Supporting Roundel with German-engineered precision tooling and high-quality servicing, Leitz has helped Roundel to improve their nesting, edgebanding and overall manufacturing performance.
In the highly competitive world of luxury and affordable kitchen and fitted furniture manufacturing, operational efficiency and uncompromising quality are paramount. Working in a strategic partnership, Leitz Tooling a provider of world-class German-engineered precision tooling, has supported Roundel Manufacturing Limited to improve their manufacturing operations and efficiencies.
Roundel, a leader in bespoke kitchen and fitted furniture manufacturing, has a reputation for crafting kitchens of exceptional quality that is built on a foundation of skilled craftsmanship. Maintaining this standard requires a consistent and reliable source of advanced tooling and technical support, highlighting the value of the partnership with Leitz Tooling.
Roundel approached Leitz Tooling at LIGNA 2023 as they had major service and tool performance issues with their previous tooling supplier and were facing challenges with panel rejects prior to investment in new machinery and tooling. Some of their previous board suppliers’ recycled board contained varying embedded components, causing excess wear on their tooling and accelerating the reject rate. With their primary focus being on product quality, Roundel was facing high panel rejection rates due to their stringent quality control. Roundel operates a variety of panel processing machinery, including Homag Edgebanders, table saws and flatbed CNC nesting machines.
To support Roundel in improving their product quality, Leitz first looked at their panel nesting and sizing processes. Roundel also invested in new machinery and optimised panel processing by oversizing product and hogging off excess material, which significantly contributed to reduced waste. Leitz and Roundel trailed various router designs, moving from a 2-wing design to a 3-wing design for improved edge finish with the additional benefit of higher productivity. The Leitz Diamaster PRO3 has an innovative tooth design that uses “Real-Z3” technology, closing gaps between the individual knives to increase the number of effective teeth. Thanks to this innovative design, the Pro3 can achieve 50% faster feed speeds and tool life than standard PCD routers, resulting in reduced downtime and faster, better-quality nesting. The alternative twist design also allows for tear-free edges on both sides of the workpiece, further reducing the panel reject rate experienced by Roundel. Tony Armstrong, Production Director for Roundel, commented on the impact of trailing the PRO3: “Technically in the market, Leitz stands alone. We took a recommendation and moved from Z2, which was causing major chipping, to the Diamaster PRO3, which minimised our chipping. Leitz technical representative Neil supported us with tweaking the feed speeds, which also eliminated burnout and improved our quality”.
Leitz also looked at how they could work with Roundel to improve panel quality through edgebander tooling. Roundel invested in a new Homag Edgeteq machine; this enabled Roundel to double capacity on a single shift and reduce panel reject rates. Leitz equipped Roundel’s new edgebander with the flagship WhisperCut EdgeExpert cutter heads. Designed for high-quality milling, the Diamaster WhisperCut is a light and efficient design. Featuring a lightweight tool body for reduced machine and motor wear, the WhisperCut is an economical solution engineered for exceptional tool life and up to 12 sharpens. With noise reduction of up to -5 dB(A), the design mitigates vibrations and therefore tool wear when machining. The EdgeExpert variant used by Roundel, combines this economical focus with high shear cutting angles for exceptional finish quality, reduced chipping and tear out. Tony Armstrong comments on the impact of the Diamaster WhisperCut “We moved to the edge expert to reduce chipping, which lowered our panel reject rate. We also now only change the tooling every three months”. This has led to significant cost savings for Roundel from reducing tool change downtime, wasted materials and the amount of rework required.
The combination of automated Boardstore, CNC nesting, new machinery, and staff training helped Roundel reduce panel waste significantly while maintaining high-quality standards. Roundel is committed to creating and maintaining a safe and comfortable working environment for its employees and proactively identified opportunities to further improve air quality. To achieve this, Roundel partnered with Leitz, combining expertise to address dust reduction collaboratively.
Roundel is now using the new Leitz DFC® (Dust Flow Control) Turbine as part of this joint initiative. The DFC® Turbine from Leitz has been specifically designed to direct chips and dust from the machining area towards the extraction system in the most efficient and effective way possible. Designed for CNC systems with HSK-F 63 clamping, the turbine collects up to 90% of created chips, considerably lowering cleaning efforts and extending tool life by eliminating double cutting. Tony Armstrong comments on the impact of Leitz DFC® solutions: “The DFC® helps significantly reduce dust on both the products and the machinery, while also lowering airborne dust levels, which improves overall air quality and provides better protection for our more delicate materials. Working closely with Leitz throughout this process has been invaluable, allowing both teams to learn and develop together.”
Leitz took over Roundel’s tools sharpening and immediately introduced them to the Leitz Tool Information Management system (TIM). Operating 8 service centres across the UK, Leitz are specialists in tool sharpening and diamond tool erosion. Leitz typically achieves over 16+ sharpens onpanel sawblades and boast an extensive portfolio of precision machinery with micron-level accuracy. Leitz have supported Roundel with sharpening to reduce their tooling costs through increased tool performance and have been using the transparent TIM system to share data with Roundel. All tools on Leitz TIM are tracked and traced, meaning their tool life can be calculated and expected life can be predicted to ensure there is always a fresh replacement ready to go. Tony Armstrong elaborates on how Roundel uses the data captured by Leitz: “The TIM system is used by our manufacturing teams, they review the data to oversee tooling tests, monitor tool performance and are currently looking for ways to integrate it with RML’s own systems”.
Leitz and Roundel are continuing to strengthen their collaboration. The strategic partnership between Leitz Tooling UK Ltd and Roundel Manufacturing Limited highlights how a tooling supplier can add significant value beyond simply providing tools. By working closely together, Roundel has achieved notable improvements in productivity, finish quality, and reductions in waste, supporting their ongoing sustainability goals. Simon Liddell, Managing Director of Leitz Tooling UK comments on the relationship “Companies like Roundel are the perfect partners for Leitz, their commitment to quality and constant improvement means we get to have a real impact on their business and help them to grow. Their feedback has been incredible and we are very excited to show the market how we can go above and beyond.”
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