During the annual autumn meeting and factory tour hosted by the Wood Components Manufacturers Association, more than 100 North American woodworkers and industry suppliers shared best practices for manufacturing wood components.

The event was held in the Grand Rapids area from August 21 to 23 and included visits to various products from seven local manufacturers, including bending parts, cabinet parts, building and furniture parts, molds and wood products, special wood products and Woodworking machinery. This event focused on employee recruitment and training. It also included a visit to the Michigan Career and Technology Center to learn more about the second largest state-run rehabilitation center in the United States. The tabletop exhibitions and speeches of FDMC magazine contributor "Wood Doctor" Gene Wengert and Grand Valley State University professor Jaideep Motwani are also featured.

The following are brief highlights of the tour company. For information about other WCMA events, including the 2018 Spring Conference or Fall Conference and factory tours, please visit WCMA.com.

Founded in 1927, Davidson Plyforms specializes in bending and compression molding plywood components. Sales Director Doug Britton said that this company, located in Grand Rapids, is a sustainable manufacturer committed to investing in technology and continuously improving its manufacturing capabilities.

In a 200,000-square-foot factory, Davidson uses induction and radio frequency molding technology as well as CNC machining, laser etching and finishing capabilities to manufacture a range of products, including: chair components such as backrests, shells, seats and frames; used for locking and Cabinets and elevated door fronts for storage components; compression molds to recycle plastic parts; and metal Shift height-adjustable tables and kits.

To make molded plywood components, the veneer layers are run through a glue applicator and then laid before being machined into shape. The stamping time depends on the thickness and complexity of the part.

The plywood veneer blanks are precisely processed in the CNC area. "We try to keep the process together, so we have an overall process," Britton said. The company uses 3-axis and 5-axis CNC machine tools from Bacci, IMA and the old model Heian.

The product is transported to the Col-Met spray booth for finishing. "We also use solid wood," Britton points out.

The built-in data system helps Davidson Plyforms track jobs moving in the workshop. As part of the Leggett & Platt work furniture group, Davidson Plyforms has approximately 300 employees.

As the largest commercial wooden bowl manufacturer in the United States, Holland Bowl Mill produces 800 to 1,000 solid wood bowls per week, using a variety of hardwood species, including beech, maple, walnut and cherry, said President David Gill. The company’s history can be traced back to 1926, when it appeared on the Discovery Channel’s "How It Is Made" show.

At the 18,000-square-foot factory in the Netherlands, Michigan, logs are cut into pieces and inspected for defects. Then use a saw to cut the block into a blank of the best bowl size, and then process it in a nesting process on a lathe. The scimitar is used to remove the outer bark shell and to carve the surface and thickness. The smaller curved knife simultaneously creates the inner wall of the larger bowl and the outer shell of the next size bowl in a continuous process.

 Gier explained that steam the bowl for about 4 hours to "boil the juice" and air dry before sanding. A special knife scrapes the bottom flat, and the bowl can be custom-engraved, painted or finished in other ways. As the last step, food-safe minerals are added to the bowl.

Although it also produces children's furniture, Great Lake Woods' focus is on its custom wood components, wrapping profiles and wood moldings.

According to owner Keith Malmstadt, the company's strengths lie in its creativity, competence, production quality and on-time delivery. The company processes more than 1,000,000 feet of linear molds every week through its WEINIG CNC molding hangar. Great Lake Woods also uses specialized equipment such as automatic double miter saws, custom CNC routers and rope machines.

The factory covering an area of ​​more than 100,000 square feet starts production from the rough grinding area, where cross-saws and optimized double miter saws are used together with WEINIG CNC forming machines to produce various profiles and texture moldings for cabinets and other products. Account manager Andy Watson pointed out that with its ability to create tools internally, the company can quickly and easily customize new profiles.

The use of the tenon allows the company to manufacture "higher strength and lower cost" long molded products. Other functions of the factory include CNC machining, grinding, profile wrapping and assembly, using CR Onsrud 3-axis and 5-axis routers, Duramac wide belt sander, Barberan profile wrapping machine, and Doucet and Taylor clamping stations.

