily complies with the latest EU health and safety rules.

At the other end of the spectrum, TM was also offering Striebig’s larger Compact, which has a maximum cut size of 4600x2070mm.

At Woodmex, the company also highlighted the new 4SB edge trimming device for the Striebig Control and Evolution models.

From the Timesavers Sandingmaster range, the company also showed the new single combination head, light-duty throughfeed wide-belt Speedsander.

Life to the UM MAX

Specialist tooling supplier Unimerco reported a “lot of potential new customers” and struggled at times to deal with the crowds, according to sales director David Haslehurst.

Its portfolio included UM MAX rotary tooling, designed to cut set-up times for production of balusters, table legs, bed posts and decking.

Other items of interest included its PVD-coated tooling and PCD tooling, which it manufactures itself and is proving popular among furniture and woodworking manufacturers.