WEINIG group, a leading technology provider for solid wood and panel processing presented itself in Hanover with the brands Weinig and Holz-Her in an exhibition area of 5,000 m,. Under the motto Weinig Offers More, visitors experienced many of the almost 50 machines and systems live in action at the Weinig Group in Hall 27.
Within its comprehensive range of products for the industry and small businesses, Weinig focuses on innovative technologies in the solid wood sector that offer customers significant benefits enabling them to meet today’s challenges. Weinig is responding to the shortage of skilled labour, the rising cost of resources and the need for digitisation with modular, highly efficient solutions that are suitable for any size of business — from small shops to industrial enterprises. “The Solid Wood Division of the Weinig Group now forms a strong team together with the systems specialist H.I.T.. Our customers find competent advice for the entire value chain, from the sawmill to products for constructive woodworking. Whether a craftsman needs a planer like the Cube 3, or a company needs a large-scale system for engineered wood taking up an entire hall, they will all find the right solution in proven quality at Weinig,” emphasises Gregor Baumbusch, CEO of the Weinig Group.
And Dr. Georg Hanrath, Chief Technology Officer, points out: “The innovations and developments of the Weinig Group help to optimise the use of resources and include specific technological solutions for machines and complex production systems.”
Thanks to efficient material handling, precise automation and resource-saving production technologies, customers can economically produce products of the highest quality and in flexible batch sizes despite the shortage of skilled labour. In addition to two large-scale systems for industrial production of wooden components, a wide range of individual machines with intelligent operating concepts and interfaces to the Weinig software world were on display.
Weinig Digital Solutions:
Smart control and full transparency for production systems or individual machines with Weinig digitisation solutions
The stand provided detailed demonstrations of how companies are using digital solutions to build secure networked production, because networked machines are more than the sum of their individual components.
Specific apps can be used to measure and improve overall equipment efficiency (OEE), and further relieve the burden on skilled personnel through efficient production control or push notifications. Weinig offers its customers several digital software solutions. viaConnector Edge is the link between machines and software solutions, allowing machines to be interconnected and data to be transferred. The output data can be configured individually according to requirements.
The Weinig Control Suite is Weinig’s central system control technology for intelligent production. For the first time at Ligna, Weinig presented how virtual part tracking with the Control Suite can be checked against reality without the need for additional part identification such as a barcode. The wood in the system is identified at the infeed via OptiTrack, a newly developed software with integrated AI technology.
The open, modular software architecture of the Weinig Control Suite enables automated and smart control of small systems up to complete CLT factories.
The Weinig App Suite analyzes machine performance transparently and in real time. Customers can access their machines via smartphone, tablet or notebook at any place and at any time. The Weinig viaBox is the “Swiss army knife” of the IoT world: via a touch display, customers can use IoT functions very easily without having expert knowledge. An additional external monitor can be connected, for example to visualize the factory floor.
As always, Weinig wants to have the solutions for the most important challenges of its customers ready for the market in good time and gave a brief insight into the topic of “Innovation Management in the 21st Century” as part of a keynote presentation at the LIGNA.Stage.
Weinig System Solutions:
Systems expertise shown live in action — with global innovations
A large-scale system was shown live in action to demonstrate the complete manufacturing process from raw material to finger-jointed lamellae and solid wood panels.
In the cross-cut finger jointing line, a robot with a vacuum unit loads the system with boards. These are assessed using the CombiScan Sense scanner with AI technology, and the identified defects are cut out by an OptiCut 450 Quantum, believed to be the world’s fastest high-speed cross-cut saw. Up to 240 good parts/min are automatically transferred to the HS 200 finger jointing line. The mechanisation for direct feeding of the finger jointing line via the cross-cut saw is patent pending.
In the ProfiPress C 2500 HF gluing press, believed to be a world first in solid wood processing, the wood lamellae are glued to create panels in a continuous process. A fast high-frequency heating system heats the wood, operating continuously and producing cost-efficiently with maximum throughput.
