What is a good machine? There are a lot of oppinion about this matter, there is some who think of this good machine meaning is a cheap second hand machine, but there is also some think a good machine is an expensive European machines.
There is no such thing as a good machine but there is only a machine that suits you!
Sometimes, for some product not always we need an expensive machines, but sometimes also we really need's that kind of machines, we must make this as our mind set before we choose which one is the best for us.
Just think like that you don't need a truck if you only carry thing's that only weight about 500 kg, but you must buy a truck if you carry ton's of stuff! and you don't need a ferrary that can run to 200 km/hour if you have a traffic jam and have a bad small road, but you must buy a ferrary if you have a good road and no traffic jam, and you must remember that a ferrary need's a very expensive maintenance cost than a Honda or something like that!
For simple example :
My product is an decking flooring for Asia market, with capacity of 15 cont of 40' each month using bengkirai woods, so because my output product is straightly get out from a moulding, that mean I will need a high quality moulder that have a very high speed (above 24 M/min), this is a silly mind set. A moulder with a high quality knife that have 4 wings, the knife configuration it self limited the speed for up to only about 20 M/min and that speed we can get only with the 4 wings can really cut the wood's equally (Impossible to do in this world!!!), so what do I need with this kind of product? . We can get a decking and flooring with high quality, high output (by the continuity of the machine that means, not a machines with a lot of stop and problems!) and less problems with the help of Straightening Rip Saw (this is a diiferent kind of rip saw that have the circle cut the wood from below, not above. I will explain about it later.), you must cut the wood both side longitudinal way by giving it very small allowance and then give the moulder just a little piece of the wood cut by it. This will give you an excellent quality (cause the wood cutted by the moulder is a very small part of it), high output (this mean continuity because you dont have to resharpening your knife too often, changing the knife and the moulder it self will keep running smoothly because it have a very minimum working pressure) and less cost (you dont have to repair too much for your wood product ad also less maintenance cost for your moulding machines).
This type of product (decking and flooring) have a very simple process that is saw mill (if you need one) then go to double planner, then a straightening rip saw, double end tenoner (the real double end not a double cut off machine!) then a moulder, but this kind of work require a high quality machines because it handles a solid wood's product that are expensive and hard to repaired (or it impossible?). So my oppinion if you are working with this kind of product, don't be silly to save your money for the machines!
For this kind of product if you are working with woods other than bengkirai (like teaks or mahogany), you must start to think about a finger joint line to start save your money and start to save your woods, a finger joint line type's that you need's is depend on how much the waste you produce each month, so I can arrange a suitable finger joint line for your production from manual to fully auto type and from beginning to the end of process.
A double planner for this kind of product is that can process as short as 200 mm (to consider someday you will worked with your waste to make it finger joint board or stick or something else in your mind), my suggestion is a double planner from Shenko, with short stock optional included and using spiral cutterhead (cheaper maintenance cost, less time for knife sharpening and better result so lighter the moulder working pressure), the type of the machine is SK-600 G.
A straightening rip saw that cut the wood from below that means you can cut the wood shortest as possible to help you with your finger joint later untill 100 mm shortest stock! and also guarantee the straight line shape without bending or other problem cause the different of working system with this machines, I recomended you to have a Straight line rip saw from Formosa (I bet you already know this big brand), the type of the machine is RSN 100.
A moulder that specialized for this product is an SKG 230 from Shenko, the spindle configuration is down-right-left-up-up-down, with 7200 rpm for the 4 and 6 spindle to have a finish result, V-belt pulley (to minimized working slip cause of cutting hard wood), short infeed table (to help cutting long and bending woods), frequency controlled infeed (more accurate and flexible for various kind of work) and the most important is a very rigid construction (this is the most valuable think from a moulder machines).
A double end tenoner (don't waste your money for a cheap and use double cut off machines! it cannot worked for this product!) that help you to have real precise with the T&G and can help you to have real 90 degree so we can use the woods for a nice result through and through from the moulder, I recomended you to use a double end tenoner from Sen yuh, the type are SYT-250B8E, with 8 head (please don't think about 6 or 4 head! it is use less!!), jumping knife equipped (to prevent wood chipping), and a heavy duty construction.
Those type of machines that I suggest you are a basic machines that is needed for this product, so you better start to think about it! And also those machines are flexible machines that can be used for other of product if you planned to have side product from the main product.
Remember there are also a different way to produce this product depend on the market, material, quantity and also quality that required. We will glad ly assist you if you wanted to ask more, you contact me straightly at my office, comment, e-mail or by my mobile phone!
