For windows, timber offers greater versatility in profile design and better insulation, and modern machinery for timber windows offers economy and flexibil-ity in manufacture, faster production, higher accuracy and quality and the ability to provide bespoke windows, at prices competitive with uPVC.
At the Weinig Group (which includes Dimter and GreCon) we make the full range of machines for making windows – from preparing timber at the cross-cutting, defecting, finger-jointing and laminating stage, to profiling and making the window. Machinery can be tailored to suit the small or large manufacturer, and can be used stand-alone or in a semi- or fully-automated line.
Today, many window manufacturers use these multi-functional window machining centres to produce components. They can make bespoke windows as quick as standard sizes. They are simple to operate, highly accurate, achieve high quality and need fewer less-skilled operators. Less handling is also involved because all work is done at one location, so it is safer and means less product damage.
Logical production
Weinig’s Unicontrol range of machine lines is modular and especially designed for the logical production of windows. It can be adapted to suit both large and small volume producers. The range includes the Unicontrol 6, Unicontrol 10 and UC-Matic system. Infeed and outfeed can be mechanised and there are numerous possibilities on-line and off-line – a choice of aggregates, in-line drilling and dowelling facilities and the use of new generation Weinig moulders.
The Unicontrol 6 is the smallest in the range but it carries out all window component processing operations – cutting to exact window size, tenoning, linear profiling, cutting out glass beads, stormproofing and production of glazing bars – all in sequence in one pass, using only one operator. Around 50 average windows (of 13 components each) can be produced in a shift.
The Unicontrol 10 is more flexible and more productive and accommodates more aggregates. It offers a larger tenoning capacity and more lengthwise profiling possibilities, which means fewer tool changes. With the use of a turning device it can be highly productive and operated by one person. It can produce 80 window frames in a shift, depending on the number of aggregates and types of tooling used.
Individual needs
The fully mechanised UC-Matic can produce up to 150 windows per shift. This is designed for the customer’s individual needs and comprises a line of machines, linked mechanically. The key machinery usually comprises a powered infeed; straightening moulder; two tenoning machines in sequence to tenon both ends; profiling section; finishing machine; possibly a CNC drilling machine and dowelling machine or whatever the customer may need. It can be operated by just two people.
Companies opting for the stand-alone machinery approach can also benefit from latest technical developments.
Today, for instance, cross-cutting can be automated for maximum efficiency. Dimter, for instance, makes a wide range of CNC controlled cross-cut saws. Using its middle-range OptiCut S75 for optimising and defecting, the material is cut to size with minimum waste. The machine cuts out defects to meet various quality grades; cuts to size; provides an option for automatically sorting into length and grade; and the CNC operation offers a variety of information and statistics for management control.
Off-cuts from cross-cutting can be finger-jointed, on a GreCon finger-jointer, and used in aluminium-clad, high insulation windows, in the ‘hidden’ portion of windows or on painted windows.
Straightening and planing all round can also now be carried out in one pass on a four-sided planer/moulder, like the compact Quattromat. This gives the accuracy and finish vital for high quality window manufacture, direct from rough or laminated timber. Weinig’s range of new generation moulders can also be used for higher production speeds and faster changeovers and these are also used to produce cills and window boards.