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
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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
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