The Union Tool Corp. recently introduced a new core feeder for feeding plywood cores to engineered flooring laminating systems. The machine is designed to automatically feed two stacks of plywood cores up to 12 in. wide into Union Tool hot-melt roller coaters. The feeders use two independent lanes that feed separately and on demand. Each lane holds its own hopper rack system that holds stacked cores. These can accommodate varying core widths. All cores are fed from the bottom of each stack via two independent pusher cylinders.

The core feeders include core thickness plate adjustments to ensure only one board from each lane is fed at one time. Cycle rates of 12 cores per lane per minute can reportedly be achieved. Engineered wood flooring systems also include a hot-melt roller coater, lay-up conveyor, and multi-nip roll machine. The hot-melt roller coater coats plywood with adhesive, and the lay-up conveyor allows a piece of veneer to be placed on top of the coated plywood. The multi-nip roll machine is then used for pressing the two pieces together.

For more information, visit www.uniontoolcorp.com.