A huge success for the Homag Group

With the largest presence at the show, Homag Group was certainly the talk of Ligna 2013. The company, which recently announced sales revenues for 2012 of 767m, had over 7000ft to display its innovations, world premieres and ground-breaking technological advancements.

Simon Brooks, sales and marketing director of Homag UK rounds up the highlights of the show with particular focus on machines ideal for the UK market: “The German engineers at Homag Group really outdid themselves once again at Ligna 2013. In fact, the group achieved the second highest trade fair order intake ever recorded in its history, falling just short of the record-breaking Ligna 2011 result.”

“One of the most versatile innovations was the introduction of powerTouch. The idea behind this concept is to standardise all Homag Group machines so that they can be operated using the same interface. With a widescreen HD multi-touch monitor, powerTouch combines design and function to create a user friendly system controlled entirely by direct touch.

“Using Homag Group brands as standard across a factory floor creates a simple yet efficient work process. The ultra-modern user interface offers an array of help and assistance functions designed to radically simplify the work experience. Now, with the introduction of powerTouch, it’s even easier for personnel to operate every machine.”

“Homag Group has solutions for every manufacturer from small to large,” continues Simon. “This means that as your business grows, Homag can help to deliver maximum productivity with the highest quality of finish.

“A perfect example of this comes from Holzma with its revamped HPP 300 saw. This model has been re-engineered so that high panel processing can be achieved at an entry-level cost. Then, as demand increases, the machine can be completely tailored to the customer’s needs by adding optional extras to improve efficiency and productivity.”

The HPP 300 was on display at Ligna with Holzma’s easy2feed system at the rear of the machine. The automated feeding concept reduces manual handling whilst increasing productivity and safety.

“Ligna is the perfect opportunity for Homag Group to tell the world about its new innovations,” explains Simon. “Weeke took advantage of this and unveiled its BHX 200 CNC processing centre, the next generation of compact vertical CNC technology with a low space requirement. It is the big brother to the already-widely popular BHX 050/055 series. Using the same vertical machining style, the BHX 200 boasts considerably faster machining speeds whilst maintaining high levels of precision in a small footprint.

“It is equipped with two individually movable high-speed drilling heads which activate a total of 34 high-speed drilling spindles – 20 vertical and 14 horizontal – enabling, for example, rows of holes to be processed considerably faster. As standard, the BHX 200 is equipped with two CNC-controlled clamping devices to position and fix the workpieces during operation.

“Brandt also introduced new machines to its portfolio of edgebanders at Ligna – the Ambition 1120 FC and the Highflex 1230. Both models provide through-feed solutions for the smaller workshop. The Highflex 1230’s innovative design includes a wide range of automation features to simplify the work of the operator, save time and offer an optimum cost-to-performance ratio.

“It allows complete post-processing of the workpieces as it is equipped with a profile scraping unit, a glue joint scraper and a buffing unit. The high degree of automation is a unique feature at this level of edgebanding machine.” More information about the program is available on the web site at www.careel-tech.com.