Rotating an edge banding unit safely with the twisterband

• What was needed: An energy supply that enables the edgebanding unit to be swivelled using 5-axis technology
• Requirements: High rotation angle (720° in both directions), suitable for a small installation space, guidance of several media in one system, cost-effective
• Area of application: Wood industry, CNC machining centre

Homag GmbH in Schopfloch specialises in production systems and machines for woodworking and is the world market leader in the field of edge banding machine production. The product range extends from stand-alone machines for small workshops to complete networked production lines for highly industrialised, customised furniture production.

CNC machining centres with 5-axis technology or edge banding units are now standard for coating narrow workpiece surfaces. A further development from Homag combines these two technologies and thus opens up new design possibilities for furniture. This is because the machine can glue bevelled edges - a task that was previously only possible manually. For this purpose, the edge banding unit is swivelled using 5-axis technology. This allows the processing centre to carry out both processing and coating with edgebanding at a free angle.

The transfer of energy, information and media is one of the most critical points when combining these two technologies. Solutions are available for setting up the two technologies separately. However, the combination now requires more cables. To ensure that there are no restrictions on processing, larger rotation angles must also be made possible - at least two full rotations in both directions. Previous solutions are either limited to too few media, only allow a small rotation angle, require too much installation space or are too cost-intensive.

HOMAG started looking for energy supply solutions outside the standard and turned to igus®. After examining all the options, only one energy supply came into question: this twisterband is the perfect solution for this application. This is because it allows an energy supply to be realised in the tightest of spaces despite the strong filling, which also allows flexible assembly depending on the expansion stage. With an outer diameter of 330 mm and an overall height of just 320 mm, two rotations in both directions are achieved at a rotation speed of 120°/s. With the twisterband, different media can be fed in one system and costs can be saved compared to previous, familiar solutions.