Staircase Manufacturer Reduces Waste Costs

P&L Joinery based on the outskirts of Stoke On Trent have recently invested in a new Hocker briquetting press and Untha shredding machine supplied by JJ Smith. The company who specialise in the manufacture of quality bespoke and standard staircases had been looking at reducing their waste costs for some considerable time and carefully researched the market to see which equipment would best suit their requirements.



P&L run 4 large capacity Masterwood CNC routers which produce offcuts that previously they found difficult to dispose of and for this reason they thought a shredder would solve this problem. In addition they were producing fairly large volumes of waste shavings and saw dust that were becoming more difficult to easily dispose of. Therefore it was proposed that a briquetting press should be installed with the plan being that the briquettes could be used to burn in the factory heaters at winter, with any surplus briquettes being sold locally. Following a site visit by Paul Parker of JJ Smith to assess P&L's exact requirements an Untha LR630 shredder was specified along with a Hocker C3 -14 briquetting press. The LR630 model has a robust single steel frame fitted with a single rotor with reversible and replaceable concave ground cutting blades - ideal for the shredding of timber, mdf and chipboard offcuts. Thanks to the geometry of the cutting motion, which enables a pull through motion, energy consumption is kept low. The machine is also fitted with a generous sized hopper and a horizontal pusher system. The C3 is a heavy duty, robustly built but compact fully automatic hydraulic briquette machine from specialist manufacturer Hocker of Germany. As standard this machine is fitted with electronic PLC with automatic length control to produce a consistent hard and dense 65mm dia briquette without the need for any operator adjustment. Other standard features include rugged screw feeder for press chamber loading, optimised hydraulics with auto stop /start giving low energy consumption in relation to output, inspection door and hour counter. The machine was also fitted with an automatic level sensor. On request an automatic carousel bagging unit with electronic bag weight control can be fitted. In addition it is possible to specify 4 different size hoppers to suit customers individual requirements. The machines were delivered on schedule and have now been in operation several months. Production manager Chris Tomkinson comments "When we first saw the machines at JJSmith's showroom room we were very impressed with their heavy duty build quality and rugged design which we thought was important given the intended amount of time we thought they would be working. Since the installation both have run more or less constantly every day without any problems. In particular the Hocker C3 keeps producing a consistent quality briquette without the need for any adjustment at all, even when we may get a slightly different mix of waste going in to it". Chris goes on to say "We are now a lot more efficient at disposing of our waste and the introduction of these machines has certainly helped us to recude costs in this area of the business".




Seventh Stromab Saw For Rowlinson

Rowlinson Packaging based in Wardle, Cheshire was founded in 1966 and is part of the long established Rowlinson group which also includes Rowlinson Timber and Rowlinson garden products. They specialise in the manufacture of standard and bespoke packing cases for both the UK and export markets and have a number of major international companies on their client list. Rowlinsons attach a high level of importance on quality and customer service, and were proud to be the first packaging company to achieve the Quality award ISO 9001 in 1989 and then in  2002 were awarded with the attainment of Environment Standard ISO 14001.

When it comes to selecting  key items of manufacturing equipment Rowlinsons will only consider machinery that will give them a high level of production reliability and also work with suppliers who can offer on going technical and maintenance support. The company invested in their first Stromab Matrix programmable saw back in 2005 and this proved a huge success replacing 2 manual saws. Not only did it increase production, but also improved operator safety and gave a much higher level of repeat cutting accuracy. As a result a  further 3 Matrix saws were added between 2007 and 2009.

More recently with  production continuing to grow  at Rowlinson's Wardle and Thetford branch's, managing director John Williams again had to consider the best way to increase his cross cutting capacity and as always carefully researched the market to ensure he selected the most suitable item of equipment. After reviewing a number of options and consulting with his shop floor supervisor Mark Gregory, they decided to place an order with JJ Smith for a further 3 Stromab Matrix ' Plus' programmable push fed cross cut saws. Mr, Williams comments "We had thought about through feed saws because of speed, but after careful consideration we decided that the Stromab saws would give us a higher  level of versatility coupled with the cutting accuracy we need. Another factor was the new Matrix 'Plus' version has an increased operating speed meaning our production requirements could also be met. Obviously it also helped that  our existing Stromab saws had served us well and that JJ Smith had always offered us a good back up service".

