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Above left: From left: Andrew Donaldson (Donaldson Group CEO), Alanna Bowler (DTS factory manager), Frank O’Reilly and Rod Allan Above right: Kuka robots assembling panels
“I’ve no doubt the rest of the market will move in that direction as well.”
When JDG acquired SMTS it inherited two large timber frame hub factories in Witney and Aberdeen. A third, small site at Falkirk was closed in February in response to current reduced housebuilding demand. The investment in Witney was to industrialise the Sigma II closed panel product, which is fully insulated and with pre-fitted windows, as well as to produce fully finished floor cassettes including glued chipboard floors.
“This was to enable housebuilders to get “wind and watertight” within a day. “Up until this investment, we could, with three shift working, maybe make 600 Sigma II units a year,” added Mr Allan.
“This investment will see the capacity to produce somewhere between 3,000-5,000 units, depending on how big the houses are.” Mr O’Reilly explained that when SMTS opened the Witney factory in the early 2000s, it was one of the most automated timber frame factories in Europe.
“It had been an ambitious and brave thing for Stewart Milne to do at that time,” he said. “He took what he had learned in Scotland and knew that the English market was a growing market.
“The equipment is still very functional, but the market has changed a little bit and there is definitely a push to more of a closed panel product.”
RISE OF THE ROBOTS
DTS partnered with Sweden-based timber frame technology specialist Randek on the project, developing new techniques and innovations in the process.
One of the new features in the factory is three robot production cells with eight Kuka robots in total.
“Why did we choose robotics?” said Mr Allan.
“We know the market will change. Previously, the machinery here was designed as very bespoke, aimed at doing specific things, but the beauty of robots is they are very easy to reprogramme and repurpose.” For instance, robots can be fitted with a variety of tools – from nailing guns, to routing heads and also suction cups for lifting.
“It helps us to be future-proofed. We’re trying to give ourselves as much flexibility as to what comes in the future.
“The automotive world is miles away from the timber frame world but there are things you can learn. “It seems like a leap of faith, but the automotive world has been doing this for the last 40 years. There is no-one else doing what we’re doing with robotics in timber frame.” With one eye on the future, DTS has designed in some blank workstations in factory areas for future potential add-on operations.
Mr O’Reilly toured a number of factories across Europe and the US in preparation for the investment.
“There was nothing that we had seen that ticked all the boxes, so we worked with Randek to adjust our equipment to suit our needs.
“I would say our production line is now world class, there is nothing like it, either across the US or in Europe.” Technology relationships were also maintained with machining specialists Hundegger and Weinig, while extraction equipment supplier Indusvent added a system to the production line to efficiently extract the sawdust.
Considering the new production line is 130m long, the extraction installation required ingenuity by Indusvent, who worked with Randek on outlet sizes and booster fans to optimise the system.
Another important supplier is Millennium
Control Systems, whose expertise with PLCs assists DTS to extract and understand data on the production line to optimise operations. A further ambition of the investment was to save production time by moving away from manual measuring teams working with drawings and tape measures to automatic laser projection.
“The mantra of ‘measure twice cut once’ rings in everyone’s ears,” said Mr Allan. “But every time someone looks at a drawing and picks up measuring tape that is lost production time,” he added. “As part of this investment, we have invested in laser projection technology, which means you don’t need to get a measuring tape out and you don’t need to look at a drawing.” Green laser lines are projected onto a work table and staff place timber along the lines.
“This is all in an attempt to de-risk the manufacturing process,” added Mr O’Reilly. “The equipment will only make lines as according to files transferred to the factory floor. It removes the human factor where someone has misinterpreted a drawing and misread a tape measure.”
This technology is routinely used in roof truss production, though not for timber frame panels.
FULLY FINISHED FLOOR CASSETTES Another big improvement at Witney was in floor cassette production. “We produced floor cassettes previously, with an automated production line at Witney. But the product has changed and demand in the market has moved to a fully finished floor cassette, as the lack of site trades have made it more difficult for builders.”
Challenges that needed overcoming to meet BBS and NHBC requirements included the correct detailing of how glue was inserted into the tongue and grooves of the chipboard flooring panels. ►
www.ttjonline.com | July/August 2024 | TTJ
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