Dutch Interior Fittings Specialist Cuts the Cost of Cutting and Storing Panels

In just 15 months Keijsers Interior Projects, one of Holland’s biggest interior fittings specialists, completely converted to a fully automatic panel cutting plant. HOMAG Group sales partner in Holland Klingelnberg-Klauss and Keijsers developed an integrated working concept that addressed storage, labelling and panel cutting/routing stages – and had it up and running in a year and a half.

Keijsers now centrally manages storage, processing and distribution of the entire range of different panel materials it uses to make rectangular and free form work pieces for high-grade interior fittings.

Three HOMAG Group companies supplied all the system components for this ambitious project:

• BARGSTEDT delivered the automatic area storage system TLF 410 with storage stations and loading gantry for the saw, fitted with roller conveyors for removal from storage and waste piece return transport.
• HOLZMA provided the Logopac labelling station for the printing and application of bar code labels and also the panel dividing saw HPP 380.
• HOMAG supplied the CNC router BOF 612 for nesting and the feeding gantry with large-area vacuum gripping system and belt table.

All panels enter storage as data, according to predetermined future use.

The back of the BARGSTEDT storage system showing two 3-bay storage stations from a total of nine.
With the BARGSTEDT TLF 410 automatic area storage system, individual components are coordinated and positioned for the most efficient possible process sequence. Books of large-format panels (half formats) are deposited along the back of the storage system using forklifts at nine different storage stations. In the morning, an employee prepares the newly delivered books of panels for their predetermined future use. He uses a scanner to enter the data provided on the shipping documents at the control terminal of the storage system and begins the process of entering the parts into storage.

Top and dummy boards are manually communicated to the storage control system. These boards are first entered into storage alongside the panels in order to free up the storage stations; they are removed from storage in response to a manual request at a later juncture.

Panels leave storage and go directly to parallel cutting and routing stations, sorted by an electronic label reader.

BARGSTEDT area storage system TLF 410 with storage crane and outfeed roller conveyor to the labeling station.Panels are removed from the BARGSTEDT storage system and deposited individually, using the storage crane and vacuum conveying unit on two parallel infeed conveyor lines in front of the labelling station. Two dedicated deposit positions are provided, one for cutting to size on the HOLZMA panel dividing saw and one for nesting with the HOMAG CNC router. Inside the labelling station, the panels are traversed to position 0/0 by the BARGSTEDT roller conveyors. This eliminates the need for referencing the labeller. Since the labeller processes left-hand and right-hand panels alternately, panel changeover times are significantly reduced. Panels exit the system via roller conveyors, travelling straight for routing or diverted via an angular transfer to the panel-dividing saw.

Panels destined for the HOLZMA panel-dividing saw are transported via an angular transfer under a BARGSTEDT loading gantry. After alignment a rotatable suction beam deposits panel books either individually or in sequence on the pre-stacking table of the panel dividing saw. Once all the panels of a cutting plan have been deposited, the programmed sawing cycle launches. Cut work pieces are manually de-stacked and waste pieces are manually transferred to a BARGSTEDT return transport line to the panel store.

Panels requested individually by the storage control system which are not labelled and are not intended for processing by the HOLZMA panel dividing saw or the HOMAG CNC router are transported directly over the angular transfer to a manual removal station. Both processing machines allow work pieces to be manually positioned and processed from the front.

HOMAG BOF 612 nesting cell with two independent work tables for processing pre-labelled large-format panels.Panels destined for the CNC router are transported as far as the HOMAG loading gantry. From the defined 0/0 end position the individual panels are engaged with the large-area vacuum gripping system and deposited on whichever of the two router worktables is currently free. The router runs through the processing program and the finished panels/nests are engaged by the vacuum gripping system in a single stroke from the loading gantry and deposited on a belt table, from where they are cleared manually.

All phases use proprietary, internally developed software

BARGSTEDT manages all the transport sections upstream and downstream from the labelling process with woodTrans, its own internally developed software. For transition from storage to the HOLZMA saw or to the HOMAG CNC router, the storage system tells the software which panels are required. woodTrans transfers the panel data with book management to the HOLZMA Cut Rite program and tracks the panels on the different transport sections. If there is no cutting plan or optimization routine available in Cut Rite, this is requested at the relevant manual removal station.

Labeling is key to the efficiency of the system

Scannable labels on individual panels are key to making the system work. Using Logopak labelling logic and printing, labels direct the software to store large panels according to their predetermined use; direct the crane and/or vacuum system to the cutting/routing infeed conveyors; determine the route of each panel through saw and/or router; send the processed panels on for additional finishing or to either storage or boxing for shipment. Manual intervention is required at only a few steps, speeding production, reducing waste, improving quality consistency and reducing costs.

Keijsers Interior Projects

Keijsers Interior Projects looks back on a hundred years of corporate history, and is one of Holland’s biggest interior fittings firms. This successful company has completed projects for customers at home and abroad in market segments ranging from retail to museums, offices and the service industry. Keijsers approaches every project in close cooperation with customers, building specialists, interior architects and designers. This collaborative approach forms the core of the Keijsers Interior Projects ethos as “the ultimate co-creator” in respect of quality, professionalism, commitment and outstanding service.

Every project is processed and completed by a team specialized in the relevant market segment. As a rule, a team comprises a project manager, costing expert, planning engineer, and qualified joiners alongside trainee craftsmen. In this way, Keijsers is able to concentrate specific technical expertise and experience within every market segment. The team members are selected to complement each other’s skills, and to reinforce the individual experience and expertise of the other members to best advantage.

The project leader acts as central contact for all those involved. He is in direct contact with the customer’s project management and designer, and works with them to produce functional solutions and technically feasible details. He is also responsible for adherence to deadlines, acceptance of quality products and the financial aspects of the project.