The three machines ordered were the Matrix 1 model each with 6m in feed capacity, precision rack and pinion movement to the pusher, pneumatic lifting pusher, pneumatic side pressure,  heavy duty all steel tables, saw unit with 500mm blade dia and 10hp motor and a 4m out feed table. The delivery and installation of the machines was staggered over a 3 month period with the last one just recently commissioned at Rowlinsons new factory extension in Thetford. Mark Gregory  adds "Everything has been installed on time, on schedule and with no disruption or fuss. I particularly like the saws because they are robustly built and are so able to handle on a continual basis the packs of timber we cut all day,every day. In addition they are really simple to program, very safe to use and require little or no day to day maintenance". Kevin McGlone sales manager at JJ Smith comments " We regard it as a real feather in our cap that Rowlinson Packaging have once again selected JJ Smith and Stromab for this significant investment. We feel this highlights our ability to supply the latest cross cutting technology at  competitive prices while at the same time offering customers the after sales service they expect".

Cross cutting is an area JJ Smith have specialised in for many years and are able to supply anything from a basic stand alone manual saw with a simple mechanical or programmable stop right through to a fully automatic systems for straight or angled cutting with optimising,  defecting and label printing options coupled with in feed and out feed handling systems. In addition saws can also be linked to dedicated office based design software enabling cutting lists to be down loaded direct to the machine.

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Production Moves Up A Notch At Oakenclough Garden Buildings

Oakenclough Garden Buildings based near Preston, Lancashire have been established for over three decades and specialise in the design and supply of quality garden buildings on a national basis. In recent years the company have added a range of bespoke log cabins to their portfolio which have proved hugely successful. Therefore to meet the demand and increased output Oakenclough decided they would need to invest in new dedicated machinery for the production of the four way notch used in the construction of this type of building.


Following a visit to the W10 woodworking exhibition at the NEC, they approached J J Smith who are well known in the industry for the supply of machinery to this particular sector. They offer a complete range of machines to suit customers individual production requirements including simple manually operated notchers, fully automatic machines with infeed handling systems right up to high speed through feed systems that are ideal for producing thin wall buildings. After detailed discussions it was clear that Oakenclough required an automated machine that would be suitable for wall sections ranging from 45mm to 70mm in thickness. Also it was apparent that due to the nature of the one off bespoke design facility they wanted to offer their customers, the integration of dedicated design software would be key to the efficient production of the buildings.

The machine proposed was from specialist Austrian manufacturer Auer. It was a BL100-A model equipped with automatic infeed and outfeed, 4 way notching heads, horizontal drilling unit (for insertion of the steel tie rod), upcut saw unit for sizing, an end grooving unit giving the possibility to joint long lengths and finally a label printer for identifying each piece. This option is especially important if the buildings are large and complex. The machine is also equipped with an inbuilt optimisation package to compare the cutting list with the stock timber sizes held, to minimise the waste and maximise the yield.

Due to their extensive involvement with Timber Frame Design companies, J J Smith were well placed to recommend a software company who could offer a solution to work in tandem with the automatically fed machine that had been specified. After a number of on line demonstrations it was clear to Oakenclough that the Sema software, with the open standard BTL export routine for transferring the individual log information to the machine would best suit their requirements. The SEMA software is intuitive and simple to use and can easily assist with various input options for building high quality roofs,houses and log cabins. A comprehensive library of the most commonly used timber components and construction details, along with free floor layout plans and roof input options gave Oakenclough the necessary design flexibility they needed. In addition company or project specific standards can be created during the design process and these can be saved and used for other future projects.The key issue when designing a new project is to implement special customer requirements quickly and efficiently and SEMA meets all these needs with a wide range of simple-to-use features and a modern user interface.

