The heart of a home is the kitchen, and a cabinet with a beaded face frame immediately conveys a high level of quality and craftsmanship and distinctly sets it apart from other utilitarian overlay-door cabinets.
The most common way to manufacture beaded face frames, is to use square profiles and to apply the bead profile separately. The major disadvantage to this system is the time required to produce a complete frame.
Apart from time consumption, mismatched grain and mitre joints, due to inconsistent bead profiles can be a concern. Any of these faults are only highlighted by being painted. A dissatisfied customer or a call-out, will damage not only the cabinetmakers reputation but also the bottom line.
Clearly, the most efficient way to produce beaded face frames is to start with pre-beaded profiles. All of the above-mentioned disadvantages are then eliminated from the start.
Several systems have been devised, but their set-up and calibration are a time-consuming process and their cost (over €18K plus tooling) puts them out of the reach of most bespoke cabinet makers.
The solution
The Hoffmann Beaded Face Frame System offers cabinet makers of all sizes a fast, precise and efficient method to manufacture beaded face frames, whether it is in single or series production.
Starting with pre-beaded profiles, stiles are notched in pairs and the rails are coped on a fixed blade, Morso guillotine style notching machine.
These NF series machines are manufactured for Hoffmann by Dan-List (Morso) in Denmark. They cut all kinds of wood, plastic, MDF and plywood and leave the cut surface of the profile perfectly smooth and accurate, requiring no further preparation before joining.
For a standard, stile to rail connection, this operation takes about five seconds with Hoffmann’s manual foot-operated notching machine – the automatic model is even faster!
The second step takes place on the Hoffmann MU-3 dovetail routing machine equipped with special fixtures for beaded and notched material. Dovetail keyways are routed into all mating parts and the frames are assembled by applying some glue and inserting Hoffmann Dovetail Keys. These Keys draw the parts together to form a tight, secure and permanent joint.
No large clamping tables or bar clamps are required and the frames can be finished immediately upon assembly. All dovetail routing machines are set-up with a complete fixture set to process stiles and rails, but can also be used to process regular mitre joints and butt joints. They are also available in Digital and Pneumatic models which increase accuracy and speed.
01524 841500
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www.hoffmann-uk.com
