John Rutter
Member
- Messages
- 59
- Location
- Pacific Northwest
"Compact" is definitely relative.
I was on the fence for a long time about the need for a moulder for my cabinet door business. At one point last year, I bought and paid for a 4-head Weinig Quattromat, only to have it sold out from under me to someone who came in with a higher offer. Many of the other machines that I looked at were too heavy for my 5,000 lb. forklift, or had very high combined horsepower. In the end, I decided to stick with the familiar.
SCMI is not the leader in moulder technology but, like the rest of their equipment line, they make a solid machine and offer pretty decent support and parts availability. The Compact 23 that I got can run on a 100A circuit and I can move it around as needed with my current lift.
My landlord was kind enough to let me stage it in an unused loading area in my building. Just getting it off the truck was a nervewracking, teetery experience, as it was centered on the flatbed deck and my forks were too short to do a simple pick. But all's well that ends well. We have been learning how to best set up for S4S and mitered door parts. It came with 15 heads of various profiles in carbide. I got some spiral insert heads for top and bottom, and run straight carbide knives on the sides and last bottom (which shaves off 0.020").
Here are a few pics taken while I looked it over.
Hood down:
Hood up, guards off:
It is about 11 feet long with a 2 meter infeed/jointer table:
I had the dealer switch the electrics to 230V. The old 440V overloads are in the bottom:
Motors - the 2 side heads share a motor. It has the nicest variable speed pulley/gearbox setup that I've seen yet.
Here is one feature on a moulder that allows it to straighten as well as flatten. The jointer head (1st bottom) has a slightly larger diameter cutter beside the main cutterhead that rabbets the edge to register on a short fence before the first side head. You can see how it sticks up above the table.
It just fit inside the door. (Things were a bit cramped during the move-in.)
I was on the fence for a long time about the need for a moulder for my cabinet door business. At one point last year, I bought and paid for a 4-head Weinig Quattromat, only to have it sold out from under me to someone who came in with a higher offer. Many of the other machines that I looked at were too heavy for my 5,000 lb. forklift, or had very high combined horsepower. In the end, I decided to stick with the familiar.
SCMI is not the leader in moulder technology but, like the rest of their equipment line, they make a solid machine and offer pretty decent support and parts availability. The Compact 23 that I got can run on a 100A circuit and I can move it around as needed with my current lift.
My landlord was kind enough to let me stage it in an unused loading area in my building. Just getting it off the truck was a nervewracking, teetery experience, as it was centered on the flatbed deck and my forks were too short to do a simple pick. But all's well that ends well. We have been learning how to best set up for S4S and mitered door parts. It came with 15 heads of various profiles in carbide. I got some spiral insert heads for top and bottom, and run straight carbide knives on the sides and last bottom (which shaves off 0.020").
Here are a few pics taken while I looked it over.
Hood down:
Hood up, guards off:
It is about 11 feet long with a 2 meter infeed/jointer table:
I had the dealer switch the electrics to 230V. The old 440V overloads are in the bottom:
Motors - the 2 side heads share a motor. It has the nicest variable speed pulley/gearbox setup that I've seen yet.
Here is one feature on a moulder that allows it to straighten as well as flatten. The jointer head (1st bottom) has a slightly larger diameter cutter beside the main cutterhead that rabbets the edge to register on a short fence before the first side head. You can see how it sticks up above the table.
It just fit inside the door. (Things were a bit cramped during the move-in.)
