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Ballerina kitchens rank among the top brands of the industry segment. The manufacturer is the German Design Award winner 2023 and uses the advantages of the LEUCO precision tools for jointing bodies and fronts. The p-System and the DIAREX jointing cutter offer the kitchen manufacturer an excellent cutting quality and high utilization times which can additionally be extended by an innovative adjustment technology.

“Our customers appreciate our excellently manufactured kitchen furniture. In order to meet this demand, we rely on a high-quality equipment of our production. Like the products of LEUCO”, says Holger Gierth, member of the plant management at Ballerina Küchen based in Rödinghausen, East Westphalia, Germany. For the award-winning producer of design kitchens, the synchronously adjustable p-System and DIAREX jointing cutters are part of the basic equipment of their machines.

Precise and productive

Currently, the company uses a Homag machine with an exactly calculated sizing concept for the jointing of kitchen furniture fronts and bodies. Thanks to the well-matched interaction between machine, clamping element and tool, the furniture manufacturer achieves an optimum production process in terms of economic efficiency and quality. The tools that are used here are the synchronously adjustable jointing cutters of LEUCO with different shear angles.

For the furniture bodies, Ballerina uses jointing cutters with the patented LEUCO p-System with a shear angle of 70 degrees. The p-System convinces with an excellent cutting quality for a variety of body materials and offers higher edge lives than jointing cutters with standard shear angle. The LEUCO DIAREX jointing cutters are used for the jointing of fronts. This tool is also characterized by long edge lives and offers an excellent zero-joint look for different front materials due to its high jointing performance. The p-System and DIAREX cutters have a diameter of 150 millimeters and are designed for conventional hydro motors with a spindle of 30 millimeters.

Innovative and efficient

Both LEUCO cutter types are additionally equipped with an adjustment option that allows the still unused areas of the diamond cutting edges to be brought into use with a simple, manual rotation - which results in a further increase in tool life. Depending on the variety of materials, Ballerina achieves a total of six tool lives with the p-System cutter and an adjustment of up to five times. With the DIAREX milling cutter, the kitchen manufacturer achieves up to 10 adjustments and therefore a total of 11 edge lives, depending on the material mix. The machine operators only need a little effort to extend edge life: stop the machine, readjust the tools and continue production. By this, the tool concept minimizes machine downtime and resharpening costs.

The high cost-effectiveness of the tool comes into its own, especially with panels of the same or similar thickness. Holger Gierth: “If, for example, consistently panels with 16 millimeters are processed, we only have to set up once and can readjust the cutting edges several times with a simple rotation. Readjustment takes hardly any time because nothing needs to be calibrated, as the milling cutter works synchronously.” The tool is easy to mount using hydraulic clamping, “it centers itself on the motor shaft using oil pressure,” adds Michael Koch, Key Account Manager at LEUCO.

Profitable and reliable

Minimum machine downtime, optimum utilization of the cutting edges, outstanding tool lives and reduced follow-up costs make the adjustable jointing cutters profitable tools. “The acquisition costs are higher than those of conventional milling cutters. But the many advantages make the investment worthwhile,” emphasizes the operations manager.

Holger Gierth also draws a positive conclusion for the decades of cooperation with LEUCO: “In addition to the first-class tools, I would like to emphasize the reliability of the company. Here the benefits of confidence and fast routes are combined. This brings us forward.” In 2024, a new machine from IMA Schelling will also be equipped with LEUCO tools. Michael Koch: “Both one-piece and synchronously adjustable p-System jointing cutters with a diameter of 220 millimeters for a motor shaft of 40 millimeters are used on the two-sided system” where melamine-coated body parts are processed for the perfectly shaped designer kitchens from Ballerina.

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