Leitz at LIGNA 2023 - Product innovations

Oberkochen, February, 16, 2023

Leitz will be exhibiting at this year's LIGNA in Hanover from 15 to 19 May. At their stand, the specialists from Oberkochen will be presenting innovative, new technical developments as well as forward-looking service concepts. Leitz is focusing in particular on structural timber construction and on solid wood processors in the furniture and window construction industries. The world market leader is thus once again underlining its innovation leadership for user-oriented tool technology in the wood and plastics processing industries.   

Above all, with a view to greater efficiency, productivity, quality and sustainability in everyday work, the Leitz specialists will again be bringing new tool solutions to the trade fair metropolis in Lower Saxony this year. Proving that where there is innovation on the outside, there is innovation on the inside.

For more efficiency and sustainability in timber construction, for example, the Leitz engineers have a drill with a TC replaceable head in their collection that will revolutionise machining processes in timber joinery. The idea behind it was the development of a new tool system that basically consists of a stable and reusable steel base body and an exchangeable boring point made of carbide. The big advantage for users is, above all, that the quick and easy exchange of the replaceable head reduces set-up and adjustment times many times over. In addition, the replaceable heads can be reground, which makes the entire system more economical over the entire life cycle than comparable standard drills. Finally, the basic body of the system only has to be purchased once. A specially developed tool geometry ensures process reliability and high quality of the drill holes. It ensures that the drill does not slip in the workpiece. Users also achieve significantly longer tool lives and have a tool that is less susceptible to breakage and particularly reliable - even when machining hardwood.    

CLT manufacturers will find another innovation on the Leitz stand that will make it possible to fully utilise the performance of their systems for finger jointing in the future and increase productivity in the manufacturing process. The new generation of Leitz TurboHawk finger jointing cutters for flat finger joints enables high feed rates without reducing the quality of the workpiece. In contrast - the particularly outstanding profile accuracy of the tool ensures high-quality results in the finger joints. The cutting edges can be changed easily and quickly, which is an important point in the field of flexibility when CLT manufacturers process different wood thicknesses. With the marathon-coated cutting edges, which have particularly large regrinding zones, the tool can also be regrinded several times and is therefore particularly sustainable.

The topic of sustainability also plays a very important role in the next innovation, especially for solid wood processing companies. With a new cutterhead - for use in furniture and moulding production or also in window construction - Leitz has developed a planing system that is particularly economical and at the same time delivers excellent machining results. The idea behind this is to recycle used VariPlan knives and re-install them in this tool system as disposable reversible knives. The result is a sustainable cutterhead that is particularly exciting for Leitz customers for whom a regrinding service is difficult due to local conditions.

Once again, Leitz sets new standards with innovative tool developments and thus supports progressive machining, product or material trends. At its trade fair stand with the number F16, in Hall 15, the world market leader will be showing forward-looking tool technology that clearly puts the focus on customer benefits. The "Solutions in new dimensions" from Oberkochen therefore not only make production processes more efficient, more flexible and more reliable - Leitz offers perfect quality, maximum productivity as well as sustainability at the most technically demanding level.

"Finding the optimally adapted solution for every requirement" - that is the daily incentive of the world market leader. Leitz sees itself as a solution provider whose products primarily support the increase in flexibility, efficiency and productivity of its customers in the relevant processes. With a total package of innovative tool technology, consulting, the constant exchange of information with all current machine and material manufacturers, as well as its fully comprehensive range of services, Leitz is the reliable partner for the wood and plastics processing industries all over the world.

Focus on the furniture industry - forward-looking machining concepts for more flexibility and efficiency

Manufacturing processes in the furniture industry are considered particularly complex. In some cases, the industry has to meet the highest demands from consumers. Materials, surfaces and functionality, as well as different production philosophies, mean that the flow of daily challenges in manufacturing companies never stops. 

Leitz's uniquely broad solution expertise ranges from panel sizing and trimming to edge finishing or drilling. Depending on the technical design of the process, whether using CNC machines or throughfeed machines, Leitz offers a tooling solution for every conceivable challenge. Leitz will be presenting a special highlight in Hanover with its new, innovative jointing concepts. They stand for maximum tool life, high process reliability and perfect machining quality - among other things with the help of the width-adjustable Diamaster EdgeExpert jointing cutter, which proves its durability every day. These are features that visitors to the LIGNA trade fair will be able to see for themselves in discussions with Leitz specialists. 

