Roundel Manufacturing Limited Improves Quality & Reduces Panel Reject Rate, In Partnership With Leitz Tooling:
Supporting Roundell 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 high-end kitchen design and manufacturing, operational efficiency and uncompromising quality are paramount to success. Working in a strategic partnership, Leitz Tooling, a provider of world-class German-engineered precision tooling, has supported Roundel Kitchens, to improve their manufacturing operations and grow.
Roundel, a leader in bespoke kitchen and joinery manufacturing, has a reputation for crafting kitchens of exceptional quality that is built on a foundation of skilled craftmanship. However, maintaining this standard requires a consistent and reliable source of advanced tooling and technical support. This is where the partnership with Leitz Tooling is highlighted.
Roundel approached Leitz Tooling in 2023 as they had major service and tool performance issues with their previous tooling supplier and were suffering from a panel reject rate of 30%, which jumped up to 40%. Some of their previous board suppliers’ recycled board contained significant concentrations of metal, plastic and stone 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 reject 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. Leitz & 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, Operations Director for Roundel, commented on the impact of trailing the PRO3 “Technically in the market, Leitz stand 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”.
Diamaster Pro Z3+3 Nesting Router Cutter
DFC Turbine Router Cutter
Finished Nested Furniture Components
Leitz also looked at how they could work with Roundel to improve panel quality through high quality pre-milling cutters. Roundel invested in a new Homag Edgeteq machine to increase their capacity to 600-700 boards a day and combat panel reject rates. Leitz equipped Roundel’s new edgebander with the flagship WhisperCut EdgeExpert pre-milling cutter heads. Designed for high-quality pre-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 pre-milling 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 Leitz EdgeExpert pre-milling cutter 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 cutterheads “We moved to the edge expert to reduce chipping, which saw our panel reject rate fall dramatically. We also now only change the tooling every 3 months”. This has led to massive cost savings for Roundel from reducing tool change downtime, wasted materials and amount of rework required.
The nesting router cutters and edgebanding solutions, combined with new machinery and staff training have helped Roundel to reduce their panel reject rate from the shocking 40% to an acceptable 6%, without them having to compromise on the high-quality that their brand was built on.
Roundel Kitchens go above and beyond to make their factory a safe and comfortable working environment and enlisted the help of Leitz to reduce dust. Roundel is using the new Leitz DFC® (Dust Flow Control) Turbine. The DFC® Turbine from Leitz was developed 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 comments on the impact of Leitz DFC® solutions. “The DFC® keeps dust off the products and the machinery. We frequently run air control tests and we found that with this solution the level of dust decreased , which is significantly below the legal requirement of 10 Mg / M3and helps usto keep their machinery clean and well maintained, whilst also reducing time required for cleaning."
Diamaster EdgeExpert Pre-Milling Cutterhead For Edgebanding
Servicing of a WhisperCut EdgeExpert Pre-Milling Cutterhead
WhisperCut EdgeExpert Pre-Milling Cutterhead In Appication
Leitz took over Roundel’s tool 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 achieve over 16+ sharpens on panel 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 tool information management 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.
“It’s like night and day to our previous supplier who couldn’t inform us of how many of our saw blades they had in their system. We just received bills. We paid them, but we didn’t really know what we were paying for”. Commented Tony Armstrong regarding the Leitz TIM. He elaborates on how Roundel use the data captured by Leitz. “The TIM system is used by our quality team, 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 on a journey together. For many manufacturers, tooling is just an afterthought. But the strategic partnership between Leitz Tooling UK Ltd and Roundel showcases how a tooling supplier should be so much more than just a tool provider. Working closely together has seen Roundel make massive improvements in productivity, finish quality and huge reductions in wastage that are key for their 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.”
Contact Leitz Tooling To Learn More About Our Pre-Milling Cutters, Nesting Solutions or Sharpening Service:
Leitz Tooling:
Roundel Kitchens: