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Non-Stop Perfection

The company Holtkamp Möbelteile GmbH & Co. KG places immense importance on the highest quality standards in its production. This aspiration is supported by a synchronously adjustable jointing cutter from LEUCO. It guarantees Holtkamp a high standard of production and simultaneously reduces setup times to a minimum.

Holtkamp is a successful supplier to the kitchen and office furniture industry based in Melle, near Osnabrück, Germany. There, the company employs over 50 people and has 20,000 m² of production and storage space. Its operations comprise, on the one hand, the large-scale production of several thousand parts per batch and, on the other, the manufacture of subcontracted parts in lots of one with just-in-time delivery.

“One of Holtkamp’s strengths is its unconditional delivery reliability. Our customers can rely on on-time production and delivery. At the same time, we guarantee a high standard of product and the implementation of all customer requirements,” says Ali Parlak, production manager. He has worked for the furniture supplier since 2018 and has 25 years of experience in the kitchen industry. The high standard at Holtkamp is reflected directly in the demands placed on the tools. “Since our customers have very high quality standards, we routinely change the jointing cutters at defined intervals,” says Parlak. All this together makes setup time and tool costs important criteria in the supplier’s decision.

Best suited for identical panel heights

This was also the reason why Ali Parlak immediately showed interest when LEUCO’s sales department informed him about the new synchronously adjustable jointing cutter “DIAREX airFace” and its advantages. The milling cutter is ideal when machining large quantities with a constant panel height, where the same point of the cutting edges is stressed all the time. This is because the synchronously adjustable jointing cutter consists of two tool parts whose distance from each other is set by an adjustment function. In this way, new, sharp cutting edge sections are always used and the cutting edge width is utilized to the full. Their diamond tips guarantee a maximum of long edge life.

At Holtkamp, the synchronously adjustable DIAREX airFace jointing cutter with a diameter of 200 mm is primarily used for the production of large series on a four-sided IMA Combima sizing and edge processing line on a unit with a 40 mm shaft. Holtkamp mainly uses it to produce cabinet components made of 16 mm particle board with a precise narrow-face coating of PUR. Ali Parlak: “The synchronously adjustable jointing cutter is excellent for use when working with identical panel thickness because you have a sharp cutting edge in the area of the panel surface.”

Holtkamp: “The synchronous milling cutter is worth it”

Compared to a conventional jointing cutter, LEUCO promised an extension in edge life ideally by a factor of 5: “We adjust the tool 4-5 times on average. As a result, the edge life of the synchronous jointing cutter is five times longer,” notes Parlak.

Another advantage is the shortening and significant simplification of the setup process, which conventionally takes between 45 and 60 minutes. With the synchronously adjustable jointing cutter, this means a short machine stop, readjustment with an Allen key in the machine without removing the tool, and no readjustment of the motor as the reference point remains the same as the tool parts move towards each other. All in all, a maximum of 10 minutes for an experienced machine operator.

The production manager therefore underlines the good economic efficiency of the tool: “The synchronous milling cutter pays off for us from the moment the higher acquisition costs have been amortized by the reduced sharpening costs and saved machine down-times.” This is clearly the case at Holtkamp. Based on these positive experiences, Holtkamp wants to stay with this tool: “The next synchronously adjustable jointers have already been ordered.

Are you interested in a such a successful solution in your production as well? Contact us.