Top seven products receive Challengers Awards

Seven exhibitors – Doucet Machineries, Eagle Machinery, Fasco America, Felder Group, RSA Solutions, SCM and Shaper – received Challengers Awards at IWF 2018.

The juried awards recognize innovative new technology for the woodworking industry. The winners were selected from 23 finalists and a total of 72 entries.

Here’s a look at the winning products:

A modular system that can be added to an existing clamp carrier or integrated with Doucet’s new SRX clamp carrier with the RLT100 twin robotic operator.

The automatic loader is divided into several sections, including a lateral feed feeder, glue applicator with measuring system, panel forming zone, panel accumulation conveyor, two-axis automatic loader, and motorized exit conveyor.

“The complete cycle time for gluing and loading is 80 seconds or less with only one operator at the panel preparation position,” the company said in a statement. “End users in the cabinet door industry have estimated a return on the investment between 18-19 months. End users in the stair industry have reduced their operation from three employees on one shift to one employee and 24-hour operation.”

For more, visit www.doucetinc.com.

It combines two-sided, vision-based defect scanning with high-speed crosscutting in a single machine.

The combination streamlines material flow, saves on shop floor space, and requires less movement of material in and out of separate machines, according to the company.

Applications include, but are not limited to, hardwood flooring, upholstery frame furniture, moldings, finger jointing, and cabinet components.

For more, visit www.eaglemachines.com.

You’ve read that right, wood nails, made from European beach, with a tensile strength similar to aluminum nails, according to the manufacturer.

“Their mechanical properties allow the nails to be driven into solid structural timber with the Fasco LignoLoc pneumatic nailer, without any pre-drilling, to form and inseparable bond with the timber,” the manufacturer said in a statement.

Benefits of wood nails include less tool wear, no rust or streaking as caused by steel nails, and better insulation values, the manufacturer adds.

The nails are available in lengths of 2”, 2-1/4”, and 2-1/2”.

For more, www.fascoamerica.com

This compact machine (54 sq. ft.) is offered in four configurations - Classic, Advanced, Premium and Complete – and can be customized to meet a shop’s specific needs.

The Creator can machine cabinetry parts, doors, kitchen countertops and more. It can also run aggregate heads and insert dowels automatically, according to the company.

“The major advantage of the Creator thru-feed CNC machine is that is has a Dual Movement System for the workpieces and no consoles or vacuum pods need to be positioned. Simply load the workpiece and it starts working,” says Felder’s Florian Fleischmann.

For more, visit www.felder-group.com.

The software provides a 360-degree view of a manufacturing factory, from CAD/CAM importing, through planning, sorting, tracking, automated machine feedback, part alerts, visualization, kitting and shipping - all in real time without the need for physical files, according to the company.

“Production Coach allows manufacturers to make better decisions with their data,” says Roger Shaw, chairman and founder of RSA Solutions. “And, because it’s modular in nature, you can do as little or as much as you want with it. What makes this award so exciting is that now manufacturers will be more aware of a software solution that connects both office and factory to real-time data, making their entire manufacturing process interconnected and highly efficient.”

For more, visit http://www.rsasolutions.us.

This technology can machine any type of edge in any situation, according to the company.

The router features five independent and interloping axes with continuous 360-degree rotation and numerical control Z axis that allows for adjustment of the lower projection of the edge.

The company adds that there are no limits to the shapes that can be machined because the HE-POD technology can lift workpieces to get the best use from the worktable dimensions and to work multiple parts with a single position.

For more, visit www.scmgroup.com.

A portable CNC machine featuring built-in CAD capabilities and guidance system that allows the user to auto-correct and keep the tool within 1/100th of an inch of an intended path, according to the company.

The Origin also won a Visionary Award at AWFS 2017.

For more, visit www.shapertools.com. 

This article originally appeared in the October 2018 issue.