April/May 2021

Updates
AUTOMATION
For further info on all these automation updates and more, visit www.total-fabricator.co.uk
STELLAR FACILITIES FOR EPWIN WINDOW SYSTEMS
The manufacturing facilities for Stellar, the aluminium
window and door system from Epwin Window Systems,
offer state-of-the-art production at every level.
Clare O’Hara, managing director at Epwin Window Systems,
said: “Stellar sets a new standard for the aluminium industry
and this starts from our in-house UK production facilities.”
Systems are automatically monitored at its new
powdercoating plant to ensure conformance to quality
parameters. The latest technology is used in its pre-treatment
system, which is already chrome-free, ahead of legislative
requirements.
Clare commented: “Legislation coming into effect in
September 2021 bans the use of hexavalent chrome pretreatments
because of the environmental damage they cause.
Having already invested in a chrome-free system, we’re already ahead of the curve and able to maintain our track record of commitment to the environment.”
The fully-automated production facilities were designed from an exacting brief to ensure consistent quality at every level. Clare said: “We worked closely with
our machinery manufacturers as quality and consistency is vitally important and we’ve considered it at every stage. They have more than delivered and we are
delighted with the results.”
Quality is further enhanced with the short cycle-times from pre-treatment to powder-booth that lowers the risk of contamination and handling damage. The
plant also features a fully automatic quick change powder-booth with advanced product detection and automatic gun adjustment, so it does not use manual
spraying processes or suffer from the associated quality variation.
The product recipe input delivers consistent and repeatable coating quality for an additional level of reliability. The impressive facilities also incorporate what
Epwin says is the first fully-automated thermal break, gasket and packaging line. The combined automated line delivers all three functions ‘seamlessly and
efficiently’. www.emmegi.com
FOM INDUSTRIE MACHINING CENTRE INSTALLED
Specialist aluminium door manufacturer, UK Doors Online, recently invested in an FOM Industrie Adir C CNC machining centre from Haffner Murat.
The new machine was installed at UK Doors Online’s state-of-the-art manufacturing centre in Ravensthorpe, Wakefield, in February, and the
company has reported a return on investment from day one.
Andrew Glover, managing director at UK Doors Online, said:“We operate a streamlined factory to ensure we deliver the highest quality of product
for our customers with a fast and efficient turnaround. Our previous manufacturing processes were taking between 10-15 minutes per aluminium bifold
door and this is something we needed to improve. By using the new Adir C CNC machine we have reduced our bi-fold production time to just 6.5
minutes per door.”
As well as the improvement in manufacturing efficiencies, Andrew also
praises the machine’s intelligent software. He said: “Programming of our
aluminium bi-fold doors was completed very quickly. The machine uses
touchscreen control and all operations are controlled automatically using
FomCam software which is very straightforward to use. We are now in the
process of programming additional aluminium products into the machine too.”
The Adir C CNC machining centre transforms speed and efficiency on
the fabrication floor. Features include CNC controlled axis linear guides for
precision machining and four pneumatic vices with dual working pressure to
ensure quick and accurate profile clamping. There is an option of a five or six
position tool holder for manual or automatic change operation and pneumatic
rotation of the work table achieves angles of 0°, 90° and 180°. It is fully
guarded for safety and has a pneumatically controlled front guard for ease of
loading the material. www.haffnermurat.com
40 T F APRIL/MAY 2021 CONNECTING THE WINDOW, DOOR & ROOF FABRICATION SUPPLY CHAIN