December 2012/January 2013 - Low Resolution - PAWPRINT ...

NEWS
Taking the head/arm/backache out of cutter cleaning
KEMET INTERNATIONAL Ltd, one
of the world’s leading companies
in precision surface finishing,
is occasionally approached
to investigate applications outside
its normal sphere of operation.
Interestingly, Kemet’s
founding product back in 1938
was the Sanderhead, which was
used in wood fabrication, so it
was a bizarre quirk of history,
therefore, when one such request
arrived from the industry
of the company’s origins.
This was in the form of some
large spindle moulding cutters
where the build-up of resin and
wood particles was causing them to
run out of balance. Not only did this
cause deterioration of the finish of
the mouldings but the vibration
was also resulting in premature
wear of the machine bearings.
Chip/particle flow was also being
disturbed and the carefully designed
top-rake and flow channels
were becoming obstructed.
Kemet’s investigations into the
problem uncovered that it can
also be frustrating and time consuming
when the cutters are serviced
as the cap head screws are
Wood Awards 2012
DAVID MORLEY ARCHITECT’S
Hurlingham Club Outdoor Pool
scooped the top award in this
year’s hotly contested Wood
Awards 2012 competition.
The ceremony, hosted by chairman
of the Heritage Alliance Loyd
Grossman and with presentations
by the Canadian High Commissioner,
Mr Gordon Campbell, was
held on the 27th November at the
Carpenters’ Hall in the City of London.
The Hurlingham Club Outdoor
Pool saw off competition of
an exceptionally high standard to
win the Structural category, before
being crowned the winner of winners
in front of over 200 leading
industry and architectural figures.
Chairman of the judges,
Michael Morrison of Purcell UK
said, “The Wood Awards truly celebrates
innovative design and
craftsmanship, and the Hurlingham
Club Outdoor Pool is without
a doubt a worthy winner; we were
presented with a whole hearted
complete package. The careful
analysis of what was loved about
the old changing room pavilion
was sympathetic and the recreation
and integration of all the elements
which mattered were
carefully considered and achieved
with great craftsmanship. Delightful.”
Wood Awards’ structural judge
Andrew Lawrence of Arup praised
frequently blocked and the insert
seatings obstructed. At present
most of these cutters are soaked in
solvent, such as kerosene, and
then manually cleaned — a
process which can result in mechanical
damage and shorten the
life of the tool.
As a result the team of engineers
and chemists at Kemet developed
a process which
incorporates a combination of ultrasonic
action and specialist detergents.
Ultrasonic cleaning
forms a major part of the Kemet
product range. Using high frequency
sound waves to create
cavitation bubbles, which adhere
to the item being cleaned before
imploding to remove all traces of
contamination, the action also
penetrates blind holes, cracks and
recesses — ideal for searching and
cleaning out all the nooks and
crannies in a typical cutter box.
Commenting on the process,
Cleaning Division Manager, Phil
Butler, said: “On a typical steel
spindle moulder cutter the
process can be as short as ten minutes
to make the cutter resin and
particle free.” He added: “The results
are typically better than that
obtained through manual cleaning
and, apart from loading/unloading
into the ultrasonic tank,
the process is labour free.”
Being aqueous, the process
uses only water and detergents,
there are also significant environmental
and H&S benefits over
solvents such as kerosene. The
process is exceptionally flexible,
being suitable for a wide range of
cutters. Routers, drills and circular
saws can all use this process with a
wide variety of tank sizes being
available to accommodate most
sizes of tooling. Aluminium cutter
bodies can also be cleaned
the Hurlingham Club Outdoor
Pool’s innovative timber structural
solution. He said, “With its even
front and repeating rhythm, the
building is excellently resolved to
by a variation of the process.
“It was clear from the response
and enthusiasm Kemet received at
the W12 exhibition that the development
we have put into this
process has been worthwhile,” Mr
Butler reported, concluding: “We
now look forward to expanding
our historic connections with the
woodworking industry and welcome
companies who have these
challenges to contact us for a
demonstration of the process on
their own tooling.”
Kemet International Ltd
Tel 01622 755287
Email sales@kemet.co.uk
www.kemet-cleaning.co.uk
make a special place. It is not only
intelligent, but is as lovely as the
images lead you to believe.”
Wood Awards
www.woodawards.com
Page 8 Panel, Wood & Solid Surface December 2012/January 2013