Timber iQ October - November 2019 // Issue:46 | Page 36

The machine has various components which come in a toolbox called a systainer. “All the parts are kept in a systainer. There is a diagram in the actual box to give you a good indication of where everything goes. You never misplace anything; if something’s missing you know exactly what’s missing,” says Stavrakis. Operating the machine is easy and requires the push of a button and waiting for the machine to warm up to a certain temperature. This process takes approximately eight minutes. Once the machine is on and ready, the user is guided by an LED screen which tells the user what the temperature is as and when it increases. Once the machine is warm and ready to be used, the operator would simply feed the edging into the roller by either free hand or inserted into a magazine attachment. Once this is done, they are ready to proceed with applying the edging onto the board. The non-scratch pad ensures that there is no damage done to the surface during the edge banding process. The machine has a compartment for the glue pluck (adhesive) to be used during the edge banding and accommodates three glue pucks. “It works on a unique paste application system for efficient, easy and clean edging, where just the perfect amount of glue is applied to the edging, allowing for no wastage. The adhesive comes in four different colours – natural, white, brown and black,” explains Stavrakis. With just three glue pods inserted and at a height of 18mm you can do approximately 40m of edging. The Konturo KA 65 is very capable of applying edging from a height of 18mm to 65mm and a thickness from 0.5mm to 3mm. Once the edging has been applied, there is sometimes 34 OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2019 // FEATURES The bigger machines are ideal for industrial edge banding. remaining overhang which needs to be cleaned up to give a smooth looking edging. Stavrakis explains that there are two ways to get this done. The conventional way is using a router. The router is ideal for thick edge banding. Another way is using a Festool scraper. “The scraper is used and designed to scrape off all the excess edging to get it nice and smooth.” For a rounded looking edging, the scraper has two contour angles, at a 2mm and 1mm radius. The scraper is not sharp and will not harm the user or damage the surface being edged. As with most machines, maintenance is critical especially for the machine to last. With proper maintenance, the machines can last anything between 10 to 20 years. On the other hand, poor maintenance of the machine drastically reduces the life span to less than five years. Dust extraction is an important aspect of maintenance for the machines. As such, it is compulsory that customers buy www.timberiq.co.za