Machining centres: output with accuracy, machinery investment opens the door to productivity gains

Smith & Frater Ltd is one of Scotland's major suppliers of composite doors, as well as a leading timber merchant and producer of custom-made kitchens.

The Grangemouth-based company, which operates its door fabrication business from a modern 14,000 square feet factory, has recently invested in a Reichenbacher Hamuel Artis X Sprint CNC Machining Centre to improve performance and increase the rate of door production.

Primarily serving the home building and the public housing sector, Smith & Frater supplies both steel-faced and fibreglass doors. The company's doors replicate the appearance of traditional hardwood doors and are produced from a range of stock door blanks. Fully finished doors and doorsets, complete with hardware and glazing, are manufactured to meet customers' specific requirements.

Specific requirements

Gordon Chalmers, Sales and Marketing Manager, comments: ‘Prior to acquiring the Artis X Sprint, the routing of the necessary openings in doors, particularly steel-faced doors, was a very labour intensive process involving three separate operations. With an increasing demand for our doorsets we had to increase efficiency and it was decided to investigate the potential of a CNC machining centre.'

‘The decision to purchase the Artis X Sprint was made following a thorough selection process. Unlike other machinery suppliers, who were proposing 3 and 4-axis solutions, Reichenbacher Hamuel put forward a very compelling case for the 5-axis Artis X Sprint. Their proposals, made after conducting an extremely detailed survey of our needs, demonstrated a good understanding of our manufacturing process and emphasised the benefits of added flexibility and speed that 5-axis machining would give us. We visited the factory in Germany and were very impressed with the quality of build and, after talking to other users in the UK, were reassured that their CNC machines are reliable and represent a sound long-term investment.'

Single operation

The 5-axis Artis X Sprint is equipped with a Cardanic working head and 15-position automatic tool changer. With a 6m long table it can accommodate two doors, enabling one door to be processed whilst another is being loaded, further increasing output. All door face and edge work, such as openings for glazing, letter plate, mortise lock and hinges, are carried out in a single operation.

Gordon Chalmers says he's delighted with the machine and impressed with the level of expertise shown by Reichenbacher Hamuel's UK operation particularly when establishing the machine's specification.

‘The back up support we received has been first class. Our people had no experience of CNC machines prior to taking delivery of the Artis X Sprint, but after a couple of days training they were soon up to speed. It's simple to operate and has dramatically increased output and accuracy.'