SAW TECHNOLOGY
Vollmer cuts cycle times for Coventry saw blade manufacturers
A UK saw blade maker has arrived at the Vollmer Loroch K850 grinding centre after a thorough review of the market place
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hen KR Saws experienced increasing customer demand for its circular saw blades, the company decided a visit to the MACH 2010 industry exhibition was needed to find a solution. It was here that the company found it’s answer – Vollmer UK’s Loroch K850 Solution circular saw blade grinding centre. Set up in 2004 as a joint venture by two of the world’s leading saw blade manufacturers, the Coventry-based manufacturer of band saw and circular saw blades has witnessed continual growth since its inception. The growth is based on the strategy implemented by German and Dutch parent companies Roentgen and Kinkelder. The strategy enables both companies to respectively supply high quality band saw blades and circular saw blades to the UK, with KR Saws being the vehicle to provide bespoke solutions, specialised service and technical support from a UK base. Previously operating four CNC profile grinding machines, including an ageing Loroch CNC Turbo, KR Saws was seeing a market place demanding increasingly sophisticated solutions. These challenges were compounded by the diminishing ability to meet capacity because blade production required secondary operations on additional machines. The arrival of the 3-axis CNC Loroch Solution in September 2010 was the first Loroch K850 installation in the UK and it has proven a revelation to the Midlands-based company. “Our strategy of providing high quality products with unrivalled technical support and service is heavily dependent upon our production capabilities and capacity,” KR Saws Managing Director Paul Ison said. “The Loroch K850 acquisition has solved issues, improving our accuracy and repeatability and providing the technical team with the ability to offer a more diverse range of bespoke solutions. Prior to the arrival of the Loroch K850, the company required two machines to produce a finished saw blade.
54 International Forest Industries | OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2011
The operator checks over the sawblade
The arrival of the 3-axis CNC Loroch Solution in September 2010 was the first Loroch K850 installation in the UK and it has proven a revelation to the Midlands-based company
Saw blades would be profile ground on one machine and then transferred to a second machine to complete the final bevelled top geometry. The Loroch K850 has immediately improved production cycle times and tooth geometry accuracy with its ability to grind the teeth and bevels in one set-up. “We are manufacturing HSS, carbide and coated carbide circular saws for steel, stainless steel and steel tube manufacturers as well as stockholders,” Ison continued. “With prestigious customers such as Tata, Caparo,
Marcegaglia and Benteler to name a few, we know that we have to continually evolve our products to deliver productivity gains for our end users. To this end, the 5-axis Loroch has a CAD facility on the machine that enables us to design any form or geometry at the machine. This allows us to offer solutions specific to each customer application to enhance their productivity.” The Loroch K850 Solution also allows KR Saws to store the programs for its blade geometries on the machine.
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