Clearview 262 - September 2023 | Page 93

Machinery & Manufacturing

Stepping Up To The Mark For Royal Warrant Holder

» BESPOKE SECONDARY GLAZING specialist and Royal Warrant holder Selectaglaze has continued its relationship with Jade Engineering with the purchase of two bespoke punch tools to process the company ’ s heavier-duty profiles . Designed to repeat precise operations with consistent accuracy , one of the tools is installed on a bench designed and manufactured to match the height of the company ’ s existing transfer tables .
Previous commissions by Selectaglaze included an initial single punch tool , followed by an end miller that replaced a previous machine from another source that became increasingly unreliable . All of the machines have been commissioned to continue the philosophy of Head of Production for Selectaglaze Duncan Saunders , who believes that high quality preparation during the early stages of production of the company ’ s highly regarded secondary glazing , ensures consistent quality throughout the manufacturing process and even during installation .
“ Selectaglaze is the UK ’ s leading specialist in the design , manufacture and installation of secondary window systems , with particular expertise in providing sensitive and effective solutions for historic and heritage buildings ,” explained Duncan . “ Precision is a crucial element in all of the processes of the company .”
Duncan , who had worked with Jade Engineering previously at other firms , is impressed by the company ’ s commitment
from initial enquiry and overall support , to commissioning of the equipment : “ Once again Jade Engineering didn ’ t disappoint ,” said Duncan . “ Suk Singh , Jade ’ s Engineering Technical Manager , proved very knowledgeable and offered helpful technical advice in a process that also involved input from Selectaglaze operators from day one . This ensures that they are satisfied with the selection and how the chosen machinery makes their work easier and with consistently high quality .
“ Jade ’ s team are proper engineers , hands-on , and service all the way through has been spot on with good advice , good knowledge . Service , machines and back up all excellent - we supply a specification and drawings of what we want to achieve and Jade designs the tools and machines around that . Drawings returned , samples sent and tested and when agreed , machines and tools supplied - a painless operation ,” concluded Duncan .
www . jade-eng . co . uk

ONE-OF-KIND MACHINING CENTRE BEGINS OPERATIONS IN UK FIRST

» QUICKSLIDE HAS invested in a new bespoke machining centre that will improve the quality , efficiencies , and lead times for its production of vertical sliders , along with enabling the flexibility to develop future product offerings , some of which are being kept firmly under wraps for now .
The only one of its kind in the UK , the £ 1.5m Schirmer machining centre , purchased through Winmac , arrived at Quickslide ’ s Brighouse HQ last month . It took three days and six large lorries to deliver the machine from Germany , followed by a week to assemble it and then a further four weeks to put it into commission . The machine is so advanced and
unlike any off-the-shelf cutting centre that Quickslide ’ s software supplier , Business Micros , had to build reinforcing into their software . Now , finally , the machining centre is set to be an integral part of production .
“ This is our biggest investment to date ,” says Quickslide ’ s Managing Director Ben Weber . “ We ’ ve always been clear at Quickslide – we ’ re not here to sell windows , we ’ re here to make sure our customers can . “ The machining centre enables us to really optimise our material use , helping us address the rising cost of raw materials , particularly of steel that we ’ ve seen since covid , as well as having many other automation benefits for our production efficiencies . For
example , we currently have six people employed on the manual reinforcing process – automating this means they can now be redeployed elsewhere where they are most valuable .
“ The machining centre comes with two milling stations as opposed to our one currently , which will really increase our capacity for truly authentic heritage VS – particularly when it comes
to mechanical joints – without adding to our lead time .”
It also means Quickslide ’ s existing Schirmer cutting centre , bought only three years ago , will now be moved to PVCu casement production , where it ’ s expected to increase material optimisation by 12-15 % by introducing dynamic batch optimisation through off cut utilisation .
www . quickslide . co . uk
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