At Hall 17 (Stand F45-F47) Cefla will show lots of technology for automating workflows and work cycles, the new Omnidry range of vertical ovens with the revolutionary Flexpro feature, 3D digital printing, the super-fast Smartedge for edges, and the innovative solutions for fixtures including iLoad and iFlow.
Cefla Finishing will bring its main technologies to Ligna (Hall 17, stand F45-F47), from the 22nd to 26th of May in Hannover, Germany, including exclusive new items in the fields of painting, drying and 3D digital printing.
Starting with painting, Cefla Finishing confirms having the most comprehensive range of sprayers and robots present on the world market today. iGiotto App X2 certainly won’t be missing at Ligna; this cutting edge product from Cefla’s robotic team won the award for innovation at Xylexpo last year. It is a pair of anthropomorphic robots that are automatically driven by a system that classifies and recognizes the pieces inputted in the production process, allowing the user maximum flexibility. The robots can operate in an autonomous manner, following optimized trajectories and without hindering the movement of one another, or they can increase productivity by working in a synchronous fashion. In Hanover, Cefla will also bring its proposals for the control and configuration of painting procedures and lines. Among these we’d like to mention cCloner, the new modeller that can interface with PLC (Programmable Logic Control) systems, allowing processing lines and processes to be configured in 3D, as well as their simulations in order to check compliance with production requirements and prevent inefficiencies in real time. We’d also like to mention cTracker, the advanced supervision system (SCADA, Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) that is fully consistent with the Industry 4.0 standards and can ensure the most complete flexibility as an interface with any colour-changing PLC system present on the market. cTracker also provides virtual piece tracking that allows the exact position of the product along the process to be monitored remotely, as well as management of the modification of processing parameters on the line throughout the cycle. This system will also be present in the simplified version cViewer, which is designed for jobs that do not require virtual tracking of parts and do not require sudden changes in settings. As for edge painting, the market demands call for the reduction or definitive elimination of manual sanding, usually required on vertical edges before the application of spray finishing. Cefla Finishing has responded to this demand with Smartedge, the complete machine for painting and sanding the edges of straight and shaped panels. The new vacuum body for the application of paint is installed on a floating carriage with a pneumatic edge-copying system which allows for an optimum application of paint and considerable savings with respect to the previous version, while also ensuring ease of use, a smaller size and colour changes in just 15 minutes. One highlight is the new patented Whizz Head, which is a vacuum application head that carries out a quick profile change: a true revolution that allows the change of edge shapes in about 10 seconds and edge thickness in 15 seconds, all without having to turn the machine off.
Anticipating and accompanying market trends that are moving toward glossy and semi-glossy surfaces with a growing interest in opaque finishes and large surfaces, Cefla Finishing will début Smartclean 4.0at Ligna, which it already previewed at Cefla Live last October and has tested on the field since then. This roller cleaning system for panels that will then be sent to finishing presents considerable advantages with respect to the more traditional brush systems: it offers better cleaning performance, lacks presser rollers that may dirty the panel on output, eliminates electrostatic charges from the panels and can process panels of any size. The polyurethane gel roller completely adheres to panels, even uncalibrated ones, and thanks to the right amount of pressure is long-lasting, thereby reducing management costs.
As for fixtures, three new items will be presented at Ligna. The first is cVision, a 3D vision system for workpieces of up to 3 vertical meters that can very precisely see parts which are difficult to detect such as protrusions and grooves, sending all the necessary information to the anthropomorphic robot iGiotto for delicate and homogeneous application. Another new item is iLoad, which is an automatic system for loading and unloading fixtures from an overhead line to carriages, and vice versa, without stopping the line and without requiring the presence of an operator. The new product proposal finishes off with iFlow, a water-soluble product application system with numerous benefits starting from the reduction of product used to a minimum, along with the considerable reduction in foaming. iFlow does not require a reservoir and is equipped with an automatic system for adding product, a stainless steel tank lined with teflon and side walls that can be inspected.
Moving on to digital printing, Cefla Finishing will present solutions designed to provide innovative decoration and maximum quality, even with large formats. These meet a growing market demand for so-called tactile effects – or “haptics” – previously attainable only with systems based on mechanical pressure. Among the new products that can meet this challenge, the single-pass printers stand out, and more specifically J-PRINT SP1300-TD, born from the combination of different technologies resulting from the synergy between Cefla’s know-how and JetSet. J-PRINT SP1300-TD can print haptics effects using an innovative process that ensures low cost and simplicity that have never been obtained before. The Cefla booth will have a 4 UV colour single-pass J-PRINT SP520 for printing decorations on various types of substrates and a “synchronized” print with the tactile effect will be demonstrated afterwards on the J-PRINT SP1300-3D printer.
Cefla Finishing will also debut the new generation of furnaces at Ligna. It is called Omnidry, and can be equipped with a special function called Flexpro, which is the subject of a Cefla patent that allows for the automated management of load thickness as a function of the size of the pieces and the logistical needs. With Flexpro, the system recognizes the incoming pieces and automatically adjusts to accept them and manage the cycle without requiring any intervention by operators and, above all, without ever stopping production. Cefla’s range of vertical ovens has made some important improvements, in particular in regard to maintenance (which can be preventive and programmable), diagnostics, thermal efficiency, cleaning and flexibility, all thanks to a design and technological breakthrough that makes the modular range configurable depending on the layout and needs of the customer today. The most notable change is the position of the drives, which have been moved down from the top of the system to below the oven’s worktop, making maintenance easier and safer for the operator, who is no longer required to work at heights. This important development also contributes to better efficiency in terms of operating temperatures and cleaning, eliminating any risk of contamination among the lubrications of the motoring and processing zones. Another new aspect compared to the previous generation of ovens is the new lifting chains, which increase the flow rate. Each door is ventilated in an autonomous manner and the air is channelled only on the trays and not on the chain, thus avoiding any gusts of powder. A new and exclusive large door that opens from behind allows for effortless control of ventilation inside the oven. A different mechanism for horizontal translation that is no longer via compressed air but synchronized with the lifting chain to exploit the kinematic system completes the list of the Omnidry range’s main features.
Lastly, the Cefla stand will also present the Düspohl technologies for the world of rolling and finishing profiles made of wood and plastic materials. Like Robowrap, particularly appreciated by the producers of PVC windows thanks to its guaranteed flexibility and productivity: a single machine can work on many types of profiles, it only takes 5 minutes to change a profile and it can be equipped with Primestar, the only gluing system with an aqueous base primer via a vacuum. Robowrap is the only machine in its category to be fully automated, with a view towards industry 4.0.
Click here to download some pictures of Cefla Finishing technologies
