Moving 25 t accurately to the millimeter

Next to portal milling hub PBA-3 from the German machine specialist Hundegger from Hawangen, the „conventional“ joining system K2i seems quite „handy“. At Hüsser Holzleimbau in Bremgarten/CH, both systems are in operation. In 2015 already, the classic K2i was purchased for joining standard glulam with lengths of up to 25 m. Hüsser Holzleimbau, however, subsequently specialized in timber engineering. The elements that need to be joined have according dimensions. So far, these tasks have been taken care of both manually as well as by means of an existing, smaller system. Due to rising demand, however, the work load became immense. „This is why we opted for Hundegger‘s new portal milling hub PBA-3. Furthermore, we wanted to take a step forward with regards to technology“, Martin Hügli explains. He is the managing director of the glulam construction division at the Hüsser group.

Second system, different structure

The PBA-3 at Hüsser Holzleimbau is the second of its kind that Hundegger built. The first one can be found at Ed. Züblin in Aichach/DE. The Hüsser system, however, has some crucial differences compared to its sibling in Germany. But more on this later.

In general, Hüsser Holzleimbau is almost exclusively processing glulam elements from in-house production. In combination with a Ledinek press, the production in Bremgarten is also capable of curved beams which the staff finalizes in the adjacent joining hall for each project. „We hardly sell any raw glulam elements. More than 95% of our volumes are delivered to construction sites readily joined“, Daniel Ebert specifies. He is responsible for the CNC division as well as projects at Hüsser Holzleimbau. Contrary to Ed. Züblin, the enterprise opted for a 1-portal-solution. And it is a mighty one at that. After all, it moves 25 t on rails almost soundlessly, and accurately to the millimeter.

Seemingly effortless processing

During the Timber-Online visit, a large glulam beam is being joined. Right outside the processing zone, the machine‘s operations can be observed on screen. The portal is gliding effortlessly past its bystanders, processing the elements in all ways possible: Sawing, drilling, milling, slitting – depending on the specification from the order preparation. The system is equipped with four units: a heavy-duty spindle with a driving power of 55 kW and fivefold processing, a deep-hole boring machine, a drill tower, and another 5-axis unit with 38 kW for a circular saw blade with a diameter of 1100 mm. The control fetches the necessary tools from the tool changer with 32 seats. With a hollow shank taper receiver, the changing process takes virtually no time. The company is planning to make several additions to the tool units during the summer to gain even more flexibility. „By now, we have been working with the PBA-3 for almost two years. During that time we found out which additional processing steps would be useful“, Hügli explains. Now is the time to implement those. Speaking of plans: The engineers at Hüsser use Cadwork to design and subsequently transfer data to the program Cambium from Hundegger. „A huge advantage“, Ebert emphasizes. „With this, virtually all operators can work on every Hundegger machine without lengthy prior trainings.“ Data are transferred from the office to the systems via the company-internal network.

Another difference between this PBA-3 and the first one ever is the machine table – or rather the lack thereof at Hüsser Holzleimbau. „In cooperation with Hundegger, we developed support blocks that can be positioned any way we want. Vacuum suction cups hold the component in place. This way, processing elements can be done completely freely“, Ebert elaborates. Which brings the CNC specialist to the next feature of the PBA-3 in Bremgarten: Lasers from above – five of them – project the processing plan onto the component. This way the operator can tell at a glance whether it is positioned correctly.

The PBA-3 can process elements with up to 53 m of length. This roughly equals the breadth of a soccer field. The width of the wood reaches up to 5 m, and the thickness up to 50 cm. To fully utilize this processing area, parallel operation is possible. „In that case the portal is processing a component on the one side while an employee – protected by a deflector – is preparing the second element on the other side“, Cornel Rüegg, who is responsible for Hundegger‘s distribution in Switzerland, explains. A conveyor belt spanning the whole length of the system is disposing of waste wood.

Hüsser Holzleimbau is very satisfied with the services Hundegger provides. The team from Hawangen is always available for questions. In complex processing scenarios such as the timber engineering sector, this is essential.