Seven shine as Challengers Award winners

Seven products were selected from 22 finalists as Challengers Award winners at IWF 2010 in Atlanta.

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The Challengers Award recognizes advancements in technology or significant contributions to environmental improvement and focuses on companies that have distinguished themselves by developing innovative technology in products, materials, supplies and services. The award challenges IWF exhibiting companies to develop revolutionary, creative, ingenious, forward-thinking technology, materials, services or safety devices that advance the industry.

The winners and product descriptions follow:

King Slide 1A88 undermount drawer slide

The King Slide 1A88 combines all of the latest technological advances found in today's premium drawer slides, including touch-to-open and soft-closing features. But what makes it really stand out is its all-mechanical design.

The touch-to-open feature eliminates the need for a handle or a pull. You push on the drawer front and it automatically opens. The soft-close feature is more familiar, but it's somewhat hypnotizing to watch the drawer slowly retract on its own.

The slide also offers tool-less drawer height adjustment and a release lever makes easy work of installing or removing the drawer front. The full extension slide is best suited for frameless cabinetry installations.

For information, visit www.kingslide.com, but we had better luck at http://kingslide.en.ecplaza.net/1.asp.

Binks MX 412 piston pump

Ideal for air-assist airless spray finishing, the MX 412 supports one to two spray guns with thin-to-medium viscosity settings.

Air pressure moves the pump spool valve, rather than pump energy, while a chrome-plated stepped fluid rod section takes over at low pressures. This provides smooth pump operation and changeover with no pulse, resulting in much lower coating costs, according to the company. And with no springs to break or replace, maintenance costs are reduced.

The pump is available as a cart-, wall- or tripod-mounted unit. It can be purchased with Binks' new AA1600M or AA440M spray guns.

"We're certainly very excited to have won the IWF 2010 Challengers Award," says product manager Chris Poe. "Our team is proud how the Binks MX pump makes air-assist airless spraying better. We believe the wood industry is interested in getting more coating on their target, putting less coating in the landfill and lowering their scrap rate. We believe the MX pump delivers by operating at lower fluid pressures, lower atomizing air pressures, with a very rapid turnover. I'm proud to be a part of our team. This award validates a lot of hard work by a lot of talented professionals." www.binks.com

Cabinotch 1 system

Need a door or a drawer? No problem, just call your favorite component distributor and it will be delivered to your exact specifications. But how great would it be if you could order a cabinet carcass?

The Cabinotch system is basically a ready-to-assemble cabinet box that can be ordered online and put together on site. The order will include a face frame, plus the sides, top and bottom, and shelves. The parts are joined with a sliding dovetail and glue. Almost no fasteners are required.

The customer needs to supply the hardware, doors and finish, but that can all be ordered, too. www.cabinotch.com

Benz Reciprocating Knife Cutter

The Reciprocating Knife Cutter, or RCK1, is designed to add a new level of versatility to a C-axis equipped CNC machine, according to the manufacturer.

It uses a standard spoil board to hold material. During cutting with the oscillating knife cutter, a spring-loaded floating ring ensures optimum contact of the material with the surface underneath. Similar to a jigsaw, very small radii can be cut. It offers a reciprocating speed of up to 6,000 strokes per minutes.

The RCK1 can cut cloth, fabric, leather, veneers, rubber, carpet, cork, vinyl, fiberglass matte, cardboard, linoleum and other similar products. www.benz-inc.com

Dyna-Loc ATC Spindle

From Precision Drive Systems, the DLS90 automatically changes HSK-style tool holders. The spindle can clamp either HSK-32E or HSK-40F tool holders and does not require a traditional drawbar system for making tool changes. The entire clamping mechanism is located in the front of the spindle. www.pdscolombo.com

Rip Tec Cutting system

From Leitz Tooling Systems Inc., the system has been patented for window production. It decreases blowout on end-grain machining and creates a stronger joint, sealed against water and air penetration, according to the company. www.leitztooling.com

ETP Cubit

The Cubit, from ETP Transmission Inc., is an adjustable tool set for profiling, particularly relevant to cutting tongue and groove in the manufacture of laminate flooring. The system is easy to operate with axially access and three-step adjustment process. www.etp.se

This article originally appeared in the October 2010 issue.