pneumatic/Air line to big planers?

[Nick Crivello]

I sometimes see large planers with air line plumbed up to them. Models such as the SCM s630 class machines. What's the purpose of these?

[David Zaret]

i have an SCM L'Invincible, and had to run air to it. the feed rollers have variable pneumatic pressure, independently controlled front and back.

--- dz

[jack duren]

The planer/sander have air..

[Nick Crivello]

The planer/sander have air..

What are you trying to convey here?

[Nick Crivello]

i have an SCM L'Invincible, and had to run air to it. the feed rollers have variable pneumatic pressure, independently controlled front and back.

--- dz

So instead of using segmented feed rollers, the rollers are one piece? Any good illustrations of this configuration?

[jack duren]

What are you trying to convey here?

we had a planer/sander on air.im not sure if the planer parts was on air. I wasn’t the operator..

[Nick Crivello]

we had a planer/sander on air.im not sure if the planer parts was on air. I wasn’t the operator..

Ok, are your responses pertinent or helpful towards answering the question at hand?

What was the air for...?

[jack duren]

It’s a planer /sander. It has sanding belts, but not sure if the planer head was on air or not..

[David Zaret]

So instead of using segmented feed rollers, the rollers are one piece? Any good illustrations of this configuration?

no, it's still segmented... the shaft has cylinders on either side, two on front, two on back, independently controlled. i could snap a pic, if you want...

[Bill Dufour]

Ok, are your responses pertinent or helpful towards answering the question at hand?

What was the air for...?

Many big belt sanders use air to control belt tension and belt tracking.
Many misuse the terms and call a wide belt sander a planer since it turns the wood into two parallel planes like a rotating knife planer does.
Bill D

[jack duren]

Ours was a a planer/sander. SCM planer sander. Our ps planed and had to wide belts . You can get a planer/ three belt. These sanders get up to 100k.

[George Yetka]

I want air to my small machine to keep the table free of dust. It would be nice if there was a fine spray keeping the infeed clear of dust

[Jim Becker]

I want air to my small machine to keep the table free of dust. It would be nice if there was a fine spray keeping the infeed clear of dust

That's an example of a a way of "using" air and while certainly valid, it's a little different than how air is often provisioned on the larger machines. In many cases, the use case there is not dissimilar to how air is used on my CNC machine to assist with lifting the Z axis by having a counterbalance cylinder to reduce the weight that the Z-axis motor has to lift. It uses pressure, but doesn't "use air"...no air is expelled. For those big machines, air pressure is often used for automation of media clamping/tension and other things. It may also be used for lifting assists and positioning, etc. It's a pretty practical way to do these functions and more if you think about it.

[Albert Lee]

inside.jpg

Here is what it looks like inside my L'Invincibile S7, you can see the pneumatics above the roller.

[Warren Lake]

it makes sense to use air as compression same as a spring. Id not heard of it in a planer.

It doesnt work in all things, we built a machined years ago using electric for feed, then changed to air and doing it again I would have used oil over air. The feed is not consistent in that case with the way the air compresses it can sort of stall build up more pressure then take off and that is not consistent feed.

Nice machine Albert. i have old Invincible and its excellent build quality . I might be wrong but see SCM in three levels. I have the best in the really old stuff likely 55 years old or more and their middle level stuff in my newer SCM stuff still likely 30 years old or more.