JJSmith / Focus on Stair Production

Working closely with specialist Italian machinery manufacturer Comec, JJ Smith have introduced two models of machine specifically aimed for use in stair production.

Many staircase manufacturers have a requirement to make a rake angled cut on the top and bottom of stair spindles. Traditionally this is often done on manual pull over cross cut saws or dimension saws which are quite slow and labour intensive operations. Production output, quality of cut and operator safety can be greatly improved by using the Comec TD1200 twin saw which incorporates automatic PLC controlled operation and is equipped with a hopper feed loading system for continuous production of up to 700 cut spindles per hour. The saw units can be accurately set to suit the angle of rake required either by a scale or via pre-located pin positions. If required the machine can be set to make a cut on just one end of the spindle only or have a combination of straight or angled cuts. The vertical stroke of the saw units can be regulated via hydrocheck units thus resulting in a very clean, high quality cut. Also thanks to the automatic feeding system the operator’s hands are kept well away from the cutting area ensuring safe operation.

The Comec TAC1 automatic angled cross cut saw can be used for cutting a wide variety of angled or straight components including stair wedges 210mm wide with the grain. It can also be used for cutting multiple strips for stair spindle filler pieces. Again in many cases these cutting operations have traditionally been done on manual saws which are not only labour intensive but also involve a high level of operator concentration as their hands are usually working very close to the actual sawblade. On the Comec TAC 1 the required angle the saw needs to cut at is set and the operation is then fully automatic. The timber to be cut is loaded in to a hopper feed and a gripper system automatically feeds it so the required length is cut. The saw unit is totally enclosed for safe operation and the hopper feed is very easy to load. Production output for stair wedges would be approx 350 per hour while stair filler pieces (for the spacing of the stair spindles) which are generally around 6mm in thickness and 100mm long are cut vertically to achieve the parallel angle. These strips are fed / cut in multiple packs to maximise production output. A number of both the TD1200 and TAC1 machines have already been supplied to UK staircase and stair component manufacturers.