I am about to buy an edge bander and I am having trouble deciding which one to buy. I have a small space for it. I glue on solid wood strips now but not sure if I will continue that if I have an edge bander. I anticipate using 0.5mm PVC on melamine for the bottom edge of upper cabinets. 2 or 3mm wood coil or strips for edging on melamine boxes, 1 or 2 mm wood coil for slab doors. I am a 1-2 man shop
I have narrowed it down to 3 machines but open to recommendations.
Holzher Artea 1020.
Pros: Glue jet systems as the glue not being reheated and cooled multiple times which can degrade it. Easier to change glue colors or purge if one uses PUR. Nice 15' touch screen controller with their VISE system. No magazine for strips. Smaller.
Cons: Not such an industrial machine, single end trimmer. Strips must be run one at a time.

Homag edgeteq S-200 F SS.
Pros: Seems to be a very solid machine. Double end trimmers. Has a magazine to run multiple strips.
Cons: Simple controller. Bigger.

Hebrock F2.
Pros: Well made machine. Probably best control screen. Well set up to purge to change glue color or after using PUR
Cons: Looks lighter. Single end trimmer. Strips must be run one at a time. No local service tech. Dealer is in Las Vegas and I am in Salt Lake City area.

Prices are all close. Around $50,000 installed.
I am thinking of just seeing who will give me the best price and going with that.
Any recommendations, observations or personal experience with those machines appreciated.

I have had two Homag/Brandt banders. I've been content.

I'd pick the one with the best service. I will admit i know nothing of Hebrock.

My new one does the hot air banding. That is wild how good it is.

I think premill is almost a must for doing melamine or laminate to get a good edge.

Take a look at Vantedge machines. They have a nic compact machine in that price range, with corner rounding and premill

Vantedge edgebanders www.vtmmech.com 702-721-1211

I agree with Karl. Support/service is paramount with an edgebander. They are putting so much tech into them now.

Drew,

From the material side, I would not choose only by the installed price if you expect to run 0.5mm PVC on melamine every week. Ask each dealer to run your actual panel, your usual PVC thickness, and a darker color tape before you decide. On thin PVC, small differences in premill quality, pressure station setup, end trimming, scraper setup, and glue application show up very quickly as a visible glue line or slight edge chip.

For a small shop, local service and repeatable setup may matter more than one extra feature. Premill is worth having for melamine if you want a clean, consistent edge. I would also check how easy it is to purge after PUR, how quickly you can change glue color, and whether the machine can keep stable pressure on short parts and strips.

If you will mostly run 0.5mm PVC, get samples of the exact tapes and have the dealer demonstrate trimming/scraping on your real job sizes. If the edge looks clean on white melamine and a dark tape in the demo, you will learn more than from the brochure.

Daniel Ni
Hangzhou Jinyou New Material Technology Co., Ltd.
PVC edge banding / hot melt adhesive / PVC foam board manufacturing