Piatti places great expectations on Plasma
High quality standards are crucial to the continued use of IMA technology

The requirements for constantly high quality standards in the kitchen furniture production made the decision for the investment easy for the Swiss manufacturer Piatti. Any company that wants to be at the forefront of international competition needs to invest in innovative technology that guarantees efficient and cost-reduced production with reliable process control.
   
Therefore, the biggest Swiss manufacturer of kitchen furniture from Dietlikon decided to use the plasma technology of the market leader IMA Klessmann.  Another reason for purchasing the new technology from IMA was that the technology can be integrated without problems into existing manufacturing systems, production environments and processes. And the 300 Piatti employees have long been familiar with the IMA machines. For 11 years, the company has been utilizing the proven Combimas to manufacture high-quality kitchen furniture in quantities as low as lotsize 1. The IMA Combimas have recently been retrofitted with the innovative plasma technology so that panels can now be processed either with PUR glue or using the new plasma unit as required. Since the kitchen fronts will be in the field of vision of the customer, Piatti is putting particular stress on “invisible” edgings.

Plasma technology is used to create a secure microcrystalline bond with the surface making the coextrusive edging an integral part of the substrate. Accurate processing of both materials allows for identical colours and an invisible joint that no longer attracts dirt. 

Other factors which provide obvious advantages in competition: Without heating times and with reduced setup times, the plasma technology significantly increases capacity in the machines and minimizes the rejects rate. An unbeatable improvement of the visual appearance of fronts and a greatly increased resistance to environmental stresses are the enduring result of this technology, as the plasma joint produced by IMA machinery is robust and highly resistant.

Should you require any further information on the IMA product range or individual applications, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will assist in any possible way.

IMAGIC – the flexible IMA drilling system
Furniture manufacturers bank on enhanced drilling machine

The enhancement of IMAGIC presented at LIGNA 2011 is a future orientated modular machine range. The machine is designed for efficient operation to handle small, medium and large lot and batch sizes. Its application areas range from individual machines to solutions with one or more flexible drilling machines. Far more they also can be interlinked with our machines from the through-feed product range, the handling and transport technology that we offer to achieve a full production line.

IMAGIC drilling machines can be perfectly adapted to suit customized manufacturing processes. They are compact and space-saving, as well. This is one good reason why an increasing number of industrial manufacturers in the furniture and woodworking industry integrate those flexible drilling systems into their in-house production processes. Over 30 solutions have been sold and been in operation worldwide since the first machine was delivered in 2007.

With the IMAGIC drilling machines, IMA meets the demand for supplying and offering all you need in the form of a “one-step solution”: IMAGIC drilling machines fulfill all the important tasks that are required along the process chain (Cutting, Edgebanding and Material Handling) for the subsequent assembly of the furniture.

The success of the IMAGIC in the market is both a technical ambition and a challenge for our R&D Team to continually enhance the system by introducing new features. IMAGIC drilling machines are designed for horizontal and vertical drilling of rectangular workpieces from the bottom and top. Through high cycle times and the ideal machine configuration with interchangeable drilling gear boxes, economical drilling processes are achieved. The IMAGIC is a machine that offers high process reliability and high performance, even in its standard configuration. IMA sees a big potential for the IMAGIC drilling machines in the project business. The company expects the number of machines sold in the market to double by 2014. An important key in this context is the replacement of old drilling machines in existing production lines with the new IMAGIC technologies and solutions. This ensures considerable competitive advantages at low investment costs.

Individual features ensure competitive advantages
The system can be supplemented with numerous add-ons and thus be swiftly and easily adapted to different production conditions, whether set-up time reductions or perform-ance enhancements. An overview is given below.

IMA Contour trimming units provide top quality
For four years IMA contour trimming units have been a sweeping success

The contour trimming unit KFA X 30 has become the standard unit in the luxury machine class. Not only its futuristic appearance incredibly innovative but the
performance characteristics are unparallel in the industry. Even more impressive is the high feed rates that can almost be doubled. The feed rates are record breaking and go hand in hand with a process reliability and repeatability so far unmatched. The KFA is a “must have” not only for machines with original equipment but also for older systems which are most frequently retrofitted
with this component. Edge processing on Novimat and Combima machines has without a doubt been raised to a completely new quality level as a result.

