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Woodworking
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 SLOTWALL PANEL CLEANED OUT &
READY FOR SHIPPING
A slotwall manufacturer in the woodworking industry had a severe dust and wood particle
problem. Up to 15 slots were being machined into a panel in a single pass, creating 17 pounds of dust & wood particles. Fifteen, 1/4" copper tubes
were used to clean the slots, using a total of 360 SCFM (and causing unsafe air-related noise levels). The cost of the 8 hour per day operation, (based
upon a cost of $0.30 @ 1,000 CFM) reached $12.960.00 per year per machine.
SOLUTION: The manufacturer fixed both the compressed air consumption and the air-related noise problems by substituting a model 1201 Nozzle for each 1/4" copper tube. The (15) #1201 Nozzles slashed compressed air consumption from 360
SCFM down to 60 SCFM - reducing daily costs from $51.64 to $8.64 and reducing
air-related noise levels by approximately 10% The total annual savings in compressed air alone amount to $10,800.00 per machine.
SUMMARY: The #1201 Nozzles easily cleaned out the compacted dust and
particles so well that the panel was in shipping-ready condition when it came off the machine, saving 4 labor-hours per day. Payback on the Nozzles
, exclusive of labor reduction, was just over 9 hours.
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 FURNITURE AND CABINET MAKER
PROLONGS LIFE OF ROUTER BITS
A West Coast manufacturer of high end custom furniture, cabinetry and radius millwork was looking
for ways to prolong the life of their router bits. A CNC Router was being used to shape the medium density fiberboard, (MDF), plywood, plastic and aluminum that gave their products their unique
appearance.
The router bit had to be changed at the first sign of wear, (fraying of the material, smoke,
etc.). Frequent replacement of the cutter prevented problems with the machine spindle from developing as the result of undesirable tool vibration, movement, and chatter. The
manufacturer had to spend up to $5,000.00 each time a spindle had to be replaced.
The 1/2 inch carbide twin flute router bit (with chip breaker), that was being used on the
equipment had a normal life expectancy of from 3 to 4 hours. The router bits were sent out to be sharpened at the rate of 6 per day for a cost of $4.75 each. The average annual
cost was $7,125.00 based upon a 5 day work week, 50 weeks a year! The Blade Finish that they were manually spraying on the bit to cool it down was only marginally helpful.
SOLUTION: The manufacturer followed through on a suggestion to try a Model 610 Cold Air Gun with the 611-FNU Frost Free Nozzle upgrade in place of the Blade Finish to
cool the router bit. The 611-FNU nozzle prevents the formation of frost on the nozzle surface, effectively preventing any danger of dripping onto the workpiece.
SUMMARY: Cooling with the Cold Air Gun enabled the manufacturer to immediately
reduce the number of bits used per day from 6 to 2, (1500 bits versus 500), saving $4,750.00 annually, (not including the labor for changing the bits).
 FOGGING SPRAYVECTORS STOP
PREMATURE AGING OF VENEERS
A fine woods furniture manufacturer lost thousands of dollars in production time and raw
materials every winter because the fine oak and walnut veneers became brittle and cracked due to low (less than 30%) humidity levels. Because
of this, half a dozen people had to insert small veneer slivers in tiny cracks and do other touch-up on the production floor before the veneer could be used. Production bottle
-necked and manufacturing costs went through the roof.
SOLUTION: The furniture manufacturer "repaired" the problem by installing (2) 1707 Humidifying Sprayvectors in the 40'X 60'X 27'high veneer storage room. The Sprayvectors
were mounted at each end of the veneer room near the ceiling and angled for the optimum dispersion of the spray. A ceiling fan was used to uniformly circulate the moisture-laden air.
SUMMARY: The humidistat (controlling the low maintenance Sprayvectors) maintains
a constant 50% relative humidity level in the veneer storage room. The higher storage RH level has eliminated the problems of veneer splitting, cracking and crazing - and saved
the manufacturer thousands of dollars in labor and materials.
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