A final machine and software package price was agreed and an order was confirmed. Oakenclough MD Glen Brady takes up the story. ‘Although a manual semi automatic machine was an option, I decided that to cover all our requirements we needed the automatic model along with the software. With this system once the log cabin design is agreed, all the relevant machining information can be downloaded direct to the Auer machine, thus eliminating any operator error while at the same time speeding up production as all the feeding and handling is automatic. In addition the fact that Sema & JJ Smith had already collaborated together gave me confidence they could get the interface to work exactly as it should’. Martin Smith from JJ Smith comments ‘Due to our experience in the log cabin / garden building industry, and with the different range of machines Auer manufacture, we were able to offer Glen a number of different solutions that he could choose from. In this instance the project was particularly interesting as it also included the design software which became an important element”.

The machine has now been in production for over 8 months and has enabled Oakenclogh to both increase their production while at the same time improving the quality and accuracy of their notch. Glen Brady says ‘The machine is working very well and really we would not have been able to keep pace with the current order levels if we had not invested in a machine of this type’. Oakenclough’s project design manager Jon Lawman also adds “ The SEMA Software has suited our requirements perfectly. It is easy to use and has excellent 3D visualisation and interface to the machine.’


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Turn Your Shavings Into Savings.

Many companies are now looking at ways of reducing the high costs associated with waste removal, while at the same time considering cost effective ways of heating their factories. For this reason the production of briquettes is becoming increasingly more popular. Unlike wood shavings and dust, briquettes are easy to handle and dispose of, plus they can be re-used in wood fired heaters or bagged and re-sold. Also Briquettes are recognised as being ideal to burn due to their high calorific value. JJ Smith now offer a complete range of stand alone or integrated briquetting presses that can be specified to suit customers individual production requirements.


One of the latest installations has been at Maisemore Apiaries based in Gloucestershire who are one of the UK's leading manufacturers of Beehives. It was in 2010 that Jonathan Hiam first started to investigate a better method of dealing with the disposal of his waste shavings and dust. After investigating the market for selling bagged briquettes in the local area, Jonathan was confident that he could more than justify the pay back on the machine investment, plus it would mean simpler and easier disposal of his waste. Maisemore carefully researched different machine manufacturers before placing an order for a Hocker Polytechnic Briquetting press through JJ Smith. The model specified was a C7 which as standard is fitted with oil cooling for continuous production, automatic level sensor and a hopper size of 1.4m. The machine is PLC controlled to ensure a consistent briquette length is always produced while maintaining a consistent maximum output which is approximately 140 kg/hr. The machine was also specified with the optional 10 position carousel bagging unit which has automatic operation and weighing system. Once the a bag is filled to the preselected weight of 10kg, the carousel automatically rotates to the next empty bag to be filled. The Hocker system has now been installed several months and Jonathan has been very pleased with its performance. He comments "The machine is working extremely well and we run it 7 days a week, morning until night, while consistently producing a very high quality, dense briquette. On average we are producing around 90 10kg bags per day. In addition to the briquetting press, Maisemore have also just installed a new Untha LR630 shredder for shredding their waste offcuts, again sourced through JJ Smith. Untha are a specialist manufacturer of this type of equipment, with the equipment gaining an excellent reputation for build quality and reliability. Customers wishing to see demonstrations of the Untha LR630 shredder or a Hocker C4 briquetting press can do so at JJ Smith's Liverpool showroom.

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Rowan Timber Expand With Saomad Titanium Window Line.

Rowan Timber are a family owned business originally established in 1979 supplying mainly timber and basic joinery products. The company have now grown into one of Scotland's leading suppliers of timber, sheet, and joinery services to the building trade and construction industry. They are based on an 8.5 acre site in Plains, near Airdrie, Lanarkshire. The site comprises of the head office, sawmill and joinery workshops from where the bulk of staircase, door sets and general joinery products are manufactured and supplied on a nationwide basis. Rowan also have a branch network at Airdrie, Bellshill, Ayr, Bathgate and Dunfermline who supply a full range of their joinery and panel products to local tradesmen and individuals.

