Clearview National July 2017 - Issue 188 | Page 106

MACHINERY
INVESTING TO ACHIEVE EVEN GREATER EFFICIENCY
» » IT TAKES JUST 40 SECONDS FOR
Victorian Sliders to make a sash and less than
2 minutes to make a complete ECOSlide
PVCu vertical sliding sash window. Such
efficiency is only possible through investing
more than £10 million in the very latest
production technology – 95% of machinery at
Victorian Sliders is less than 3 years old. These
continual investments, including 9 Urban
quad-welding and corner-cleaning lines, help
to keep Victorian Sliders ahead of the game.
For example, assisted by Kall Kwik
the company has just taken delivery of 2
new BAZ1000 Schirmer sash cutting and
machining centres which are the fastest to be
installed in the UK.
Martin O’Carroll of Kall Kwik comments:
“These top-end specification high-speed
machines are the first of their kind to be
installed in the UK and feature a real-time
buffer system and a twin-end milling and
machining centre.”
Each new BAZ1000 Schirmer machine at
Victorian Sliders is fitted with:
• A 3-axis “Routing Unit” for sash transom,
mullion and gasket routing
• A twin-end milling machining centre
• Automatic tool changers with up to 9
tools in operation
• A real-time buffer system incorporating
a “Transfer Magazine” with 28
independently moving shuttles
• An operating unit G-Module delivering
“Ultra Speed” with numerical control in
six axes
• Automatic profile measuring for reusable
off-cuts and optimization software
• High speed magnetic drive numerical-
controlled gripper units to transport full
6 metre PVC-U profile bar lengths and
reusable off-cuts through the Schirmer BAZ
1000 machining centre at a positioning
speed of up to 150 metres per minute
On commissioning of these two new
machines at Capel Hendre, Mr O’Carroll
received warm handshakes from Victorian
Sliders’ Owner and Chief Executive, Scot
Starkey and Managing Director, Brendan
McCambridge.
“This latest installation at our headquarters
in Carmarthenshire is just part of an ongoing
project started with Kall Kwik Machinery
Ltd in May 2015, purely with manufacturing
quality and speed in mind,” says Brendan
McCambridge. “It was always our intention
to make the highest quality and most efficient
vertical sliding sash frames in the UK and
Europe in under 48 seconds and this we have
achieved.”
CROSS-JOINTING MACHINE
RECEIVES GLOWING REVIEW
» » THE RANGE OF MACHINERY FROM
Mighton Products has grown again with the
recent addition of the innovative X-Cut™
machine. Developed by in-house experts to
improve the painstaking task of cross-jointing
glazing bars, this compact semi-automatic
milling machine measures just under 40cm
wide and 45cm high. Mighton gave Tibby
Singh, the former BBC Young Carpenter of
the Year and now a professional tools and tech
tester and reviewer, the opportunity to trial the
X-Cut™ machine and see if mighty things do
come in small packages.
106 » JUL 2017 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
Tibby considered the task that
the X-Cut™ has been produced to
tackle: “Making any cross detail
look strong and well finished can
be a tricky task especially if you’re
short on time. Various shortcut
methods exist of course, such as
using jointing clips, but none of these
compare to an authentic cross joint,” he said.
“There are a number of 45 degree angles
incorporated in a traditional cross joint,
making it a little more complex to achieve, so
I was surprised how well the X-Cut™ machine
simplifies the process. The machine itself was
quick and easy to set up, the tools were easy to
interchange and there was no lengthy manual or
complicated computer program to learn before
being able to get started,” he continued.
Once assembled, the X-Cut™ machine
adjusts to accept bead profiles measuring
anywhere from 9mm to 19mm in height
and 12mm to 38mm wide. Any lengths over
500mm can be used with the option to add
extending arms either side of the
machine for ease of loading longer
sections.
“After slotting my chosen bead into
place the machine’s three cutters then worked
together to produce the cross cut,” explained
Tibby. “Two cutters, one on either side, move
up and down to produce two clean 45 degree
cut outs whilst any dust is removed through
the 63mm extraction outlet. This is followed
by a third flute cutter gliding horizontally
through the bead to create a hollowed-out
section designed to accept other interlocking
parts. Speed control is variable between
12,000 and 18,000 RPM to suit different
materials, but on average it takes only 15
seconds before the cutting is complete.”
www.mightonproducts.com