Convincing technology

IMA has been testing to find the perfect solution for this important operation: the result is not a standard X-Y-Z system but multi-joint mechanics with two linear drives for the combined movement of the milling tool in feed and vertical direction. The milling head with the milling motor rotates 360 degrees around the profile contour for trimming. The tracing direction always points vertically towards the profile. The particularly large tracer wheel ensures minimum surface pressure and an even rolling movement. All adjustments between the four profiles in the milling tool and the single tracer wheel are made via the NC axes. The changeover to a different profile is now effected in the standard workpiece gap. As the milling motor is inclined towards the profile the cutting pressure is always geared to the workpiece. The milling result is excellent also with expanded profiles. The four profiles – chamfer and three radius – are positioned in a cylindrical tool of approx. 70 mm diameter.

Suitable for all performance ranges

The KFA X20 is used as a supplement to the high-performance unit KFA X30 in
speed ranges up to 20 m/min. The more cost-effective unit covers the area of
traditional, manually loaded machines. The same quality standard with contour
milling operations is guaranteed, but two conventional drives instead of direct drives are responsible for the X movement.

Motorized drive guarantees quality and competition advantages
An innovative new development for machining centres from IMA is
convincing small and industrial customers

The motorized drive for the flush milling & profile milling combination unit, presented at the LIGNA 2011, makes any mechanical adjustments for lot changes or material changes obsolete. The adjustments necessary so far used to be performed by the operator‘s professional experience, but even then it took a lot of time in order to minimize the production of rejects.

Now special prices for IMA Training:
Current IMA training programs in September 2011

In September IMA offers you Instruction & Training programs for a special price of 700,- EURO per person!

True to the motto ‘Expertise from practicians for practicians’, the program is targeted towards machine operators, service personnel and work schedulers. But at the same time, it offers advanced training for experienced operators.

IMA Service

Retrofitting increases quality and efficiency - Upgrade your old equipment to the current state-of-the art

Technological evolution does not stand still. This applies all the more to the designers of the IMA high-performance machines. However, anyone investing in new technology needs planning security ensuring that the utilised equipment will continue operating at peak performance for many years and with state-of-the-art technology. IMA provides this planning security with the ‘Retrofit’ programme for existing CNC machining centres. Every company modernising or retrofitting its IMA equipment can be sure that maximum return on capital investment has absolute priority over other objectives.

Anniversary machine at IMA’s craftsman’s stand

IMA will present its ‘Advantage 400 Diamond’ machine with air table and
Liftback and its BIMA 300 V especially designed for craftsman’s demands at
LIGNA

IMA’s trade fair stand F18 in Hall 11 at this year’s LIGNA in Hanover, Germany, is all about innovative solutions for craft businesses such as carpenters, joiners, cabinet makers and interior decorators. A special highlight will undoubtedly be the ‘Advantage Diamond’ – IMA’s anniversary machine with many extras: its elegant design in shining silver is by no means the only compelling feature. The ‘Advantage Diamond’ is equippped with a particularly large touchscreen concealing state-of-theart control technology. A new edge control system prevents all delamination, and the numeric adjustment of the adhesive application and the new tracer shoe improve the overall edge banding quality. Thanks to the infinitely variable feed mechanism in combination with the double banded belt operators are now able to deal extremely flexibly with various materials to be machined. The integrated interior lighting allows for quick orienation of the operating personnel during routine maintenance. 

Interaction makes the difference!

A perfect end result requires a great deal of competence – IMA will show it
to you at the LIGNA in Hanover

Thanks to the laser technology used by IMA, the 100 percent ›zero joint
gap‹ has long since pushed many furniture manufacturers far ahead of
their competitors. At the LIGNA 2011 in Hanover, IMA will show every
application of this technology in action: from throughfeed systems through
stationary machining centres, to batch size 1 and mass production.

In the last years, almost no other technology has revolutionized the field of seamless edge banding as much as the ›Laser Edging‹ process or the plasma method. However, an optimal interaction of all machine components together with process reliability is of equal importance for a perfect end result. It is the only way to combine technical precision with the high aesthetic demands placed on the finished furniture component. For six decades, IMA has proved its know-how and application competence as an innovative machine and plant manufacturer.