The company have long held the belief that in order to stay at the forefront of the timber products supply industry, they need to invest in the latest, most modern manufacturing techniques and machinery. This was highlighted some 8 years ago when the company installed their first CNC machining centre for stair production along with a high speed planing and moulding line. With this same philosophy in mind Rowan decided last year that they needed to look at ways of increasing their production of windows and solid doors. At that time they were manufacturing most of the components using a combination of traditional machines including single end tenoners. While the brief was to increase production, they also realised that a flexible and versatile manufacturing solution would be needed that would give them the facility to produce their different window types in both small and large batches. Adam Moore the joinery workshop manager picks up the story "We had a good idea of what ideally we were looking for but had no preconceived thoughts of what machines would best suit our requirements. We therefore decided to discuss all the different options available with a number of woodworking machinery suppliers to see what advice and suggestions they could come up with." One of these companies was JJ Smith who had already supplied Rowan with various items of equipment. Following a number of preliminary meetings to discuss window designs, production needs and tooling JJ Smith proposed a Saomad Titanium NC Window Centre. A site visit to see a machine in operation in Scotland was arranged along with a factory visit to Saomad in Italy. Adam Moore comments "We were very impressed by the professional approach of both Saomad and JJ Smith, in particular Alex Black and Paul Parker. They took a lot of time to discuss and understand our requirements and we considered a number of machine options before going down the route of a window line. It was also very helpful that they had an in-depth knowledge of window manufacture and the associated tooling enabling them to give us some invaluable advice."

The Titanium model is the latest window line in the extensive Saomad range. As standard, this compact but robustly built machine comprises of a heavy duty steel monobloc frame housing the tenoning and profiling units. The tenoning section of the machine comprises of a saw unit for cutting components to length and a 320mm long tenoning shaft, which can be HSK interchangeable. In addition the carriage is equipped with an automatic clamping and manual rotation device which allows for up to two components to be quickly and easily tenoned on both ends without having to remove them from the machine. The profiling section has two 320mm long profiling units (one counter rotating and jump for storm proofing) a hardware grooving unit and glass bead recovery unit. Again the two profiling shafts can on request be specified as HSK quick change. Programming of all the main shaft movements, machine sequencing and feeding is through the main machine controller with resident Saomad 'Window Pro' programming software and graphics. Optionally the machine can be linked to external design software such as Joinerysoft that allows programs created to be downloaded from an office PC or laptop direct to the machine. On request the Titanium can also be equipped with an independent fully programmable CNC router head and automatic tool changer to enable a number of hardware machining operations to be carried out.

The machine specified for Rowan included the quick change HSK tenoning and profiling shafts, complete with spare shafts. Also there was the overhead gantry pneumatic ‘hook and lift' system for quickly and easily interchanging the shaft tooling stacks as required. In addition the machine was fitted with a third profiling head, a pneumatic counter guide to the profiling section, suction hood opening controlled by the CN program, piece return system and lastly a special adaption to work material up to 150mm in thickness. Whilst getting the final machine specification correct is obviously critical, another crucial element is tooling. JJ Smith supply their own range of high quality TCT window tooling and so were able offer a complete package comprising of the machine and window tooling to pre-approved technical drawings.

Before confirming an order Adam Moore and MD Nicky Higgins considered a number of other machine quotations but decided that overall JJ Smith and Saomad were best placed to meet all of their requirements in terms of machine technical specification, pricing and after sales support. An order was eventually placed and the machine pre-delivery inspection, installation and commissioning all took place exactly on schedule. The Saomad Titanium has now been in production for over 4 months and Rowan have been very pleased with the results. Adam comments "The machine has certainly met all our expectations. Our main production centres around different types of window including Tilt & Turn, fully reversible, double swing, and of course Sash & Case. At the moment we typically produce batches of up to 30 of each, but due to the machines flexibility and quick set up we can easily produce one offs very competitively. In addition the quality of finish the machine and tools are giving is excellent."

Alex Black from JJ Smith adds "We feel getting this order from a company of Rowan Joinery's standing in the joinery sector is a real feather in our cap. They have very exacting standards and we had to work hard on all aspects of the deal to make sure it met with their requirements. It is now very satisfying to see that the machine is working extremely well producing the very high quality windows & doors that Rowan and their customers expect".

