Hey guys, this is my first post here. I work for a commercial casework & store fixture company. About 3 years ago we made the jump into some automation machinery & software. Currently we do our horizontal boring on a Weeke BHX vertical CNC, and have a Weeke VANTECH 512 for high volume part cut out.

The BHX is slow - one part at a time - and is a real pinch point in our workflow. It's pretty accurate when it is properly calibrated, but can be finicky at times.

We're seriously considering replacing the BHX with a small pod machine that has the capacity to run multiple parts at once.

I have zero experience with pod style machines, so I'm curious as to whether it would be a good replacement for a vertical CNC machining center. Any opinions here would be appreciated!

The pod and rail will allow you to set up multiple parts to be machined provided it has multiple zone, generally you only run the two front zones ( left and right), this allows for pendulum processing - you are unloading finished part on the right and loading the next part WHILE the machine is cutting on the left, when finished it rapid traverses to the right and you then unload/reload and go back and forth

You also have the benefit of being able to machine all around the part if needed for sizing which you cannot accomplish on the BHX due to the clamps

Do check the machine Y axis drilling capacity and machine length to insure it will allow for pendulum processing while standing on the opposite mat based on your largest part

What exactly are you guys trying to do ?

In wall cabinet ends alone, I started really cutting time in drilling shelf holes and hinge holes with some serious observation in office and school casserole installed and in use

Both of those machines should suffice.

May I suggest an optimized nest procedure that cuts those parts obligated to the BHX to be cut first ?

Our production process is already highly optimized. We’re running a Holzma panel saw and 5x12 nested based CNC, both being fed by an Intellistore setup. Optimizing is handled by Wood CAD/CAM and Cutrite.

All the BHX does is: grooving for drawer bottoms, horizontal boring, pocket routing for flush-mounted door pulls, stuff like that. It’s just SO. DAMN. SLOW. Lol

Michael, thanks for your suggestions & the info. I’ll be sure to verify that a pod & rail would have the capability to pendulum process multiple parts. In your experience, how well does a pod machine handle small parts? Like 4” wide rails, etc.

Probably ought to look at a power feeder and saw for grooving the drawers or non drilled parts as decks

The automated doweler has really sped up our production we can turn off the dowels as needed but still drill a hole.

I used to have a 9 foot pod and rail, and we could pendulum process, but horizontal drilling is a joke compared to the Elix or Omal we have.

I have been looking into a winstore but we don’t really have the square footage

Brian,

I don't understand the process, so I'll ask more questions. Why aren't these face machining processes being handled on the Vantech? If you're only cutting out parts on the nest or only some face machining, you're missing out. Then, if you're only horizontal boring, switch the BHX to something like the DRILLTEQ D-200. It'd be loads faster. We run a vantech, and a saw/P2P setup, along with a horizontal dowel inserter that either cell can funnel into. Some things are better on the Saw/P2P path, others are MUCH better straight off the nest. Horizontal boring on a pod and rail is very slow...probably slower than the BHX. And it's risky, at least on older machines. Place a pod in the wrong spot, or load the wrong program and you can crash your drill block. It's my understanding that can never happen on a BHX, because it measures each part loaded and compares it to the programmed size. If its off my more than 1mm, it errors out.

Gary-

Sounds like our setup is very similar to yours without the drilling machine, and with the BHX substituted for a P2P.

I'm doing 99.9% of our face processing on the Vantech. The BHX only sees face processes on parts that are too small for the Vantech's vacuum to hold down consistently, or for parts that must be edge banded before final processing can be done.

The Drillteq D200 is one of the machines we are considering. The point of contention is that in order to gain speed in horizontal boring, I will lose the functionality of the grooving saw for things like stopped slots in rails for cam locks, drawer bottoms, etc. Also the D200 does not have the capability to perform vertical drilling either, if I'm not mistaken.

If the pod & rail is that slow at horizontal boring though, I guess I'd need to find the floor space to keep the BHX and add the D200. Thanks for your thoughts.

Brian, if speed and more flexibility are what you are looking for, you might consider the BHX500. it has the ability to run single part or a right and left panel at the same time.

Brian,
Have you thought about running 8' lengths of drawer materials, grooving and edging it then strip optimizing? (see attachment)

We bought a customized Gannomatt drill and insert machine with a deeper throat so we could do vertical processing so we do pulls, hinges and pocket screwing as well as drill and dowel insert on the same machine. Front processing is on the drill and insert machine which has router, drills, drill and insert

Click the link below to download the file included with this post.

Sample.pdf

I bekieve this answers your question- here is our Holzher 5 axis pod and rail boring horizontal holes for a new sign for our shop. We ordered it drill block delete, but it normally comes with a horizontal and vertical multiple drill block with a slitting saw

Those holes are 3/4 diameter x 2 inches deep , they're joinery holes to be fitted with 4 inch dowels. I wasn't trying to break any records, and ran a 7 degree helical cut so it took a little while, but you could bang them right in there with a 15 degree cut. We have 6 rails, but if you put your pieces back to back you can just put more pods on and attack from the front and the back. We also have a 200mm saw on the machine, so things can be cut apart after drilling .