Weinig Systems Solutions (WSS): The process experts
Together with H.I.T., Weinig is a leading supplier of integrated production lines in the solid wood segment, starting with sawmills, through optimising, planing and sorting lines, to complete processing lines for the production of engineered wood, windows and furniture elements. Weinig acquired majority shares in the Allgäu-based mechanical engineering and finger-jointing systems specialist in April and, together with H.I.T., will set up a powerful, agile and highly diversified organization for project business.
The system solution experts accompany customers in the conception, planning and implementation of systems and production lines and enable the best possible solution for individual customer requirements. Efficiency and profitability of the solution are as much in focus as smooth and optimized implementation for the customer.
At Ligna the WSS experts were happy to explain the different value-added processes in personal discussions and describe specific examples.
“Weinig System Solutions ventures beyond the conventional limits of wood processing. We offer our customers a comprehensive solution that enables them to produce high-quality components for constructive woodworking efficiently and cost-effectively,” says Gregor Baumbusch, CEO of Michael Weinig AG. “We take pride in supporting our customers every step of the way and helping them achieve their goals,” emphasises systems specialist Michael Bock, managing director of Weinig Vertrieb und Service GmbH and Director of Weinig Systems Solutions.
WEINIG LifeTime Services:
“Trust & Value packages” from a single source: Weinig sets new standards with its unique end-to-end service offerings
With a new, modular system (comprising Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum plans), Weinig LifeTime Services offers customer operations support in the maintenance and servicing of Weinig machines and systems before, during and after purchase and in demanding continuous operation. The plans have terms of up to three years to make service tasks and costs plannable. “Managed service support forms the basis for consistently high availability with high productivity, a predictable and sustainable reduction in operating costs and hence a predictable ROI which ultimately means success for our customers,” affirms Andreas Doikas, Head of Weinig LifeTime Services.
In the future, the new “myWEINIG Portal” will allow customers to access booked service offers in a “single sign-on” process. The digital service portfolio is modular in design and aims to provide maximum transparency for the best possible machine availability.
There are several modules to choose from:
- Weinig SmartCase: Triggers information on all service operations and their processing statuses.
- Weinig Genius, a kind of “Google” for all questions and answers about Weinig machines and systems, documents and troubleshooting aids 24/7 is now at your fingertips.
- Weinig ASSETs: Information on machines and systems and their key data are available anywhere and at any time at the touch of a button.
- Weinig Maintenance Manager: Helps establish a maintenance strategy based on cooperation.
- Weinig Online Shop 2.0: with just a few clicks, wear and spare parts can be ordered 24/7 without media gaps.
The new Weinig “360” Asset Management
“With continuous production systems, it’s better not to leave anything to chance,” Andreas Doikas says. Therefore, Weinig offers industrial customers a 100% all-around professional solution that pays off in ROI and OEE benefits.
Operators and manufacturers work together with Weinig as integrator to develop a Total Productive Maintenance concept (TPM) tailored to the customer. Via a central collaboration platform, all participants can centrally access the data and process upcoming tasks. Systematic recommendations for initial stock, an orchestrated maintenance strategy and state-of-the-art remote support solutions as well as the new Trust & Value plans round off the concept.
Large-scale system — cross-cut finger jointing line
Every piece of wood is raw material. Weinig offers optimal solutions in order to use this regenerative raw material economically and to realise high production output despite a shortage of skilled labor. Like, for example, the cross-cut finger jointing line with robot feeding, which is built for tough continuous operation. A robot with a vacuum unit feeds boards into the system.
The boards are evaluated by means of a CombiScan Sense scanner. Artificial intelligence significantly improves results and their repeatability, while reducing setup time. The automatic camera adjustment reduces operator errors, and the user-friendly interface is easy and quick to use while providing more statistics and data than ever before. The developers have also taken a further step towards optimisation with regard to the minimum infeed length: it is now 400 mm, while the maximum infeed length is 6,500 mm. The infeed width ranges from 35 to 310 mm, and the infeed thickness from 15 to 120 mm The CombiScan Sense can achieve a maximum operating speed of up to 430 m/min.
