Wednesday, May 14, 2025
The REPORT machine, a servo front stop that Ledinek later fitted, allows Ruhdorfer to cut the jointed bars accurately. “Several customers requested this and sets us apart, just like the precise dimensions of our products, which are standard for us,” the managing director states, referring to the high quality standards that are a matter of course for him and to which he continually sensitises his employees.
With a Europlan 300 / 4V+4F S40 universal beam planer, finished surfaces and accurate measurements are guaranteed. The machine, which has four spindles and four chamfering units, can process parts up to 300 mm in width and 300 mm in height. As a result, Ruhdorfer can now use the planner for even the largest cross-sections, which were previously challenging to handle in the planning mill. 40 m/min is the fastest feed speed possible.
Excellent teamwork
Ledinek started the machine installation in January 2022 and finished it earlier than expected. Consequently, the summer of that year saw the production of the first bars. “The assembly was a dream, and in addition to Ledinek, the collaboration with Microtec and Vecoplan also worked perfectly,” Ruhdorfer recalls, stating that they then spent a lot of time optimising. “Like each of our projects, the entire line is unique and tailored precisely to the customer’s requirements. Furthermore, the complexity and thus the duration of the optimisation phase increase in line with the level of automation,” Ledinek representative Bernhard Fandl describes. Although the line has achieved the desired performance, Ruhdorfer views optimisation as an ongoing process, collaborating with Ledinek. “The collaboration with Ledinek remains extremely good and solution-oriented.”
One source of sturdy structural timber line
An efficient solid timber plant excels in operation. “Looking back, it was a good decision,” Anton Ruhdorfer reminisces. For nearly three years, his family has run a small, highly automated solid structural timber factory in Straßburg, Carinthia. The Ledinek line performs admirably in practice, with performance metrics that greatly surpass the threshold values that are guaranteed.
Anton Ruhdorfer wows guests with his automated timber factory built in 2022, impressing business associates with its efficiency from raw board infeed to quality-assessed finished product. Ruhdorfer, along with his father Bruno and brother Alexander, digitalised the factory’s material flow. “The intensive exchange of data between the master computer, the scanner, and the work planning system enables us to analyse key production figures in detail and, if necessary, to intervene remotely,” elaborates Ruhdorfer. The raw wood gets a package label with a barcode for scanning at the infeed. “This way, I can precisely track which raw boards go into which product and which quality and yield belong to which individual supplier,” the managing director explains. This high digitalisation level was a key requirement in the machine tender process. “We didn’t want a chaotic paper-based system. We wanted a seamless system without interfaces.” Ledinek developed an intuitive X-Lam management system for touchscreen control of machines and plants.
An entire package
Ledinek installed the line, considering the overall concept, layout, main machines, mechanisation, master computer, and proximity to machine suppliers. “We wanted a partner who is available at all times and who could provide us with a line with as few interfaces as possible,” Ruhdorfer says. Deciding to use a Slovenian machine manufacturing expert involves scanning raw boards with a barcode before feeding them into the line for separation with a vacuum lifter. The pieces are first scanned by Microtec Curvescan to determine properties, followed by manual assessment if needed, and then passed through a Microtec Goldeneye scanner. “Looking back, it was a bold but good decision to invest in this scanner,” Ruhdorfer affirms. Continuous optimisation potential, personnel concerns, and mechanical sorting trend were key decision factors for him.
Attained performance metrics
Defects are chopped out of them, or inappropriate sections are deleted based on the data gathered. A Ledinek X-Cut S300 XL cross-cut saw handles the latter. The boards are then delivered to the Eurozink Compact 800 finger jointing machine via a buffer conveyor. According to Ruhdorfer, this compact model for tiny and medium-sized plants is incredibly effective: “Depending on the dimensions, we can process up to 7,000 linear meters per shift and easily achieve the performance Ledinek promised us.” The result is an output of 50 to 70 m3 per 8.5-hour shift, and Ruhdorfer also achieves the target output of 15,000 m3 a year.
Ledinek installed a servo front stop downstream for precise cutting of jointed bars by Ruhdorfer. “Several customers requested this and sets us apart, just like the precise dimensions of our products, which are standard for us,” the managing director says. He upholds high-quality standards for his employees. The Europlan 300 / 4V+4F S40 universal beam planer delivers precise surfaces and dimensions with its four spindles and chamfering units, handling elements up to 300 mm wide and 300 mm high. Ruhdorfer now easily processes large cross-sections in the planning mill at a maximum feed speed of 40 m/min.
A productive relationship
The machines were installed by Ledinek ahead of schedule in January 2022, allowing for the production of the first bars by the summer of the same year.“ The assembly was a dream, and in addition to Ledinek, the collaboration with Microtec and Vecoplan also worked perfectly,” Ruhdorfer remembers. They took their time to optimise. Furthermore, the complexity and thus the duration of the optimisation phase increase in line with the level of automation. Bernhard Fandl, the Ledinek representative, and Ruhdorfer continuously optimise the line’s performance together.“ The collaboration with Ledinek remains extremely good and solution-oriented.”
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