Northtech Machine featured its new L5 No Lock Air Lock fence for straight line rip saws at AWFS, selected as a winner of the trade fair’s Visionary New Product Award.

The L5 fence incorporates touch sensitive technology, allowing the operator to touch the top of the fence to disengage the lock and move the fence. The fence locks when the touch is removed.

“A traditional style of straight line rip saw fence requires you to manually release a lock and lever, and then turn a handwheel to get it to the appropriate position and then relock the lever. It’s not a big deal if you’re running the same width product, but typically on straight liners it’s common for customers to be ripping random widths, so moving that fence in between for every cut is common,” says company president Brandon Koetter.

“With our fence, you just lay your hand on the fence, the fence recognizes the change in the electronic field from the impulses and the static in your hand, and it will disengage the locking mechanism.”

The fence rests on a set of lineal bearings for easy movement.

The L5 fence, available in electric and pneumatic versions, can be added to any Northtech split chain straight line rip saw and most competitor models. It can be paired with a digital measurement system. Available in multiple sizes, pricing starts at $995.

For more, visit www.northtechmachine.com. 

This article originally appeared in the September 2019 issue.