Defects are cut out by what is believed to be the world’s fastest high-speed cross-cut saw, the OptiCut 450 Quantum.
This cross-cut saw in the top performance range is designed for 24/7 use, making it a true marathon runner. As its name suggests, the OptiCut 450 Quantum achieves an amazing feed speed of up to 450 m/min. It processes wood lengths from 1,500 to 2,000 mm, widths from 40 to 200 mm and thicknesses from 18 to 75 mm. Its conveyor belt is equipped with Variospeed, which means that the gap between two boards becomes smaller, resulting in up to 20% higher performance. The dynamic overhead feed with permanent contact to the wood enables both high acceleration and fast deceleration. The length measurement, which is independent of the feed speed, ensures exact lengths without slippage. The VarioStroke saw stroke — adjustable to the optimum cutting height in eight levels — also contributes to the very short cutting times. To ensure that waste parts do not impair speed, a blow-out device ensures cleanliness. It handles cross sections up to 150 by 50 mm.
The good parts are automatically transferred to the downstream HS 200 finger jointing line at a rate of up to 240 parts/min.
The mechanisation for direct feeding of the finger jointing line via the cross-cut saw is patent pending.
The key component of the finger-jointing line is the HS 200, a high-speed system for horizontal finger joints, which the developers at Weinig have enhanced in a number of points. For example, it is now possible to monitor the system in real time around the clock via the Weinig App Suite. This also includes having an overview of the condition of process-relevant wear parts to avoid unnecessary downtime in the first place.
A scanner — referred to as GlueEye Vision at Weinig — ensures optimal glue application, and for maximum wood savings, the HS 200 measures each individual workpiece. The smallest wood infeed length is 110 mm, and the maximum is 900 mm. From this, the HS 200 makes boards and strips with lengths ranging from 3,000 to 6,100 mm, and with widths from 37 to 152 mm. The thickness of the wood can span from 20 to 50 mm. With the reference cross-section of 30 by 90 mm, the milling machine achieves an output of up to 200 parts/min. The press manages 12 cycles/min. Infeed and outfeed mechanization is carried out according to the individual needs of the customer.
Large-scale system — gluing press
The ProfiPress C 2500 HF — believed to be a world first in solid wood processing. The ProfiPress C 2500 HF high-performance gluing press features non-contact glue application that can be adjusted precisely to the wood thickness, which increases gluing quality and reduces consumption. Maximum production output is ensured by the stacking unit with alignment station, which enables a capacity of up to 100 lamellae/min. A strong hold-down system at the infeed is responsible for optimal alignment, resulting in only minimal misalignment with exceptionally good surfaces that require very little finishing. Due to the high-frequency heating system in the pressing bed, the glue joints harden quickly without heating up the wood. The result is tension-free glued panels with very high joint quality. For optimum wood utilisation, the ProfiPress C 2500 HF is optionally available with a double cross-cut saw including a lifting unit for cutting the continuously glued panel.
Conturex Vario L Performance —
the high-end solution for industrial production
CNC profiling center for higher performance with unchanged space requirements. The Conturex Vario L is one of the world’s most powerful CNC machining centres in window manufacturing. For Ligna, Weinig has given the Conturex Vario L a facelift with a performance package. The machine can now process increased double part lengths with the same footprint, which is made possible by enhancements to the PowerGrip motion tables. The new multi-part sequence allows two parts to be clamped on one table, reducing non-productive time. The scope of delivery includes the Sinumerik One, the latest generation of control technology from Siemens.
Thanks to its sturdy portal design, the Conturex Vario L can be equipped with heavy units. Cast iron tracks ensure a high level of dynamism. Basically, this CNC profiling center is designed for complete machining of heavy solid wood applications.