Focus on advanced materials - material mix as an opportunity

At Leitz, the so-called Advanced Materials include facade construction materials, insulating materials, aluminium, composite materials and plastics. In close cooperation with users and manufacturers, the Leitz specialists examine the preferred materials in order to optimally coordinate processes and tools, and then use this information to make processing recommendations. Particularly in the machining of composite materials and plastics, the know-how of the specialists from Oberkochen is a solid basis for the success of the customers. Here, there is increasingly a combination of recycled materials with unknown ingredients, which causes certain challenges. Precise research & development tests in the company's own technology centre can be of help here. With this approach, Leitz creates complete solutions of products and services so that its customers work more efficiently and obtain high-quality machining results in the end. As an example of this type of development process, Leitz will be showing a router bit that has been specially developed for the thin-side machining of HPL materials as a highlight.

Focus on "Circular construction" - The future in structural timber engineering?

Not demolishing an existing building after its scheduled use, but rebuilding it for a new purpose without wasting building material and with the help of existing construction elements, sounds like some kind of future at first glance. The basic idea behind so-called circular construction is a recycling economy and the conservation of resources, in which non-load-bearing building elements are given a second life. These are not disposed of, but reconstructed within the existing building for its new use without having to change the basic architecture - a revolution in structural timber engineering. The current subject of research is special cone adapters made of synthetic resin pressed wood, which are used to detach these reusable construction elements and significantly simplify retrofitting and conversion. Leitz has developed a special milling cutter for the millimetre-precise cone milling, which reduces the machining process by a factor of 10 compared to conventional routers. At its trade fair stand, Leitz will show in detail how the company is actively shaping the future in structural timber engineering with its tool solutions.   

Focus on service - efficient and resource-saving reprocessing of tools 

As a further focal point in Hanover, Leitz will be presenting its future-oriented service concepts. Topics such as regrinding, reconditioning or maintenance, but also logistics and tool management, are meant to burden customers and users as little as possible in their daily work. For this purpose, the service specialists from Oberkochen have developed new - also digital - solutions. With its worldwide unique regrinding service by qualified specialists as well as sustainable service concepts, Leitz is able to offer an unrivalled level of customer proximity and inspire the users of its tools and services. This is because resharpening and reconditioning in manufacturer quality with uniform high quality standards worldwide is not only extremely economical, but also conserves resources and is therefore sustainable. Leitz Tool Recycling also helps here. A programme in which Leitz customers collect their used carbide elements and give them to their service driver free of charge if they weigh more than three kilograms. In return, they receive an agreed countervalue in the form of a credit note for the Leitz regrinding service.

Focus on LeitzXPert - knowledge for your pocket

Whether it's the machine operator, the work preparation department or the foreman - in the individual processes in woodworking and plastics processing, questions about the tools used can arise again and again.   In addition to the Leitz specialists, the LeitzXPert online application will also provide answers in future. It contains tool expertise and information on almost all of the company's standard products. Accessible free of charge, the data are provided either via the LeitzXPert app or online via a browser-based Leitz knowledge platform. LeitzXPert was already presented as a study at LIGNA in 2019. In the meantime, the application has completely outgrown its infancy and will be offered as a fully-fledged information platform in the future. Tool identification is very simple by entering the product ID number or via a QR or barcode. In addition to the product data from the Leitz Lexicon, the user is immediately offered additional product-related information, including videos. But that is not all. LeitzXPert also offers calculation programs for important application data in woodworking and plastics processing. Visitors to LIGNA can experience this new "knowledge for your pocket" in a hands-on way at the Leitz trade fair stand.

Focus on CNC adaptors - competence in the field of tool adaptors

Whether maximum flexibility through a quick tool change with the aid of a collet chuck or maximum precision through the use of a shrink fit chuck - Leitz will also be demonstrating its great expertise in the field of adaptors at this year's LIGNA. The specialists from Oberkochen have the NiRo Premium collet chuck made of stainless steel in their collection. An innovation that combines extremely high durability with great flexibility.  A trapezoidal thread facilitates the transmission of force to the collet chuck, making it quicker and easier to mount shank tools. A ball-bearing ring also ensures that the tool does not rotate when tightening and thus provides the optimum hold for maximum precision during machining. 

A visit to Leitz on stand F16 in Hall 15 is definitely worthwhile. With the "solutions in new dimensions", production processes not only become more productive, efficient and flexible, but also impress with their perfect machining quality. Sustainability and reliability are basic requirements for which the tool specialists from Oberkochen stand with their knowledge.

The company

Founded in 1876 in Oberkochen, Southern Germany, the Leitz Group is the worldwide leading manufacturer of tools for industrial processing of wood, wood derived materials, plastics, compound materials and non-ferrous metals. The product spectrum covers the complete range of precision tools for automated machines. In a complete package of advisory services, approximately 3,000 employees pass on their experience of cutting tools to customers so meeting daily the requirements of a complete problem solver and producing service provider. Leitz products regularly are used in more than 150 countries. By 7 production locations in Europe, Asia and America, sales companies and -offices in 38 countries, a close net of more than 100 service stations with quick-production facilities as well as sales partners, Leitz is represented on all continents.