Rear Fence Blower Fitting - Autoflow

How (and why) to set up the Autoflow rear offcut blower

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Problem

Rear fence blower is a critical part of the autoflow offcut management system. If the rear blower is not working, knocked out of alignment or set up incorrectly, the final small offcut will remain on the saw table. This will lead to consequential problems such as:

• Next bar coming along collects up this profile and causes a jam
• This can damage the rear roller fences and bend them out of position
• it can also create misalignment on the rear fences
• Which will then create cut length errors because the bar is not pushed to a consistent backfence

Video of issue

Video of consequence

Common Questions

...Q -Why does the Autoflow need this and not the ZX5 / saw? A - The gripper on the autoflow means we cant nudge the final piece down the chute, a blower is the only option

..Q - Why is the offcut a big chunk and not a small piece optimised to the end of the bar? A - This happens because the optimiser is forced to deal with a piece where there is a machining operation close to the gripper end. It needs to leave a bigger offcut (Called the "minable") in order for the bar to be held securely each side of the machining head during routing. This forces a bigger waste cut and is unavoidable

...Q - The offcut is shifted to the start of the bar. Why cant you have a bigger offcut at the end of the bar? A - it is even harder to deal with varying length offcuts at the gripper end. By having the offcut at the start of the bar means the offcut at the gripper end is a defined size

...Q - How can the blower be expected to blow away a big chunk of midrail or door section? A- If the blower is set up correctly, you create a cushion of air under the component, and it is surprising how big this can be

Solution

• Ensure the output is working via the IO screen
• Ensure the end of the pipe is squeezed into a nozzle - this creates a venturi effect and speeds up the airflow considerably
• Ensure the blower outlet is pointing downwards to create a stream of air UNDER the profile. This creates an air cushion and is much more effective than trying to blow the offcut directly on the side
• Ensure the pipe is securely fastened to the outfeed rear fence - see photo

Testing

Ensure any changes are tested thoroughly on a range of offcuts you can find in the bin - there should be door / midrail pieces left over around 160mm long plus the mitre triangle.

Simply place the offcut on the table and blast away using the IO screen en none 0

Draft