Three HOLZMA single saws are already in operation at the LEICHT factory. This solution guaranteed full flexibility – an important aspect in one-piece manufacturing. But at the same time it also entailed a lot of manual handling.
"With this investment in a new system we want to adopt a different approach," explains Dr Gordon Bartels, Board Member responsible for Technology, Organisation and Data Processing at LEICHT. "We aim to standardise the material flow, to automate the feeding and destacking processes ─ which up to now have been performed manually ─ and to fully integrate offcuts in the cutting process. In short: we are going restructure and systemise the entire process, which will, at the end of the day, result in a significant increase in capacity and greater transparency and order."
HOLZMA developed the HKL 380 combiLine angular system specifically for one-piece manufacturing. It allows recuts (3rd level cuts) to be integrated directly in the standard cutting process. That saves time, allows a high degree of flexibility in the cutting patterns and significantly reduces waste. The cross cut saw is equipped with the Power Concept. This additional clamp operates independently of the program fence to allow strips to be simultaneously cut to different lengths, thus boosting output many times over.
After the panel has been cut, the parts are automatically labelled, randomly stacked in a system-controlled picking unit and then conveyed to the downstream production lines.
Feeding and destacking systems from BARGSTEDT and the fully automatic handling system for offcuts further increase capacities. LEICHT Küchen AG was also won over by the compatability of software and hardware within the HOMAG Group and the central, cross-subsidiaries project management.
Jochen Fischer, Head of Systems Engineering at HOLZMA, describes another advantage: "In future, LEICHT will be able to control cutting processes far better from the production planning department. Where today it is still the operator who determines the order of work at the respective saw, tomorrow there will be a daily schedule that clearly defines the sequence of work. This will also have positive effects on operations at the downstream processing stations."