Wood and Furniture Industry Relies on Tools from PREWI Manufactured on Vollmer Machines

The Herford-based family business PREWI Schneidwerkzeuge GmbH develops tools for the wood and furniture industry, supplying its worldwide customers with milling cutters, drills and circular saws tipped with carbide or diamond. To manufacture these, PREWI uses around 30 sharpening machines from VOLLMER. The Swabian specialist in grinding and eroding machines delivered the first eroding machine to the German manufacturer at the end of the 1980s. However, it was only recently that PREWI opted for sharpening technology from VOLLMER, a QXD 250 disc erosion machine.


"For many years, we have been placing our trust in VOLLMER's sharpening expertise when it comes to eroding diamond-tipped rotary tools and circular saws," says Helmut Prekwinkel, founder and CEO of PREWI Schneidwerkzeuge GmbH. "With the new QXD 250 disc erosion machine, we want to expand our range of diamond-tipped milling cutters and drills so that we can respond much more precisely, quickly and flexibly to customer requirements."

Tool manufacturer for over 50 years
Helmut Prekwinkel founded his company in 1962 and PREWI, with its 45 employees, has now become one of the leading suppliers of chipping tools for manufacturers of furniture, doors and laminate/parquet flooring. Whether special tools or high volumes of cutting tools, this medium-sized company offers the whole range for the precise and flexible cutting of wood and composites.


Operating from its 18,000sq/m facility, PREWI produces cutting tools, machining units, exhaust ventilation systems, pressure pads and landing skids, as well as measuring devices for all areas of the wood processing industry. The toolmaker is a pioneer in the use of PCD for rotary tools: In 1984, the first PCD folding chipper was produced, which door manufacturers use to make door frames, among other things. PREWI also leads the way when it comes to using MCD (monocrystalline diamond) and for four years, was the sole provider of MCD tools in the market. Helmut Prekwinkel was recently honoured with the Goldener Meisterbrief (gold master craftsman's diploma) for the commitment he has shown over many years as an innovator in tool technology.

"We were one of the first manufacturers to bring PCD-tipped tools to the market in order to efficiently machine highly abrasive materials," says Helmut Prekwinkel. "To precisely sharpen our diamond tools to a high standard of quality, we have put our trust in VOLLMER's eroding machines for many decades now."

VOLLMER machines guarantee precision
Around 30 sharpening machines from VOLLMER now help PREWI to ensure that their diamond milling cutters, drills, reamers, circular saws and combi tools are of a high quality and are extremely durable. VOLLMER technology is also essential for PREWI to develop future diamond-tipped tools and circular saws for the wood industry. PREWI tools are especially in demand for chipping, sawing and machining composites that are used in furniture manufacturing or to manufacture laminate or parquet flooring.

Half a dozen VOLLMER wire erosion machines can be found in PREWI's production facilities. With contactless eroding, an electrical voltage is built up between the workpiece and the tool and electrical discharge machining is used to remove material to obtain the desired shape. With the wire electrode, PREWI has managed to sharpen even complex tool geometries with extremely small inner radii, as is typical for multi-stage tools. PREWI is able to use the recently delivered QXD 250 to prepare PCD-tipped rotary tools around the clock. Thanks to the Vpulse EDM generator technology, the machine achieves an excellent surface finish quality at the maximum stock removal rate during tool machining. The QXD 250 even provides greater flexibility when manufacturing special tools in order to deal with the various requirements that customers have.

"With PREWI, we have combined a long-standing partnership with a lively exchange in order to develop new technologies and fields of application for our eroding machines," says Dr.-Ing. Stefan Brand, CEO of the VOLLMER Group. "Our technologies therefore also form the basis of the PREWI diamond tools that are used by companies for machining highly abrasive composites in order to manufacture robust and durable furniture and floors."