Panel Cutting

Can you cut 50 pieces of 3/4" particleboard 4' x 8' into 100 pieces 4' x 4' in two minutes? How about ripping 80 strips of 1/2" plywood x 6" x 96" in the same time?

Don't be frustrated that you can't do this with your new $200,000 panel saw or that the investment to gain this output appears astronomical. Instead, as negotiators suggest, "step back to the balcony" and take an objective look with your consultant and staff at some old and new concepts

Pack cutting is a new technology applied to an old idea. Cut through a 4' high stack of panels with a chain saw - but one that cuts square and accurate to 1 mm. Conceptually it looks crude as all hell, but it works well. First used by the dimension lumber industry to eliminate precision end trimming one board at a time, it's now being used to cut stacks of strapped panels.

Slat bed cutting has been around for years. It's much more productive than a panel saw but has fallen into disfavor because of long setup times and the inability to produce perfect chipfree edges on prelaminated panels. It's not the answer for factories that constantly change size or have complex optimization patterns. However, if you need long run capability for components, subsequently re-sized in a CNC router or D.E. Tenoner, you may want to take a closer look at a slat-bed saw.

Double End Tenoners vs. CNC routers

The answer is simple if you are a custom producer but what if you really need large volumes of parts such as desk tops? The CNC router is the machine of choice for short runs. It reduces the expense of tooling. But, if you have long runs of tabletops or doors, there are double end tenoner lines turning out more than 5,000 doors a day. Although these machines cost four times as much as a CNC router, there's no way that four CNC routers could ever approach their output.

Laminating - white Glue vs. Hot Melt

Traditionally, the highest quality plastic laminated panels were bonded with polyvinyl acetate (white glue) in cold presses. The moisture in the glue line was re-absorbed by the core and warpage was minimal. With the thankful demise of cotact cement, helped along by the EPA, other solutions came to the fore, particularly hot melt, both as a solid glue line film and applied as a "plastic-liquid" in the same manner as an edge bander.

Conceptually this is great - no moisture to warp the core; the heat is applied at the glue line rather than transmitted through the face of the laminate (minimizing stress caused by shrinkage problems). More important, it's truly "panels-a-Ia-carte" so you can mix and match size and thickness. On the down side are adhesive cost and low output per man-hour. I've installed this technology in several new facilities but regard it as 7 Eleven convenience... at a price. It is the answer for rush jobs and short runs, however, for reasons of economy, the bulk of production should be done in cold presses.

Look around; there are methods and equipment which really suit your company's exact needs, (demand, schedule, space and budget). Please don't confuse method selection with equipment selection and beware of buying the sizzle without the steak. The true Mickey Mouse question is -

"Are you putting a smiling face on a bad solution?"