First steps with Biesse

Dunstable Joinery and Dunstable Laminates invest in their first CNC, a Rover KFT, and an Akron 1400 edgebander from Biesse.

When Adam and Jonathan Rix, directors of Dunstable Joinery and Dunstable Laminates, decided to take their first steps into the world of CNC after decades of servicing the commercial sector with classically-made bespoke interior joinery, they freely admit it was a little daunting. They, and their father before them, had built an enviable reputation for high quality craftsmanship, they’d launched their own brand of toilet cubicles for service stations and public buildings, their fire doors and fit-out skills were in high demand and they’d even built their own bright and airy showroom and workshop. They knew a CNC machining centre would provide the accuracy and quality they wanted and it would simplify some of their everyday tasks, but which manufacturer to approach, or where to start with a specification …that was the tricky bit.

“We’d never had a CNC before,” admitted Adam. “The guys from Biesse were very helpful and explained the options and what we could and couldn’t have on their machines. We’d done our homework, we knew what we wanted to make, but it was all completely alien to us. They were talking about multi-zone beds and precision bars, offloading tables, things we’d never really thought about. We just had a job to do.

“If it was doors we were making, we’d have a cut list, put the material on the table saw, cut it, put the components on a trolley, bring them to the bench, chamfer them, turn them, flip them, put a jig on them, radius them, put the locks in, fix hinges – it was a lengthy job. When Biesse’s sales guy explained how easy it was to do with a CNC machine using macros, it sounded like a different world.”

Adam and Jonathan took the plunge and invested in a three-axis Biesse Rover K FT 2243 – a flat matrix table machine with a gantry structure and dual motors for increased precision during nesting operations that’s compact in size but extremely versatile. The Rover K FT is one of Biesse’s new quick-installation plug and play models and the 2243 model comes with the largest bed size available in the range.

Although Adam knew the caged version would run faster, speed was less of a priority than space at Dunstable Joinery, so he opted for a bumper-equipped model. “We also wanted the 4.2m bed. Our worktops come in at 4.1m, but rather than use a mason’s mitre if we needed a longer worktop, we thought it would be better to go for the longer bed option. It also saves us dressing some of the jumbo boards on the table saw before we put them on the CNC.”

The phenolic laminate table, which features multi-zone technology that adapts the vacuum to different board sizes and requires no manual operation to switch formats, will take three different sizes of vacuum pod that sit above the spoil board. These don’t require auxiliary vacuum to work efficiently, but at the time, Adam decided against specifying pods. He did, however, opt for an off-loading table, which extends the working area at the outfeed, and, in the interests of a better finish, Biesse’s board cleaning system to keep the surface of each board free from dust.

“We also opted for pop-up pins on the bed. They are better than a position bar. You can often get dust and dirt trapped between the bar and the panel, which can put alignment out.”

Having the facility to hold up to 14 tools in the tool-changer provided enough space for the larger tools Dunstable Joinery needed to machine windows, as well as additional tools for routing and panel work – and all are accessed automatically by the machine according to the program selected.

“We do a lot of curved work, for which we used to use a spindle moulder. It’s not ideal. When you get end grain, or knots a spindle moulder can snatch. A lot of joiners would avoid that type of work. Now all the radiused and curved work is done on the CNC. That’s another plus. It is safer, quicker, more accurate. Doors, windows, box sashes, anything like that with a curved head on is easy now – and we’re doing it all on a three-axis matrix bed machine.

“Buying the Biesse is one of the best decisions we’ve made as a company,” says Jonathan. “Since we took delivery about 18 months ago, honestly, we’ve become thoroughly spoiled. We can do everything with the macros. When we’re making doors, it learns the height of each door and adjusts the locks and hinges for us. What would have taken two or three guys to complete multiple processes now takes minutes on the machine. We load it up, press play and while it’s working we’re putting in a cutting list for the next job. We can do three or four jobs in the time we used to take on one. The amount of time we’re saving over the course of a year probably runs into weeks. That and the precision have been massive for us really.”

A year or so after the Rover K FT arrived, the brothers took the decision to upgrade their existing edgebander and again called Biesse in for advice. “With the edgebander, we knew exactly what we wanted to do,” says Adam. “We went for Biesse’s Akron 1400, one of the bigger machines at the time, because it was the one that could cope with the 12mm lippings we apply to fire doors, and it has interchangeable glue pots that would allow us to switch from PUR to EVA. Now we have the Akron, we don’t need to cramp and wait until they dry. We can batch the doors up and edge ten at a time with Polyurethane.

“We also use it for edging toilet cubicles. Mostly we use 12mm solid grade laminate but we also use an 18/19mm moisture resistant MFC, which needs a 2mm PVC edging. With MFC, the thicknesses of the board varies quite a bit. Depending on the material we’re running, we set it up on the Akron 1400 and it’s perfect, clean and flush every time. It’s got a tracing system so it will even ride over hinge holes without the need to plug them before the board goes on the machine.”

The single-sided Akron 1400 is equipped with Biesse’s IT 70 S end trimming unit, which is ideal for thick edgings and solid wood strips, offers minimal spacing of just 450mm between panels and runs at 18m/min. It’s been designed for use with high gloss or delicate surfaces as well as thin edges. Offset is chosen from the monitor for perfect trimming without the need for manual adjustment.

Also on the Akron 1400 are the RF 03 top and bottom trimming unit and the AR 02 E corner rounding unit. The RF 03 is a scraper with axis-controlled positioning that offers up to six different radii and the AR 02 E, a twin motor corner rounder for use with edges of up to 3mm in thickness.

“It’s a pretty well-equipped machine to start with,” says Adam, “But we decided to add a heater to warm the edges before they go through to gluing. The temperature in the workshop can fluctuate quite a lot and that can be a nightmare when sticking a PVC on if the edgeband is too cold. Heating the edge helps it to adhere to the board better.

“We also wanted the automatic feed table at the front. With our old edgebander, we had to lift up the back of the machine to put the edgings in and I wanted to avoid that, because when people start tinkering with the back, that’s when everything goes out of alignment. Now we have the automatic feed table, so we just feed the PVC edgings in and the machine does the rest.”

Adam and Jonathan are pleased with their choices. Their Rover K has been “as good as gold” and the post-installation service they’ve received from Biesse on both machines has been exceptional: “They can remote in with SOPHIA if they need to in just a few minutes,” says Jonathan. “Most of the issues are sorted that way. If they’re not, we’ve even had an engineer out the very same day. From a customer service point of view, I think that’s about as good as you’re going to get.”

If you’d like more information on the Rover K FT, or the Akron 1400, call Biesse UK on 01327 300366 or visit biesse.com/gb/en/