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Palmer Timber Increase Laminating Capacity With Taylor Clamping System.

Palmer Timber, based near Birmingham in the West Midlands, are a Timber Importers supplying softwood and hardwood timber and panel products throughout the UK. The company have a policy of investing in high quality wood processing machinery which is highlighted by  a large modern mill capable of producing both standard and special mouldings. Timbers used include Scandinavian Redwood and Whitewood, Clear softwoods from North and South America and hardwoods from all around the world. To help meet the increase in demand for their range of laminated timber sections, Palmer have recently made a significant investment in a new Taylor rotary clamping system.

Previously Palmer had been contracting out its laminating operation but it became apparent sometime ago that there would be a number of benefits of bringing it 'in house'. These included increased production output and the ability to offer larger section and longer laminated products to their customers. The task of sourcing suitable equipment fell to operations manager Ian Cox who in the first instance made a detailed study of exactly what the current and possible future requirements would be for laminated products. Once all this information was to hand he contacted several suppliers and manufacturers to see what equipment was available. Ian comments "Through previous research I was already fairly familiar with what the options were relating to different types of machines, but I still wanted to fully evaluate each one to ensure we made the correct choice". After careful consideration Palmer placed an order for a Taylor Rotary Clamp Carrier System supplied through JJ Smith. The machine specified was a 6.3m long 30 section semi automatic hydraulic clamp carrier. It is equipped with dual independent clamp tighteners and component flatteners meaning two operators can work in tandem, thus maximising production output. Material up to 150mm in thickness can be laminated. Also supplied was a conveyorised doctor roll PVA glue applicator and glue transfer pump. Ian Cox adds " We had seen the Taylor equipment at a number of trade shows and had spoken with people from both Taylor and JJ Smith. We were impressed with the heavy duty design of the machines, their ease of use and due to the modular design a machine could be specified to suit our specific production requirements. It was also reassuring to know that Taylor were already well established in the UK with many machines in operation".

The  Clamping system arrived on schedule in early March and since then it has been in full daily production. The main components being produced are laminated handrail section, stair strings, joinery sections and newel posts. Ian concludes "The Taylor is fulfilling our expectations and we are very pleased with the results. Having a machine as versatile as the Taylor means we can now offer our customers a wide variety of laminated hardwood and softwood components with short lead times".

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Door Kit Machining Made Simple At Joinery Craft

Gloucester based high class joinery manufacturer Joinery Craft have recently invested in a new Centauro ALFA NC milling machine to help speed up production of their door kit components. Previously the various slotting, boring and recessing operations had been performed on a number of manual machines or with hand tools using jigs. Now all these can all be done on the ALFA without even having to move the component. The Centauro ALFA has been specifically designed for the machining of door components, window parts and frames. It can be used for hinge recessing, window hardware recessing, slotting for lock cases, slotting for louvre type doors and drilling for handle holes / key slots. It is also ideal for the machining of rebated lock kits and complete 3 point multi-locking systems including the euro groove. Thanks to the front table support bars complete doors or frames can also be clamped and machined. Joinery Craft owner Adrian Robson comments "We had for some time toyed with the idea of investing in a full blown large bed CNC machining centre. However this would probably have been overkill for what we actually wanted to do on the machine and as result it was hard to justify spending £70,000 plus. Once we had seen the ALFA demonstrated at JJ Smith's showroom it was clear it would do everything we wanted. The other big pluses for us were the fact it did not take up a huge amount of space, plus the price was significantly less than the other machines we had originally started to look at" As standard the ALFA is equipped with a fully programmable interpolated milling head that can automatically swivel for either vertical or horizontal machining. Standard working capacities are 2800mm on the X axis, 150mm Z axis and 180mm on the Y axis, which if required can be increased to 400mm. Programming is extremely quick and simple thanks to the colour graphic touch screen controller incorporating electronic macro templates. Components are placed on the table and positioned against either the left hand or right hand end reference stops, plus the front retractable pneumatic reference stops. Once the required program has been made or recalled from the memory operation is activated by the two hand push button control, the pneumatic work piece clamps are activated and the machining cycle commences. For operator safety there is a front light curtain which automatically stops the machine if it is broken / crossed. On request the milling head power can be increased from 3.3kw to 5.5kw and also quick change ISO30 or HSK40 tool holders can be fitted. For end boring a front retractable table complete with clamps is available. The ALFA has now been installed at Joinery Craft for several months and Adrian adds " We have been very pleased with its performance. Previously to machine out for a complex multi point locking system or a rebated door kit could take up to an hour on manual machines. With the new ALFA we can easily do it in anything from 3 to 6 minutes. We can also machine a multi lock keep and groove for a door bolt in one single operation. Plus not only is it much quicker we also achieve excellent repeat machining accuracy and better quality".

