Australia’s premier manufacturer of CNC routers and plasma cutters, Advanced Robotic Technology (ART), has launched its SMART Router series XR4800d with additional features designed to suit all applications within the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R) industry.

Combining the proven performance of its CNC flatbed routers with an additional fourth axis to run tooling suited to process insulated duct board, ART has developed a versatile machine that is set to automate the once very labour intensive cutting process of duct board panels. Duct board is a composite product manufactured from rigid, high-density Polyurethane or Phenolic and facing foil, gaining increased interest in duct insulation applications due to its high performance, cost-effectiveness and energy efficiency.

By adding a fourth axis to its SMART Router series, ART transforms a once very messy job into a clean, automated process, offering the following and many more special tools designed for duct board cutting:
- Variable angled knives,
- steered reciprocating knives for duct board & fibreglass insulation etc.,
- steered pizza cutter wheels for creasing and cutting a variety of insulation materials.

The machine comes with a process area of 4000mm x 1600mm, perfectly sized for insulated duct board supplied in 4000mm x 1200mm as a standard.

According to ART’s Director Peter Nolan, the SMART Router series is unique in the Australian marketplace, as the only 100% Australian-made machine designed for HVAC applications featuring an additional fourth axis for automatic tool changes including special tools such as knives. “By adding the fourth axis, we have created an all-rounder for more cost-effective applications in the air conditioning, heating, sign writing, ventilation and ducting industries, as well as many other manufacturing fields. With the capabilities of cutting most materials such as insulated duct board, plastic, wood, aluminium and foam to name a few, the ART SMART Router is a complete solution for financially sensitive applications.”

To decrease production time, ART has equipped its SMART Router series with a gantry-mounted covered automated toolchanger, which turns creasing, variable-angle cutting, V-grooving and routing of insulated duct board into one efficient fully automated process. Other benefits include the elimination of mistakes and second cuts, no more marking out by hand, simplified complicated-angle cutting, complete dust removal for V-grooving and complete panels ready for joining done in one process.

Other applications for the XR CNC router in the HVAC industry includes routing aluminium grilles and diffusers, brackets, components and louvers, just to name a few.

ART is the only Australian manufacturer able to offer complete solutions for the HVAC&R industry by offering CNC routers and plasma cutters from a single source.

http://www.metalworker.com.au/news/ART-launches-all-in-one-CNC-router-for-the-HVAC-R