The Conturex Vario L offers a variety of equipment variations that allow it to be perfectly matched to individual applications. For example, you can use a universal spindle for the production of complex window profiles, a 5-axis head for absolute flexibility in furniture production, and multiple spindle drilling heads (MBK) for greater performance in hardware machining.
Thanks to the 30 kW main spindle, production is much faster now: due to its high power, profiles can be made in just one processing step. The air-cooled main spindles are virtually maintenance-free and thus guarantee high machine availability.
The Conturex Vario L has a separate infeed and outfeed area. Loading and unloading takes place in a continuous flow principle without any loss of time. The ergonomic design also ensures that the workpieces can always be positioned and removed at the optimal height. Even in the standard version, the Conturex Vario L works fully automatically. Depending on configuration , the output and degree of automation can even be increased so that the operator only has to spend about 20% of their time with the machine. This means that production can be carried out in off-peak times as well as during extended shifts.
An open interface to all common industry software solutions combined with WEINIG CAM provides the optimal programming platform for customer-specific applications. Even parametric special parts, conservatory constructions, solid wood doors and special window shapes can be programmed in no time at all through the simple use of macros.
Subsequent simulation of the processes with WEINIG SIM allows the parts to be tested and optimized in advance. This maximises operating and production reliability to the highest possible degree.
The new Hydromat 4400 — maximum output
The high-performance machine for planing and profiling at up to 400 m/min with maximum output. The Hydromat 4400 combines all the requirements for a high-speed machine: massive design, powerful infeed unit and excellent performance potential. Stability and flexibility in outstanding combination guarantee perfect cost-efficiency with high productivity.
The Hydromat 4400 can convert a stack of timber into high-quality workpieces without compromising on performance. The Highspeed series is claimed to be in the top performance league in terms of design and processing. And that means: planing and profiling at feed speeds of up to 400 m/min with excellent surface quality, no less.
Weinig high-speed planing also stands for efficient production, be it in large batches or production to order. In addition, customers benefit from safety based on strict quality standards, high ease of use and what is claimed to be an unrivalled level of reliability.
The Hydromat 4400 offers a working width of 60 to 300 mm and a working height of 19 to 120 mm. The unit is operated via a 21.5” display with Weinig Machine Control. The CNC-controlled adjustments reduce setup time to a minimum, and the tools can be conveniently changed using a crane, hoist and HydroLock outboard bearing. Large feed rollers, table rollers and pressure rollers ensure that the workpieces are guided securely and smoothly. Weinig did not show the Hydromat 4400 in a live demonstration in Hanover, but it was on display in conjunction with the High Performance Feeder, which is also designed for feed speeds of 400 m/min.
PowerSplit 1250 — band resaw for highest performance
The flexible saw for maximum performance and resource efficiency. 150 m/min feed speed, minimum kerf, perfect quality, short setup times and smooth throughfeed are an unbeatable combination. The power package guarantees reliable and powerful production with maximum safety for the operator. The PowerSplit 1250 band resaw is equipped with a 55 kW motor as standard, but 45 and 75 kW motors are also available as options. Accordingly, feed rates of up to 80, 120 or even 150 m/s are possible, and the maximum cutting height is 300 mm. The SINGLE version is equipped with a fixed sawing unit on the right, while the TWIN version has two adjustable sawing units. The PowerSplit 1250 is built for maximum performance; for example, the band saw blade can reach speeds of up to 70 m/s — that’s 252 k/hr! In order for the saw to reach this speed, the developers have treated it to a spraying device. It spreads anti-stick agent on the saw blade to prevent resin or dirt from sticking. Intuitive SplitControl operation on a 21.5” display ensures maximum convenience.
At Ligna in Hanover, Weinig exhibited a PowerSplit 1250 as a standalone application and demonstrate separation and center cuts with different cross-sections and wood types.
For contact details, see page 20, 21, 22 & 23 of our June/July 2023 issue on our Back Issues page.
