Weinig Powermat 500

Waiariki Institute of Technology's School of Forestry and Primary Industries proudly uses a Weinig timber moulding machine at its Waipa campus just outside Rotorua. Weinig Australia, in association with W&R Jack Ltd, a New Zealand timber processing equipment supplier, generously supplied the school a new $400,000 WEINIG Powermat 500. W&R Jack has a long-standing history of supporting Waiariki's forestry school, recognising the quality of training being provided and the real need for more timber machinists in an industry where there is a nationwide shortage of employees.

There are about eight of these machines operating in New Zealand. The installation of the machine has been made available to Waiariki at a nominal fee.

The computer that operates the Powermat 500 stores thousands of pattern profiles, considerably reducing the downtime a machinist experiences each time a mould pattern must be changed (previously by hand), thus allowing a much higher production rate. The computer also sets and double-checks each profile, a task the machinist used to do, and it won't operate until safety checks are completed. This technology not only allows higher production rates, and safer operation, but wastes less timber as it cuts more accurately than a hand-set machine.