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Kingstown Invest In Latest Manufacturing Technology

Kingstown Furniture are a leading UK manufacturer of preassembled quality bedroom and dining room furniture. The company was set up 30 years ago by Mike Sharp and from humble beginnings has grown in to a very successful multi-million pound turnover business operating from a 17,500 sq/m modern manufacturing facility based in Hull. Under the current management headed by MD Richard Sharp the company aim to stay at the forefront of manufacturing excellence, furniture design and customer service. To achieve this they have in place a continued investment plan covering all areas of the business, with machinery being a key element.

With this in mind Kingstown are continually looking for equipment that can help increase productivity, efficiency and quality. For 2009 several key areas of production were assessed for investment, one of which was the drilling and grooving of drawer front components. While they already had a machine dedicated for this work it was apparent that they needed to increase output. Also, as new painted ranges and components with delicate foil wrapped edges had recently been introduced a machine was needed that would handle these without marking or damage. During a visit to an overseas trade show, Richard and engineering manager Dave Busby spotted the Comec Frontal CN drawer front machine in operation which had the base general specification they required. However Kingstown had some specific requests that needed to be incorporated in to the machine and these were discussed in detail with Comec, and their UK agent JJ Smith, during a visit to the Comec factory in late 2008. One particular area Kingstown had significant input in to was the design and operation of the transfer system. It was critical that the components were transported smoothly out of the machine and that one operator could easily load and unload. Also another criteria was the ability for quick and simple change from one drawer front size to another. Dave Busby Comments " Due to our experience in processing drawer front components we new exactly the type of machine we needed and how it should operate. Comec's design team were very happy to work with us and understand our particular requirements. The end result was a machine specification that ticked all our boxes". The compact design Comec Frontal CN consists of an automatic vertical loading system that the operator fills with the drawer fronts or panels. These are then transported through the machine by a 'gripper system' to the drilling area were a bank of 11 independently controlled drills bore the holes. The component then moves to the next area were the grooving saw or router produces the slot for the drawer base. All the loading and feeding sequence is PLC controlled, while the actual drilling and grooving operations are CNC controlled. Programming is extremely quick and simple and is done through the colour graphic touch screen controller. The standard max length of component is 1000mm x 280mm wide, although larger components can be processed on request. The machine for Kingstown was also specified with a rear lateral outfeed conveyor, cross belt tilt transfer and side return conveyor. The operation of which was all linked to the PLC control sequencing. Final tests and pre delivery inspection took place in June with the machine being delivered shortly afterwards. It has now been in operation several months and Kingstown have been very pleased with its performance. Dave Busby says "The Comec Frontal is working really well and is achieving everything we wanted. Accuracy is excellent and average production is around 9 to 10 drawer fronts per minute. The loading, return and unloading system handles the drawer fronts very well without any damage or marking, while the change over time between different drawer front sizes is only two to three minutes. Also a single operator can comfortably run the machine and still maintain maximum production output". The Frontal CN is in fact one of a family of 'Frontal' machines that Comec manufacture for panel or solid wood production. They can be specified with a variety of vertical or horizontal drilling configurations and on request can equipped with dowel insertion units. Final specifications can be tailored to suit customers specific production requirements.

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Quick Set Tenoner Proves A Hit At Sturrocks

A. Sturrock and Son of Kirkbuddo near Forfar are a long established architectural joinery manufacturer specialising in high quality windows, doors and staircases. To keep them at the forefront of flexible manufacturing techniques the company have a philosophy of investing in the very latest machine technology that can give them added versatility, quick set up times and improved quality.

