Bolton Sign Contractors, Bolton

Replacing a bulky sliding table saw with a vertical panel saw to save on workshop space has brought increased efficiency to Bolton Sign Contractors.

It’s Swiss-built Striebig Compact 5207 vertical panel saw cuts acrylic, aluminium, composite aluminium, foam board, plywood and MDF sheets. They are needed for the signage the company produces for a large variety of customers ranging from small businesses to high profile names.

Striebig Compact replaces sliding table saw

The 5.7m long freestanding saw, which can also be wall-mounted, accommodates panels to a maximum size of 4.6 x 2.07m. It has a maximum cutting depth of 60mm. With a space-saving depth of just 1381mm, there’s now a lot of free space around the saw in which to stack panels awaiting cutting. The versatile Compact can cut all of the sheet materials, which range in thickness from 2mm to 30mm, with the same blade.

Loading the heaviest acrylic sheets on to the sliding panel saw and pushing them through the fixed blade was a two-man job, as was placing and holding down the lighter but ‘floppy’ 2mm thick acrylic sheets. One man can now place all of the sheets on the Compact’s roller support. Cutting has been made far easier as the moveable saw head slices effortlessly, horizontally and vertically, through the panels.

Bolton Sign Contractors looked at three makes of vertical panels saws before selecting the Striebig. Their decision to purchase was due to the saw’s sturdy build, its range of advanced features, its ease of operation and the guaranteed accuracy of 1/10mm. The 5207 is one of three models in the Compact series, the smallest offered by Striebig.

Like other models in the entry-level series it has a re-designed control panel, saw head housing and saw head operating mechanism. Medium and small work piece supports extending along the full length of the machine mean it is quick and easy to saw small pieces.

Its highly efficient integral dust and chips extraction system ensures that dust levels are kept well below permitted European limits. The Compact is based on a single, fully welded sawing frame to give decades of reliable service whilst maintaining cutting precision.

To increase its versatility still further, it is available with an optional Digital Measuring System, which is accurate to 0.1 mm.  It was supplied and installed by J.J. Smith Ltd., the Merseyside-based agents for T.M. Machinery Sales, the exclusive UK importers.