In order to offer its clients the best quality doors and frames, with the quickest possible delivery times, Cotswold Doors recently invested in a new Essepigi Faster high-speed CNC frame-machining line.
This latest investment comes hard on the heels of an Essepigi Doormatic throughfeed door machining line that was installed last year. Both machines were supplied by Kirkby, Liverpool-based woodworking machinery expert, JJ Smith.
Cotswold Doors supplies on a nationwide basis to healthcare, education, residential, commercial, student accommodation and the leisure sector. The company is headed up by Dave Campbell, Simon Campbell and Jamie Wilkinson.
Jamie comments: “Following on from the installation of the Essepigi Doormatic in early 2019, it quickly became apparent that to keep pace with the door machining, which typically only takes us 60 seconds per door, we needed a quicker way to produce the frames.
“As we had already built up an excellent working relationship with JJ Smith over several years, we had no hesitation in contacting Paul Parker to discuss in more detail exactly what our requirements were.”
As a result of these discussions, an outline machine specification was suggested, with the final details to be agreed once Jamie and Simon had seen a similar model being tested at the Essepigi factory in Pesaro, Italy.
The machine proposed was a throughfeed Faster 2T model, which is equipped as standard with two CNC milling heads for hinge- and lock-keep recessing. Cotswold Doors also added the optional two-plus-two extra CNC milling heads for pilot hole drilling and face-fixing holes.
The infeed system consists of cross transfer belts that deliver the frame component onto a lateral feed belt, which then delivers it to the machining area. Once the process is completed the part is automatically transferred and ejected onto an outfeed table.
Set-up times are extremely quick when changing to different length frame parts, with the added benefit of parametric programming. Additional options include a QR scanner and optimising saw for cutting jambs/heads to length.
Processing a typical frame jamb with three hinges, pilot holes along with trenching rebates and screw holes takes only 40 seconds including loading/unloading, with the counterplate and top rebate taking approximately 30 seconds.
The Faster 2T machine is just one of a full range of specialist door and frame CNC machines which Essepegi produces, all of which are usually configured to suit customers’ individual production requirements.
The throughfeed Doormatic is one of the quickest machines on the market for the machining of internal doors, while the top-of-the-range Evolution can machine a complete door – including sizing, drop seal, top closer, aperture, etc – in a fraction of the time it takes on a traditional flat-bed CNC. Essepigi also supplies machines to produce mitre and dowel frame joints, or, alternatively, notched head and jamb construction.
The new frame machine has now been installed at Cotswold Doors for several months, and Simon Campbell comments: “Despite all of the problems earlier in the year associated with the lockdown, we still managed to keep some production going and offer a supply line to our customers. We are now back to full production and the new Essepigi frame line is already working to almost full capacity.
“We found working with Essepigi and JJ Smith hassle free – they listened to what we wanted to achieve and came up with a spec of machine that ticked all our boxes. The equipment is very well built, simple to operate and has proved very reliable.”
JJ Smith’s door specialist, Paul Parker, concludes: “It has been a pleasure to work with the guys at Cotswold Doors. They are very forward-thinking and straightforward to deal with, and no doubt will become one of the UK’s leading door and frame suppliers.”
Contact JJ Smith for further information on its extensive range of door and frame machining solutions from Essepigi, Centauro and Comec.
0151 548 9000
[email protected]
www.jjsmith.co.uk
