Getting Started with Edgebanding
145_tech_feature_1102.jpg

 

Edgebanders come in all shapes and sizes. One-man operations have been known to use a clothes iron if edgebanding demands are few and far between. (Of course there are purpose-built hand irons for such uses from edgebanding and wood equipment suppliers.) From hot-air systems that activate pre-glued edgebanding to state-of-the-art electronically controlled systems with glue pots, the make-up your typical jobs will guide the level of automation you adopt for this function.

There are plenty of opportunities to see edgebanding in action. An open house at Holz-Her last spring featured three edgebander series: the Auriga, the Arcus and the Contriga.

An open house at Stiles Machinery last fall featured a U.S. debut of a high tech laser edgebander. At Closets Expo 2011 (Feb. 23-25 in Charlotte, NC) representatives of major edgebanders will be on hand to discuss the technology with you. Among the exhibitors will be Stiles Machinery, whose Brandt line (shown above) is equipped with linear and synchronous technology for processing overhanging edging material at the upper and lower workpiece edge, as well as corner copy processing of the leading and trailing edge.

Edgebander Operating Tips
Sovereign Machine sees the results of edgebanding operations at many woodworking firms since it repairs and rebuilds gluepots on edgebanders. The company offers these practical tips on glue-pot maintenance:

"Sticking" the glue pot can be done periodically on pots with a good non-stick coating by inserting a wooden stick in the main chamber of the glue pot at the end of a production run, while the glue is still melted. After the glue has hardened in the pot, turn on the heating elements for 5 minutes or more, just enough to melt the outside edges of the glue. Pull up on the stick and remove all of the glue in the pot and discard. Additional gentle scraping can be done, but be careful not to damage the non-stick coating. Make sure, advises Sovereign Machine, that debris does not fall into the bottom chamber of the pot where it could impede flow to the main roller.

Reducing glue temperature if production will be halted for more than an hour is also a good idea. “This is the main reason glue pots get to the point where you need to send them to us for reconditioning,” says the firm. If glue sits in the pot at production temperature without moving for too long, the fillers in the glue will start to burn the inside chamber of the glue pot. You should occasionally check the calibration on your temperature controller, too.

As the pace of recovery picks up, woodworkers who haven’t automated their edgebanding may discover unforeseen demand for edgebanding. More than two dozen companies were listed offering edgebanders at the IWF 2010 show. More than three dozen edgebander suppliers drawn from the Red Book woodworking industry resource guide are listed at the end of this article. (The 2011 Red Book edition will be sent to Custom Woodworking Business subscribers in April; the Red Book Online is updated all year long.)

Researching through Red Book vendors finds candidates for entry-level edgebanding lines. A representative sample includes three offerings from Delmac: Contour Edgebanders and Trimmers, designed for edging and trimming thin tape veneers and melamine along with 3mm PVC/ABS; entry level IDM-brand machines, in both single and double sided edgeband formats; and Casadei edgebanders “for shops seeking reliability and flexibility in an economical edgebander,” says Delmac.

Thermwood Corp. offers a new compact series of automatic edgebanders from Fravol, the BEE series. Designed for small up to medium sized professional woodworking shops, the glue-pot type machine can edgeband even heavier 3mm thick PVC edgebanding. It sells for around $19,000.
Virutex.com Corp. offers the PEB150TRC glue pot hot melt edgebander with stationary table for edgebanding shaped, curved and straight panels.

 

 

Following is a list of edgebander suppliers from the Red Book woodworking resource guide.
 

 
 
Activa          
activamachinery.com

Adwood Corp.   
adwood.com

Akhurst Machinery
akhurst.com

Biesse America
biesseamerica.com

Brooks Machinery

Castle Inc.
castleusa.com

Danckaert Woodworking Machinery    
danckaert.com

EdgeCo Inc.
edgecoinc.com

European Woodworking Machinery
wmco.com

Ex-Factory Inc.
exfactory.com

Felder USA
feldergroupusa.com

Format-4 USA
format-4usa.com

Golden Hill Woodworking Machinery
goldenhillinc.com

Hafele America Co.
hafele.com

Hess Group America
hess-usa.com

Holz-Her U.S.
holzher.com

IMA America Corp.
imaamerica.com

Laguna Tools
lagunatools.com

Louis and Co.
louisandcompany.com

Mini Max USA
minimax-usa.com

MLS Machinery
mlsmachinery.com

OMG Overland Machinery Group
overlandmachinery.com

Practical Products
practicalprods.com

Rainbow Rubber & Plastics
rainbowbelts.com

Riebling Machinery Co.
riebling.com

RP Fletcher Machine Co. Inc.
fletcher-machine.com

Safety Speed Manufacturing
safetyspeed.com

SCM Group NA
scmgroup-usa.com

Select Machinery Inc.
selectmachineryinc.com

Silver Machine
silvermachineinc.com

Simantech Inc.
simantechinc.com

Sovereign Machine
sovereignmachine.com

Stiles Shop Solutions
stilesshopsolutions.com

Tapes & Tools
adwood.com

Technik Associates
hipoint.com.tw

Therm O Web
thermoweb.com

Thermwood Corp.
thermwood.com

TSM Inc./Pacific Wood Technology

Virutex.com Corp.
virutex.com

Find more on edgebanders at redbookonline.com 

 

Have something to say? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.