In Hundegger’s beer garden, visitors from trade and industry met to chat in a convivial atmosphere © Günther Jauk
Joinery expert Hundegger brought as many as three new types of machines to the Ligna, with innovations ranging from the compact, entry-level model for carpenters and an extremely flexible PBA for the processing of panels and beams and the production of wall elements to a joinery production cell that also enables smaller companies to do unmanned CNC joining. Even though it was not on display, the newly developed PBA-Drive was the talk of the trade fair. This machine makes it possible to process CLT in throughfeed – a revolution in the joining of large-format panels.
Thus, not only the physical well-being was catered to in Hundegger’s traditional trade fair beer garden. Guests also had many topics to talk about. Once again, the exhibition stand of the joinery pioneers from Hawangen turned out to be one of the few places at the world’s leading trade fair for the woodworking industry where trade and industry were equally represented and exchanged ideas.
Compact, entry-level model
Hundegger’s CEO Walter Fahrenschon and Arno Gaggl, the company’s representative in Austria (from left), presented numerous newly developed solutions © Günther Jauk
A few years ago, Hundegger presented the Robot-Solo, a cost-effective, yet fully functional six-axis joinery machine, which made it possible for smaller carpentry companies to get started with CNC processing. “The Robot-Solo was very popular among carpenters, but not all companies had the necessary space for it,” Arno Gaggl, Hundegger’s representative in Austria, explained and added: “It was precisely for this reason that we developed the Robot-Compact 650.”
With the Robot-Compact, Hundegger is launching an even more compact, entry-level model which takes up even less space than the Robot-Solo and does not require any structural measures, such as a concrete machine pit. Nevertheless, the Robot-Compact can also process elements from all six sides using a tool magazine with up to 29 tools. At the Ligna, Hundegger presented the very first Robot-Compact 650, which will be sent directly from Hanover to a development partner. Production of this new type of machine is to officially start this summer.
Production cell for timber construction
A production cell with automatic loading and packaging forming systems enables unmanned CNC joining © Günther Jauk
The second machine Hundegger presented in Hanover was the tried-and-tested Speed-Cut 480 cutting machine – equipped with the automatic Pick & Feed loading system and the automatic Pick & Place package forming system using a vacuum lifter behind the machine. “This way, carpentry companies can also profit from unmanned material handling in the future,” Gaggl explained. Hundegger offers this fully automatic production cell as a customized solution for all of its beam joinery machines, with the Cambium Component Manager controlling the process.
Emphasis on flexibility
Visitors even took a seat inside Hundegger’s machines to have lively discussions © Günther Jauk
The PBA-X on display at Hundegger’s exhibition stand was a real visitor magnet. “The X stands for flexibility, which sums up the key characteristic of this machine in just one word,” Hundegger’s CEO Walter Fahrenschon explained at the trade fair. The company sees the PBA-X as a logical further development of the PBA-E for the universal processing and production of large elements. In addition to a 35 KW five-axis universal unit and a tool magazine for up to 100 tools, the PBA-X can also be equipped with powerful three-axis special milling units for the processing of glulam beams or large-format cross-laminated timber panels. Hundegger also developed an eight-fold multifunctional head for the production of timber frame elements.
Hundegger’s PBA-X is characterized by its compact structure and wide range of possible applications © Günther Jauk
Hundegger will deliver the first machine of this extremely compact panel joinery model to long-standing customer Cltech in Kaiserslautern, which specializes in timber engineering, timber frame construction and mass timber construction using CLT. In addition, the company is currently building a cross-laminated timber plant.
Joining CLT in throughfeed
Hundegger’s announcement that its portfolio will soon also include a CLT processing machine in throughput was a much talked of topic at the fair. This way, panels can be processed from all six sides without having to turn them. “In principle, we succeeded in marrying the PBA with the UFA,” Fahrenschon explained, referring to the significant increase in capacity compared to mobile gantry processing machines. “In the best case, customers save themselves the investment in an entire machine.”
The main challenge of this newly developed solution was the consistently exact positioning of the panel. “This requires a chain without backlash. We have invested three years of hard work until we were satisfied with the result,” Hans Hundegger explained in Hanover. However, the pioneer in CNC joining did not want to reveal what this solution looks like in detail.
