Algerian firm buys Bürkle finishing line for thin panels

The Algerian city of Blida, or the “City of the Roses”, with a population of approx. 300,000 inhabitants and located about 30 km from the Mediterranean coast, is home to the algerian supplier.  This medium-sized company upgrades wood-based material panels for supplying to the domestic furniture industry. The centrepiece of the production system is the new finishing and printing line from Bürkle which has a working width of 1,300 mm.

Upgrading work revolves around particleboard and thin MDF with standard dimensions of 1,220 x 2,440 mm. With a panel feed rate ranging from five to 25 m/min, a multilayer coating is applied to the panels which can also be printed with single colours by indirect gravure printing (direct printing).

The unfinished panels are loaded manually and fed on a belt conveyor to the CBM brushing machine for surface cleaning. After that it is possible to have water-based filler applied by machine.

Products are fed to the e.a.sy-Coater RCF twin roller coating machine on a belt conveyor– a method of conveying used for practically the whole of the line. The RCF provides an exceptionally smooth filler finish thanks to an integrated reverse smoothing roller made of stainless steel. The filler is then dried by an e.a.sy-Dry JET air jet drying unit.

This preparatory work is followed downstream by two e.a.sy-Coater RCL roller coating machines from Bürkle, each equipped with an e.a.sy-Dry JET air jet drying unit. Primer is applied on both lacquering units to provide a two-layer base for the subsequent print layer or top coat.

Given the restricted length of the available space in Blida, the production flow turns by 180° on a curved belt after primer application and drying, to feed the panels into an e.a.sy-Print Druma-M grain printing machine. The "M" was especially developed for printing grain and patterning on pre-coated panels and guarantees that the highest cross mark synchronisation requirements are fulfilled with optimum results.

Following this printing machine it is possible to integrate a second one in the production flow (two colour direct printing). For the time being this additional upgrading option, which will allow for a major expansion in the range of decors, is currently bridged by a second belt conveyor.

An ingenious solution in design terms is the way in which the printing machine can be moved out of the line while the plant is in operation. This facility has been provided because the client wanted to be able to apply also plain colours using the same plant. The printing machine is not needed for this and is prepared for the next printing job in the meantime instead.

Before the panels are finally taken away, the plant technology and the process for the surface finishing of the wood-based material furniture panels are "finished off" by another e.a.sy-Coater RCL roller coating machine, this time for applying a UV-dried top coat, plus an e.a.sy-Cure UV unit with three lamps for UV curing. In conclusion, it is a highly sophisticated solution as a whole which works under simple conditions and is of modest size.