Straight to the point!

• IMA spare parts catalogue for mechanical components – now with integrated circuit diagrams
• Searching and ordering spare parts – easily and conveniently

Beside sophisticated and innovative technology, IMA considers good service as an important part of long-term success. Many experts work day to day to improve the good service it already delivers by making further offers. This helps IMA customers save valuable time and money.

These service offers also include the spare parts catalogue for mechanical and electrical components which has been completely redesigned. The catalogue is of clear-cut design, holding all the information required to quickly purchase parts needed for maintenance and repair. It is tailored to the individual machine design of the customer and hence avoids error sources for selecting the desired parts. The identification of the required spare parts is supported via interactive construction drawings and circuit diagrams. The selected parts can be ordered directly using the shopping cart function, or an inquiry can be sent to the IMA service centre.

This is where professionals learn from professionals:

The IMA training and qualification programme makes operators fit within a very short time so that they are able to make full use of all technical possibilities of the IMA work cells. The training helps to reduce downtime and creates the conditions for optimal production with high process safety. Besides customer-specific training we offer basic training in current issues, which we would like to introduce to you here.

True to the motto ‘Expertise from practicians for practicians’, the programme is targeted towards machine operators, service personnel and job schedulers. But at the same time, it offers advanced training for experienced operators.

Current IMA training programmes from January to March 2011

IMA Service Days develop into a meeting for experts in woodworking machines and equipment
Networking and exchange of experience becoming increasingly important

“This meeting drew 30 percent more participants than last year, which clearly proves that regular exchange of information at expert level is necessary and that our seminar came up with the right topics” says Andreas Rudolf, Service Manager of IMA Klessmann, who is very pleased that a total of 84 participants took part in the 2nd ›IMA Service Days‹ held at the Head Office of the internationally acting group in Lübbecke, East Westphalia. „Almost all participants are executives from the maintenance, technology and production sectors. And this is exactly the target group that we tried to address with the central topics of our seminar i.e. ‘technical availability’ and ‘cost-optimised maintenance’”, Andreas Rudolf explains.

Wood 2010 innovation award: Award for zero joint gap using plasma technology

IMA is the only company in the field of machine technology awarded for a high degree of innovativeness, benefit to the industry and cost-effectiveness

IMA Klessmann ought to be smiling about the good news: The manufacturer and system provider of panel processing installations for the woodworking industry, together with its two partner enterprises Ineichen and DÜSTEC, has won the Bronze Innovation Award of the “Fachmesse Holz” in Basel. And even better is the fact that the East-Westphalians were the only company in the field of machine technology to get onto the winners podium. A total of eight projects were nominated. The top-class jury particularly appreciated the innovativeness of the winner – this prestigious award is only given to companies that have created a technology-, process- or product-oriented innovation in the domain of wood.

IMA faces record demand from Asia:
Chinese furniture manufacturer orders state-of-the-art high-volume lines from IMA – it is IMA’s largest single order so far from Asia

The IMA group has further expanded its technological leadership position on the Asian continent. The manufacturer and system provider of panel processing installations for the woodworking industry won the biggest single order from Asia in its corporate history. The company Chengdu QuanU furniture Co., Ltd., one of the biggest Chinese furniture manufacturers with production areas of more than a million square metres placed an order for five production lines consisting of a total of eleven panel processing machines – all of them state-of-the-art high-volume lines that give maximum productivity to the furniture maker. The order volume is in the lower single-digit million euro range. In the second half of the year, the company expects further big orders from the Asian Empire.

IMA cooperates with Bielefeld Polytechnic: Combined training/education for Bachelor of Engineering/Economics (B.Eng.)

IMA Klessmann breaks fresh ground in the promotion of young people by cooperating with the Bielefeld Polytechnic at the Minden Campus, which shall be continually expanded in the coming years. As a partner in a new praxis-oriented engineering/economics course with bachelor degree (B.Eng.), the East Westphalian high-tech enterprise from Lübbecke supports the dual study model with clearly stated objectives. In this process, theoretical study phases at the polytechnic alternate with practical training phases at IMA. Students will learn theoretical as well as practical business economics and technology applications. Intended professional fields are responsible positions in purchase, planning and control of production processes.

