Sandwich boards

General Information

Sandwich boards - edge banding and processing with IMA throughfeed or stationary systems

New high-tech low-weight boards / composite panels are increasingly utilised as attractive materials in furniture construction, interior construction and related branches.

The structure of these low-weight but stiff ›sandwich boards‹ with two thin flat surface finishes, or facings, linked with each other through honeycomb-type or cellular-core structures formed with aluminium foils, tubular aluminium rails, stabilised textile fibres or paper board requires modified edge banding processes.

IMA offers two processes for a reliable bonding between the facing and edging materials both for stationary systems and throughfeed systems. Furthermore, the core can be treated so that the edging and the adhesive joint are given enough strength for reliably fixing the ironmongery.

IMA-Foam-Glue-process

The IMA-Foam-Glue process does not use any blind edging, but allows for durability and stability of the decorative edging by applying foam at the back. Special plastic foams fill the hollow spaces in the edging area; sensors determine the structure of the core and regulate the degree of filling to prevent the edging being bulged by overfilling and interrupting the bond. Adapted adhesives are employed to bond the decorative edging to the surface finish; sometimes the finish requires special pre-treatment.

The adhesive, edging and plastic foam can be adapted to certain requirements, e.g. to meet fire resistance or hygienic demands. With this process, the user no longer depends on the use of special facing profiles.

IMA blind edging technologie

First the core is cut away so that an approx. 3 mm thick blind edging can be glued into this cut-away. In the cutting process, facings of great thickness are rebated. The blind edging is embedded in glue and offers reliable support for the decorative edging. Special IMA units allow for cost-effective production - the blind edging and decorative edging can be applied in one pass.

If particularly great demands are placed on the strength of the panel end face, e.g. when ironmongery needs to be fixed, a broad lipping can be bonded instead of the blind edging. In effect, this also allows efficient production of shelves that shall, for example, be fixed laterally to frames or be linked with cabinet side panels through ironmongery.

Further options on request

Glossary:
Production of counter tops
Production of counter tops
IMA gantry machining centres (CNC machining centres) combine perfect edge banding, complete removal of residual parts of the panel as well as an almost unlimited supply of edging materials in a system that requires extremely little floor space. Even when batch volumes as low as one are produced, these high-performance installations guarantee production rates that used to be realistic with large batch production only.
Drilling technology
Drilling technology
The new innovative ›IMAGIC‹ drilling system – the solution for highly-flexible, efficient drilling processes.
Whether they are part of an integrated line or configured as an independent work cell with fully automated feeder & stacker or manual panel loading & removal, the IMA throughfeed drilling machines can be integrated as a value-adding link into almost all customized processes of your shop production.
These machines can be found in the industrial production of living furniture, bedroom furniture, kitchen furniture, bathroom furniture and office furniture as well as in the component supply industry.
Custom production
Custom production
IMA solutions for custom production - New degrees of freedom in the manufacturing optimisation.
Proven know-how, valuable experience gained over many years and a large number of satisfied customers have made IMA a worldwide leading manufacturer of flexible and powerful woodworking systems, designed specifically for custom production. In the field of integrated lines for the fabrication of furniture components, IMA designers focus on the development of highly efficient and, most of all, individual system solutions – both for large batch production and custom production of batch volumes as low as one: this minimizes the spacing between parts and increases capacity – from the sizing station directly to final assembly.
Edge processing machines
Edge processing machines
IMA edge processing machines meet all requirements of current trends and innovations in the woodworking industries.
Individuality in the choice of panel and edging materials as well as high performance in panel processing & edge processing are the No. 1 goal.
Due to a broad range of machine types and concepts, no restrictions are put on the flexibility provided by IMA edge processing machines.
Used machines
Used machines
Second-hand machines / Used machines of various categories and designs: in the quality you can expect from IMA and at an attractive price-performance ratio.
Throughfeed systems
Throughfeed systems
In over 50 years, IMA has again and again revolutionised the manufacturing process in the woodworking industry. Innovation is our tradition.
IMA develops competent tailor-made customer solutions for the segment of throughfeed systems.
At the forefront of your industry through customer-oriented IMA concepts: IMA accompanies its customer from the initial business idea through implementation, to the continuous optimisation of the entire production process.
This is made possible by highly qualified, motivated people who have gained considerable know-how over many years and continually benefit from further education and training.
CNC machining centres
CNC machining centres
The ›BIMA‹ C-frame series – the reliable future-oriented solution for cost-effective complete processing of furniture elements and interior design components. Small shops and industrial sites benefit from our intelligent machine concept which has been proving its strength for decades. The head assembly of a CNC machining centre, which may consist of up to two heads, can be specifically designed for all common operations such as sawing, routing, boring or edging banding. Numerous adapter units are available to meet your individual production requirements.

With the high-performance BIMA gantry machines, IMA has the optimal solution to respond to customer demands cost-effectively, flexibly, precisely and quickly. The tandem worktable allows partly simultaneous panel sizing and edge processing; that means, edge banding on the gantry front side and sizing, boring and fine finishing on the gantry back side can occur simultaneously. Synchronous processing of complex panel shapes and pendulum-type processing operations which reduce setup times enormously increase the productivity of a BIMA gantry machine.
High-volume lines
High-volume lines
Large batch production using IMA work cells: maximum productivity = minimum cost per part.
IMA high-speed machine lines form the basis of many customer-specific fabrication concepts. Each of them matches the individual needs of the customer – from the raw panel to the ready-to-despatch furniture element.
Logistic systems
Logistic systems
The fascination of handling: that's really the secret why IMA-MEINERT can develop always new concepts of the most advanced production logistics for production logistics for the woodworking and furniture industry. For more than 40 years, IMA-MEINERT systems have helped increase your productivity, reduce your costs and enhance quality.
Large batch production
Large batch production
The performance and quality of the proven IMA high-volume lines are optimized on a continuous basis: in this process, the utilization rate, setup friendliness and production capacity are the essential parameters which set the benchmark for the innovative IMA work cells. For standardised carcases and RTA furniture, these cells form the professional basis of customer-specific individual fabrication concepts. IMA optimizes each work cell from the raw panel to the ready-to-despatch furniture element in order to achieve the required capacities.
IMA Service Portal
IMA Service Portal
Optimize operation of your machine – with the IMA Service Portal...

The IMA Service Portal supports optimal operation of your processing plant. To do so, IMA offers you such modules as the ›IMA Maintenance Manager‹, ›IMA Checkup‹ or ›Remote Service‹.
Stationary systems
Stationary systems
Today, “IMA stationary systems” means utilizing the most advanced technology to pursue your individual production solution.

Our competence in the areas of throughfeed, boring and handling & conveyor systems guarantees you dependable production, efficient material flow and a constantly high quality of work in all areas of your shop production.
Handling & transport technology
Handling & transport technology
›The fascination of handling‹: that's really the secret why IMA-MEINERT can develop always new concepts of the most advanced production logistics for production logistics for the woodworking and furniture industry. For more than 40 years, IMA-MEINERT systems have helped increase your productivity, reduce your costs and enhance quality.
IMA-MEINERT’s know-how guarantees for processing plants that operate intelligently and which are logically linked through the use of material flow control and stock management systems – both with stand-alone work cells and fully integrated lines of equipment.
From task analysis through to the concept creation phase, IMA-MEINERT engineers – in cooperation with the customer – work out tailor-made solutions that will give you maximum efficiency and cost-effectiveness of your entire production process.