One area of production that was recently identified as in need of improvement was the tenoning. While Sturrocks for many years had been successfully using a traditional single ended tenoner with manual settings, it was apparent that they needed a machine with faster set up times thus giving more flexibility. Aware that JJ Smith had recently introduced a new programmable machine from Saomad, Alex Strurrock contacted the company for further information and to arrange a demonstration. Following successful tests an order was placed for a Saomad 'Quick Set' Evolution fully programmable 4 head heavy duty single end tenoner. It has a head configuration of cut off saw, top and bottom tenon, and 200mm long vertical scribe shaft. All the head movements are programmable via a user friendly Siemans Semantic touch pad control unit and the only manual adjustment is to set the pneumatic workpiece clamps. The machine has now been installed several months and Alex Sturrock has been delighted with the purchase. He comments " The Saomad 'Quick Set' takes a fraction of the time to set up compared to our old manual tenoner and it is so easy to program. Another big plus is that we now get a very high level of repeat machining accuracy. It is also important that the machine itself has a strong heavy frame which is important when machining 150mm long tenons in hardwood for door rails". The 'Quick Set' Evolution can on request be equipped with a 400mm long vertical scribe shafts, additional vertical shafts along with a motorised carriage. Saomad manufacture a full range of standard and programmable tenoners along with profilers and NC window centres.

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Bayram Increase Cross Cutting Capacity

Bayram Timber located in Hull were established in 1977 supplying general rough sawn and machined timber to the joinery and furniture industry. Since then the company has gradually grown year on year with 2007 seeing a significant investment in a new 28,000 sq.ft purpose built factory. This makes a total of two sites employing over 100 people in all. They have a nationwide client list, but with a focus on serving the caravan leisure industry with a variety of timber components, manufactured on a 'just in time' basis to meet customers individual stocking and production requirements

Cross cutting is an important area of Bayrams production facility, and prior to the new factory being built they had purchased a number of new and used machines from cross cutting specialist JJ Smith. These included two new Stromab Matrix programmable push fed automatic saws, an H&M Anglemaster saw along with four used automatic cross cuts saws which were recently supplied with upgraded software .Therefore when Bayram decided they needed to further increase their sawing capacity there was no hesitation in contacting Smiths for advice. After several discussions with Martin Smith from JJ Smith, it became apparent that Bayram would greatly benefit from an additional programmable saw for both straight or angled cuts. The new machine that was specified was a Stromab CT600 automatic programmable cross cut saw with a 6m infeed capacity and a blade that can swivel and cut anywhere between +70 and - 70 degrees. Cutting height depends on the width of timber and the angle being cut but the maximum is 160mm. The machine incorporates a heavy duty rack and pinion drive for the pusher fence and a magnetic strip encoder for maximum cutting accuracy. The saw blade dia is 600mm and motor size as standard is 10hp. Due to the angle cutting facility the machine uses a vertical and horizontal clamping system that is sequenced with the pushing and cutting cycle. Programming is extremely simple thanks to a colour graphic touch screen controller with the facility of remote programming of the cutting list with data transfer via a USB key. Full optimisation is standard. Options include defect cutting, windows operating system, label/inkjet printing and electronic workpiece sorter for the cut components. Bayram's Technical Director Tony Clarke comments “The CT600 is a very user friendly machine offering a quick and accurate cutting facility. We produce many different angled cuts for a wide variety of components and these can now be automatically produced with extreme confidence which is great for both us and our customers", The machine has now been installed for just over two months and Mr. Clarke adds " JJ Smith gave us a wonderful overall package with delivery and installation bang on schedule. It was also refreshing to already know that we could relay on excellent back up and service if and when it was needed" The Stromab CT600 supplied to Bayram is just one of a family of crosscuts that JJ Smith from manual pull over saw with programmable stops to complete lines including infeed and outfeed handling that J J Smith offer, making them the leading supplier of this type of machinery to the woodworking industry..

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