Gilbert’s 8 Roll Planer increasing productivity at Red Stag Timber
For 30 years, Gilbert Products has been market leader in the design and manufacturing of sawmilling, construction and forestry equipment as well as snow groomers.
Totally orientated towards innovation, quality and production, Gilbert offers highly profitable methods and technological equipment surpassing industry standards. Gilbert Products management and personnel are committed to the design and manufacturing of highly technological equipment which brings better, longer lasting and reliable solutions. This commitment manifests itself in their performance objectives and standards of customer’s satisfaction. At Gilbert Products the most modern factory technologies in their manufacturing workshops are employed. Highly qualified professionals, work together, offering their services to an ever- growing clientele.
Gilbert’s line of planers to suit every mill needs
At Gilbert, understanding our customers’ needs, and adapting our planer accordingly, has always been a priority. From smaller operations to high speed planer mills, Gilbert presents five different models of planers:
- Gilbert S Series Planer for smaller operations and slower speeds from 100 FPM up to 1800 FPM, (550 MPM)
- Gilbert 6 Roll Planer for mid-size operations up to 2800 FPM, (900 MPM)
- Gilbert High Speed Planer, the fastest and biggest model up to 4000 FPM, (1200 MPM)
- Gilbert Moulder for special patterns and profiles
- Gilbert Mass Timber Planer for big glulam and CLT operations.
What makes Gilbert unique?
Learn how one of Gilbert’s valuable customers, Andrew James, Technical Co-ordinator at Red Stag Timber in Rotorua New Zealand, explained the benefits of Gilbert’s Pull- Through Technology.
Heidi Danbrook, Sales Manager at Gilbert asked Andrew: What do you think about Gilbert’s Pull- Through Technology?
Gilbert’s 8 Roll Planer has been a big improvement on the previous Planer we had. The pull-through technology has meant we are able to run boards through the planer that would otherwise have to be trimmed or removed from the production line, improving recovery and throughput. We still get breakages but they have definitely reduced.
Heidi: What led you to go towards Gilbert for a second planer project?
Andrew: The main reasons we chose Gilbert for our second Planer project would be the overall positive experience we had with our first Gilbert Planer and what the S-Series planer provided in terms of Safety, performance/ reliability and capability to create the products we require.
The control over so many axes and functions like Jointing, skip adjust, pressures/guides, with the use of servo motors, which allows fine adjustments to be made remotely is a game changer in terms of Safety as it allows true hands free operation of the Planer, at a safe distance for our Planermen / Operators, although we still have to enter the soundbox occasionally to clear debris.
The performance of our current 8-Roll Planer has overall been excellent. We had a lot a teething problems when we first installed our bespoke Planer back in 2017 as we got used to a totally new type of Planer and new way of doing things on a Planer. But with the help of the Gilbert team we overcame all obstacles and now we have a machine which produces top quality products at very high speed, consistently and reliably.
The ability to add splitting and profile modules to our new S-Series planer will allow us to run a huge variety of products.
Heidi: How would you rate Gilbert’s after-sales service even if we are on the other side of the globe?
Andrew: I would rate Gilbert’s service very highly. We asked for things that had never been done on a Gilbert Planer before. They had to develop not only the hardware but the software to go with it.
They were able to design and make solutions for any issues we had, such as when an off the shelf part wasn’t suitable for our application and then ship it to us quickly from Canada. The CNC machining meant the parts always fit perfectly. We have set up a direct phone line to Gilbert by the Planer, they were always contactable and able to provide online support when needed.
With the Pull-Through Technology, the boards are not being pushed, and there is no forceful impact between boards. This allows Gilbert to guarantee a very high efficiency, 95% running uptime through the planer, on all models of planers, from 30 mpm (100fpm) to 1200 mpm (4000 fpm). The Gilbert Planer never stops! And produces high quality lumber.
Safety, a Priority!
In order to always offer its customers the best planing solutions, Gilbert has continually been developing a range of automatic upgrades designed to increase planer efficiency and make the planer room a much SAFER environment.
The Gilbert Automatic Cutterhead Positioning System controls the four cutterheads and an unlimited number of axes for optimal precision and higher grades. Easy to use, the automatic positioning system allows fast and easy recipe changes offering greater flexibility, less downtime and a safe environment.
Many automatic and safety functions have been developed over the past years, like top and bottom head jointers, side head jointers, top head pressure plate, width and height adjustment, after-cut shoes and triple pattern side heads. Very precise, these automatic upgrades increase the quality of the wood finish, ensure safety and efficiency.
Adjustments are made remotely from the HMI screen outside the planer room, or from a tablet or phone anywhere in the mill.
With special features like the triple pattern side heads, the operator can remotely switch from one pattern to the other, without stopping for jointing, or changing side heads on the machine. Keeps nicer finish, and less work required!
Gilbert is comprised of a team of 125 workers, all devoted to making the best planer in the world, and a grand team of after- sale technicians, available 24/7 to support customers worldwide. Distance is no obstacle to their service team who easily and efficiently offer online remote controlled service to customers worldwide.
