Introducing Flexi Rip: New Technology
Over the last 18 months it has become apparent we needed to find new technology for sawing. With research, we needed to find the safest and quickest saw to cut more of the T/T boards at WL West & Sons. We were looking for greater output, accuracy and efficiency and a big improvement with regard to Health and Safety in cutting timber to size in its sawn state.
Our current sawyer had been preparing for retirement however was working on an old machine where a plank sits on a table and is driven through a band saw. Though experienced with the machine, it is dangerous and slow, requiring great manual effort from our sawyer in handling the boards. Some of the boards can often weigh over 200kg. It quickly became evident it was time for an upgrade.
We researched saw makes from Slovenia and Italy, however considering how heavy duty this work can be, we eventually decided to move forward with a German firm named Weinig, who are providing us the FlexiRip.
How does the FlexiRip work?
Ultimately, the plank stays still, held into place with an arbour. A moving circular saw runs down a shaft to cut the timber at a given point away from the fence.
Why did we decide on FlexiRip?
Of all the machines we had researched, the FlexiRip improves accuracy and provides real parallel cutting. It is efficient and fast to programme and cut. It offers a powerful performance, cutting up to 215mm in thickness and 7m in length. Additionally, the FlexiRip has an auto-adjustment feature for thickness of timber, reading the thickness and applying the arbor or holding down the mechanism to maximise the best cutting angles for saw. Further, it offers the potential to groove cut or trench out – a faster alternative to CNC routing and safer groove cutting. Here are some of the other benefits of FlexiRip:
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Quick blade change
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High safety factor
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Accurate fence positioning
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Saving in 5/10mm on every board cut
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Table carries up to 600kg
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Ball bearing infeed rollers to make movement lighter and more directional
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Touch screed simplicity
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Big characters on the display screen
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Programable cut list – storage for cutting lists for repeat jobs
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No tape measuring required
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Speed control as not over stressing the motors
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Very wide board being fully supported on the extra wide bed for us
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8mm Flexi safety curtain, plus allows dust to be vacuumed away successfully
While the journey to finding the FlexiRip was a long one and the investment into such a machine is high, ultimately the FlexiRip is going to save WL West & Sons hugely on manpower and – more importantly – provide the safety required on-site, which in itself is priceless.
WL West & Sons Ltd is a timber merchant and sawmill business with 150 years of experience. We provide a wide range of air-dried oak and kiln-dried oak timber products and supplies. We also build and install custom projects for our customers.
Our wood products, building materials and certified wood are manufactured and sold with the endorsement of forest certification and the Forest Stewardship Council FSC
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