 | | Vacuum pumps for wood processing | |
Reliable and efficient | |
Its not just Kaeser rotary screw compressors that deliver outstanding availability, efficiency and durability, but so too do Kaeser rotary vacuum systems. Renowned for their impressive performance, they play a key role in furniture production by providing vacuum for blanks in the 'nesting' process. It's just a matter of time: Furniture manufacturers will increasingly replace conventional horizontal or vertical sheet cutting techniques with the so-called 'nesting' process. Nesting involves program-controlled cutting of blanks from sheets or panels. Specialised software optimises utilisation of raw materials so that as many blanks as possible can be produced from the available sheet / panel with minimal wastage. The components are then cutout by a CNC-controlled machining centre. This process not only enhances usage of materials, but also enables greater flexibility. This enables users involved in upholstery frame manufacture – for example – to react quickly, efficiently and economically to changing customer demands. One US upholstery manufacturer has taken this strategy to the point where the company no longer stocks any frames or components thereof: "Whatever's needed, we cut it directly. Having all data relating to our models stored in the computer, this is much quicker than fetching components or finished frames from the warehouse.." Cutting and no unwanted movement
The basic requirements for precision cutting with short cycle times are that the sheets to be processed must be firmly held in place and should be able to be changed as quickly as possible. The sheets are fixed to the cutting table via vacuum. An intermediate layer of fleece-like material helps to a) protect the table surface from damage and b) evenly distribute the vacuum force over the entire surface area of the sheet so that no unwanted movement occurs even when cutting the smallest and most detailed of shapes. This is how things are in practice: It's all go in the main cutting hall at German firm Kurt Junghans Polstergestell GmbH in Dörfles-Esbach, Northern Bavaria. Two employees 'feed' the dual table Reichenbacher-Hamuel "Eco" machining centre with sheets that are precisely tailored to the size of the cutting tables. A powerful vacuum then presses the sheets on to the fleece material, the table retracts into the machining centre, the cutter head powers its tools to speeds of up to 30,000 rpm and so begins its short but merry dance behind the semi-transparent scenes. The sheet is then fed out of the system ready for removal whilst the next sheet to be processed is fetched. Wherever there's cutting ...
Each providing a pumping speed of 15.7 m³/min (at 700 mbar), two Kaeser CSV 150 series rotary screw vacuum pumps compliment the adjacent compressed air system: An SM 11 rotary screw compressor from Kaeser provides the compressed air which is also necessary for the production process. As with planing, wherever there's cutting there are shavings – which can often be very fine. Even the best extraction systems cannot completely remove the contamination from the air that the vacuum pumps have to extract. This is where the intake filtering performance of Kaeser systems really comes into its own. Moreover, additional product design features also ensure outstanding dependability, low operating temperatures, efficient energy consumption, simple operation and minimal maintenance requirement. These features include flow-optimised airend casings, 'Sigma Profile' rotors, generously sized cooling systems and high-efficiency drive motors. Kaeser therefore makes the efficient 'nesting' process even more efficient.
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