CEKA Büromöbelwerke set themselves up for the future
New machine concept from IMA sets high standards

In order to be able to keep pace with the ever-changing requirements of the market place and match the individual demands of its customers, CEKA invests in a flexible production and logistics system with pure custom production that has a consistent data structure.

CEKA chose the specialists from IMA Klessmann in Lübbecke as a partner for the development of the workcell, comprising a panel storage area, panel sizing & sorting equipment and an edge banding line for processing carcase elements.

Working with IMAWOP 7.0: faster and easier

With IMAWOP 7.0, the latest version of the IMA control system software, users can substantially simplify their daily work. All new machines that will be delivered by IMA will be automatically supplied with this version. But also machines that currently still use older IMAWOP versions can be upgraded to version 7.0 and hence benefit from the many advantages offered by IAWOP 7.0.

China strategy bears fruit:

IMA Klessmann equips the Chinese IKEA supplier JF Industries with a highly integrated production line

Lübbecke/Ningbo, 18 May 2010 – IMA’s China strategy bears fruit: After the East-Westphalian manufacturer of machines and production lines for the furniture and component industry recently won a number of big orders from the domestic economy, IMA’s people are now working at high-pressure to finish a large order from Greater China: the Chinese furniture manufacturer JF Industries ordered a production line from IMA for processing panels with sensitive surfaces and light-weight materials. The reason for this investment is a large order that the Swedish IKEA group recently placed with the furniture manufacturer from the East Chinese sea town of Ningbo. It was agreed not to disclose the investment sum.

The IMA Group has made a good start into the new year:

The IMA Group has made a good start into the new year. For the current business year, the manufacturer and system provider of panel processing installations for the woodworking industry and small shops expects a turnover plus of 10 percent to around 110 million euros. IMA has already recorded in its books more than two thirds of the turnover scheduled for the end of 2010. The East-Westphalian company was recently able to substantially expand its market share in the profitable project business i.e. the planning and equipment of complete factories with the latest generation of highly integrated production lines.

Setup times and use of human resources reduced to almost zero: The company ›VS – Vereinigte Spezialmöbelfabriken‹ counts on a customized solution from IMA

For more than five decades, IMA Klessmann has successfully demonstrated its competence specifically by developing customized high-tech processing plants for the woodworking industry. Renowned furniture manufacturers from Germany and countries all over the world are among the IMA customers, all putting their trust in IMA technology. And this is also what VS from Tauberbischofsheim is doing. They were looking for a powerful and compact solution for processing highly impact-resistant and scratch-resistant ›Lignodur‹ panels as well as PU panels for school and office furniture. With a BIMA Px80 running in a production environment that has been developed specifically to meet their needs, IMA was able to fully come up to the high demands VS placed on a new fabrication concept. An investment that provides significant benefits.

Rehau Edging Symposium at IMA closes with record number of visitors

The new Laser Edging process continues to hold great interest

With almost 200 participants, the 19th Rehau Edging Symposium at IMA Klessmann in Lübbecke closed with a record number of visitors in the middle of February. The innovative laser technology based on CO2 and diode lasers for glueless, jointfree welding of furniture edgings was at the centre of the event, which takes place every two years in Lübbecke in cooperation with the edging manufacturer Rehau.

Wellmann invests in the future with machines made by IMA Klessmann

The East Westphalian kitchen manufacturer places an order for several IMA panel processing machines / the order volume is in the medium single-digit million euro range / a positive signal for the region

More information and service offered on new IMA websites

In order to continue to orient all sectors of our company strictly to the customer‘s needs and expand our service range, we have redesigned our website. A modern and contemporary design and an extremely userfriendly navigation will help you to find any important information about the company and its innovative products quickly and with a few mouse clicks.

nobilia uses IMA technology to strengthen its growth potential

Europe’s biggest manufacturer of fitted kitchens has relied for decades on the technological know-how and service from IMA. More than 2000 kitchens, i.e. more than 20 000 cabinets, leave the two nobilia factories in East Westphalia every day.

IMA supplies equipment for a complete production hall of a laboratory furniture manufacturer

The WALDNER group places an order with IMA to supply the complete equipment of a new production hall for laboratory furniture