The world of windows and doors is evolving in order to keep pace with the latest market trends and the new intelligent domotics systems. The windows are enhanced with ever more advanced technical solutions and specifications to make our homes even more attractive, safe and comfortable. Technological innovation is once again the key to the success of industry manufacturers.
Internorm knows something about this. A leading Austrian company at European level in the production of windows and doors, for whom SCM developed a full line of throughfeed moulding, tenoning, drilling-routing and profiling. In practical terms, a complete high performance system for the production of high-tech wood/aluminium windows, like the ones responsible for placing this company at the top of the market over the last few decades.
SCM has been a partner to Internorm for over twenty years. Following an initial integrated line installed in 1995 to deal with the growing production in the standard wooden window sector and, after numerous other investments aimed at the production of special windows, in 2011, the company invested in an even more advanced, integrated and high performance line, a System 8, to anticipate quantity and quality market trends.
The advantages of this line
From the outset, the SCM Engineering team aimed to satisfy the need for a line dedicated to the production of doors and frames, capable of achieving maximum levels of productivity that were above standard (eight door elements and six frames per minute) and to simultaneously guarantee excellent flexibility in the case of batch 1 machining of elements with varying lengths: from 220 right up to 350mm.
All the SCM technology supplied guarantees fully automatic set-up with times of less than a minute.
In addition, the work is further optimised and simplified by the Maestro active watch line supervisor software that allows for the entire production process to be managed, the status of each individual machine and the entire line to be monitored in real time and a two-way interconnection with factory IT systems.
Throughfeed moulding
Higher productivity is already being achieved at this early stage of the process. Thanks to the Superset TX automatic throughfeed moulder, with innovative set-up system which, when using tools of different diameters, reduces the machine’s set-up time by up to 20 times.
A connection transfer conveyor with buffer function and 180° tip-over function of the pieces, allows for the temporary accumulation and dispatch of pieces to the next machines as soon as they are free, thus balancing production based on their machining times and keeping them constantly powered.
Tenoning
Once the pieces have been moulded, they are transferred by the transfer conveyor to the Celaschi TLV tenoning area with two single-sided, symmetrical and complementary tenoning machines. These allow for tenoning on the head of the piece to be carried out, and then on the tail, after the piece has been properly positioned to guarantee the perfect length. Thanks to the use of single-sided tenoning machines, pieces of differing lengths can be machined, just as is done in batch 1 production.
Once tenoned, the pieces are loaded onto another connecting and buffering table and then rotated 90° for the next stage in the drilling-routing centres.
Drilling-routing
The Fleximat passing through drilling and routing centre takes centre stage in this process. performing all the accessory machinings such as routing for the lock and holes for the handle, meeting and connection positions, required for the next assembly stage of the window.
Designed around the customer’s production requirements, Fleximat can take on different configurations, based on the number and position of the machining units, to the point that it permits simultaneous machining of the units to be drilled and routed, thus drastically reducing cycle times.
Profiling
Another transporter with buffer function, essential for balancing the flow frequencies, conveys the piece to a Profitech profiling machine to externally profile door and frame elements. Numerous advantages of this SCM solution include the 12-position tool storage and highly versatile electro-spindles that allow you to move from one profile to another without the intervention of an operator.
Subsequently, other two Profitech profiling machines deal with the internal profiling of the door and frame.
The frames and doors are, therefore, completed on each side and transported on a connecting bench as far as the unloading station where they will be subject to a visual and quality inspection by the operator.
The line is completed by a number of other SCM technological solutions designated to special functions or other stages of the process.
This is the case – to mention just one example – of the DMC System T7 wide belt sander with seven operating units: thanks to its modular structure, it can provide a solution for every calibrating, sanding and structuring production requirement. Thanks to the planetary unit’s multi-directionality, excellent finishing results can be achieved that are structured and closed-pore even on window shutters.
