Swarf and particles in wood processing

Profile

• What was needed: Type 4240AX energy chains
• Requirements: The very high volume of sawdust and very fine particles in the woodworking industry put a lot of strain on the previous energy chains. A new solution was needed that would work safely and reliably with the exceptionally high volume of waste products.
• Industry: Woodworking industry, machine tools
• Success for the customer: 

We supply around 1,000 metres of energy supply chains as well as various - some pre-assembled - cables and hoses for highly dynamic applications to Anthon every year.

Problem

Anthon GmbH has developed into a recognised machine and plant manufacturer for the furniture, construction and woodworking industries. Customers all over the world rely on the plant specialist's grinding machines, sawing machines, various technologies, logistics and peripheral systems, and packaging systems.
Through-feed saws, which process chipboard, plywood, honeycomb, fibre and MDF boards with different coatings as well as concrete in a continuous process, are particularly in demand.  With its new generations of machines, Anthon GmbH is strongly oriented towards its customers, who want to manufacture their products 24/7 in high volume, but also in small volumes from batch size 1. The manufacturer's through-feed saws have therefore been designed for maximum availability and reliability as well as quick and easy retrofitting. The up to nine automatically and quickly adjustable sawing units in just one through-feed saw demonstrate a high degree of production flexibility. And with a feed rate of the panels as they pass through the saw of up to 100 metres per minute, no wishes are left unfulfilled in terms of productivity. While the vertical range of production at Anthon GmbH is relatively large, all components that are not part of the core business are purchased. In addition to steel components, switch cabinets or transport systems, this also applies to the cable guides for all necessary supply, control and data cables.

Solution

For more than 20 years, Anthon has been purchasing its energy supply systems for supplying the sawing units with energy, media and control signals from our company. And while the cooperation has worked smoothly since then, the right answer could also be found quickly during an incident a few years ago: due to a new type of panel material that had been cut up in large quantities, the used energy chains clogged up, became increasingly immobile and literally stood up. Since there was a risk that the sawing units could collide with their energy supply systems set up in this way and tear them open, a new solution had to be found - even though the type 14240 energy supply system used here works in hundreds of through-feed saws worldwide without any complaints. After on-site assessment of the problem and installation of a temporary solution to maintain operation, a new energy supply system was finally constructed and an injection mould was built specifically for it: The 4240AX series energy chain. 
With the 4240AX, the stop-dogs are on the outside. This prevents swarf, dust, sawdust and the like from settling on them, so that the chain no longer stands up. With a bend radius of around 200 millimetres, the e-chain is relatively small and enables more compact machines. We recommend them for applications that generate a lot of dust and fine particles, such as the woodworking and processing industry, mining, coal-fired power plants and similar applications and industries.
With an inner height and width of 62 x 125 millimetres, the installation space is sufficient to accommodate all necessary supply, control and data cables. The chain is very easy to install; its crossbars can be easily opened with a screwdriver for harnessing.

Two 4240AX series energy supply systems for two sawing units. Anthon can integrate up to nine such units in its through-feed saws. The small bend radius of around 200mm enables compact machine designs.

With the 4240AX series of e-chains, external stop-dogs prevent swarf, dust, sawdust and the like from settling on them, so that the chain no longer stands up. This makes them ideal for use in all applications where a lot of dust and fine particles are produced.