The company based in the Netherlands, Michigan, was founded in 1988 and has approximately 96 employees. The second factory GLW Finishing LLC specializes in finishing

Throughout the 107-year history of Klise Mfg., its core focus has always been wood carving. The same is true today, because the manufacturer based in Grand Rapids continues to combine old-world craftsmanship with CNC, using domestic and foreign wood species to create carved and embossed linear shapes.

In addition to customized products, Klise has a library of more than 6,000 patterns, including: embossed leaves, basket weaving, carved beads and bamboo, round themes, curved corners, small teeth, eggs and darts, grapes, embossed and carved flowers, crescents Flowers, curved and carved flutes, gadroon, Greek keys, embossed guiloche, laurels, chevrons and herringbone. The applications are limitless, including high-end furniture, interior design and architectural projects.

The molds are customized to order, using various machines, including: Omga saw, Centauro profiling lathe, Borgonova groove machine, Heian CNC router, Mattison molding machine and Universal Laser engraving system. The company also produces its own pins and has the ability to manufacture tubes.

Another specialty of Klise is the hand-woven custom wire mesh grille used in the cabinet, residential and commercial furniture industries. The company has 20 employees in a 90,000-square-foot factory.

The Michigan Chair Company, based in Howard, is in the unique field of steam bending. The company was founded in 1946 to customize bentwood for high-end contract and residential furniture manufacturers from large multinational corporations to single-person shops.

Co-owner Tim Hoolsema said that one benefit of steam bending is that it can help solve the short-grain problem, resulting in stronger parts. Michigan Chair specializes in bending hardwoods of 6/4, 8/4 and 10/4 thickness.

The moisture content of the wood starts from 12% to 13%, is ground, steamed and shaped, and then dried to 6% to 8%. This is a precise process: if it is done too quickly, it will cause cracks, but if it is steamed for too long, the form may fold or cause poor inspection. "Imagine steaming like pasta," Hoolsema added.

In addition to the bending equipment, the workshop also has a forming machine for surfacing welding, a gang saw with a detachable blade, and a double-head trimming saw for cutting and edging.

Paladin Industries is headquartered in Kentwood and produces complex 3D custom machined and laminated components for office furniture, store fixtures, automotive and other industries.

Alan Applegate, vice president of business and development, points out that thousands of parts are produced every day. In the 84,000-square-foot factory, the company uses a variety of high-tech equipment, including: 14 CNC routers, a CNC panel saw, Wemhoner film press, Burkle PUR laminating line with automatic material loading and handling functions , And the airTec system on a Homag edge banding machine can achieve almost seamless edges. The plant is designed for flexible manufacturing and is also equipped with an IntelliStore material handling system for automatic retrieval and storage of plates.

Quality and customer service are the top priorities. One of the functions that Paladin is equipped with is a humidity control clean room for PUR lamination, which is essential when suppressing highlights. The company also has grinding and finishing capabilities and is equipped with three GFS online spray booths in a closed loop system.

As a sustainable manufacturer, Paladin has taken a number of environmental protection initiatives, including the use of Eco Gate dust collection management system, efficient lighting and zero hazardous waste. The company was founded in 1985, has approximately 30 employees, and is the past recipient of the WMIA Wooden Globe Innovator of the Year Award.

Participants also visited the factory of Stiles Machinery, a leading supplier of solid wood and panel processing technology in North America. In addition to introducing the company's education and training program Stiles University, there are also close-up shots of mechanical demonstrations and parts departments and transportation operations.

As part of its total production solutions approach, Stiles also provides equipment integration and financial services. Stiles was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Grand Rapids, with regional offices in High Point, North Carolina; Bristol, Pennsylvania; Koper, Texas; and Rancho Cucamonga, California . The company is a member of the Homag Group.

Have something to say? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

Karen M. Koenig has more than 30 years of experience in the woodworking industry, including visits to wood product manufacturing plants in North America, Europe and Asia. As the editor of special publications under the Woodworking Network brand, including the Red Book best practice resource guide and website, Karen's responsibilities include writing, editing and coordinating editorial content. She is also a writer for other Woodworking Network online and print media owned by FDMC and CCI Media. You can contact her at karen.koenig@woodworkingnetwork.com

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