FALLOWFIELD EXPANDS ON ALL FRONTS WITH MASTERWOOD

Lake District joinery, Fallowfield Projects, has increased turnover and profitability and opened up new business opportunities after buying two Masterwood CNC machining centres.

With a Winner 3.2 machine helping to boost the business's turnover by £200,000 a year in each of the last three years, it has now bought a Masterwood Atlas KL, enabling it to re-enter the window market.

Joinery item drawings and cutting programs are now prepared on PCs in the office at Fallowfield Projects.

The family-run joinery, of Staveley, near Kendal, is run by brothers Jim and Ward Fallowfield. As well as making doors, windows and staircases for building developers and staircases for loft conversion companies, it also carries out shop fitting and interior work.

Fallowfield used the Winner to make staircase components, making full use of Masterwood's purpose-designed MasterStair software. It also did all the panel processing for the counters and cabinets needed in its shopfitting work.

Jim Fallowfield with the large diameter tenoning tooling fitted to the Masterwood Atlas KL at Fallowfield Projects

With increased demand on the Winner's time resulting from substantial extra business, it was decided to add the larger Atlas KL, which was supplied with optional large diameter tooling, to overcome a bottleneck in the mill.

Said Jim Fallowfield: "Our positive experience with the Winner, our first machining centre, encouraged us to go back to Masterwood for the Atlas earlier this year. It demonstrated the value of obtaining the machine and the software from a single supplier, so we knew the Atlas would be just as versatile and accurate."

Masterwood's John Cookson (left) and Jim Fallowfield with a window produced on the Atlas KL CNC machining centre.

It's used in conjunction with the MasterWindow software package to design and produce solid wood windows. Fallowfield used to make them by hand, but it became too labour intensive and less profitable.

The Atlas KL is unique in that it can be fitted with up to four 320mm diameter tools for tenoning which, as far as Fallowfields is aware, no other CNC machining centre is able to offer.



The Masterwood Atlas KL CNC machining centre in action at Fallowfield Projects

It dramatically slashes the time taken by traditional window lines as it can carry out all of the necessary window component operations. This includes cutting the timber lengths to the exact window size, tenoning, linear profiling, cutting out glass beads, storm proofing and producing the glazing bars. It can even take care of all the air vents, key and handle holes and locks, as well as any milling operations that are needed.

Having two CNC machines has allowed Fallowfield to become more efficient and increase its output still further by splitting up the work. The Winner is now used for the staircases' treads and newel posts, as well as handling panel work.

The Atlas concentrates on making the staircase strings in addition to windows, with Fallowfield making full use of the MasterWindow software to make the main frame and sashes.

With MasterWindow, users are taken step-by-step through the design and setting-up stages prior to the machining of all the frame, sash and fascia components.

The easy-to-understand program lets you design and produce windows in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. They include rectangular, half-round arch, sector arch, three centres arch, trapezoid, triangular, full round and, oval, plus French windows.

External fully glazed doors are also made on the Atlas, with Fallowfield carrying out the glazing work in-house.

The large diameter tooling is used to storm proof windows with mouldings on them, process square profiling windows as well as the ovolo and square profiling on doors. It also makes the jointing tenons on both widow and door components.

Said Jim Fallowfield: "MasterWindow, like MasterStair, is a very good, easy to use program that gives us total accuracy on a sustained basis.

"Having the two CNCs has given me the time to sit back and plan the company's growth and develop areas we want to specialise in. We had a limited customer base before which has now gone national, resulting in a vastly improved cash flow. There's no doubt that the machines have totally transformed the business."

They have allowed Fallowfield to successfully get back into the window market as well as setting up a new highly successful web-based staircase supply operation aimed at homeowners, www.StaircasesDirect.co.uk

"We looked at several machining centre suppliers before selecting Masterwood," said Jim Fallowfield. "The key factor in their favour was their ability to supply the CNC machines as well as their own specialist software, which was something no-one else could offer.

"We also wanted someone to take care of us as we were totally new to computer operated machines, and we have been very impressed with the high level of technical and after-sales support provided."

He said the Masterwood machines had brought a dramatic increase in output without the need for extra staff, which had made the business far more profitable.

"It's the software that is the key to their success. It's fast, accurate and simple to use after minimal training, and we had no problems adapting to the new way of doing things."

Fallowfield's workshop foreman, a qualified wood machinist, has exchanged the workbench for a desk and two PCs. He now works in the office producing product drawings and preparing computerised cutting programs for the machining centres.

The computers are networked to both Masterwood machines with programs downloaded direct to the operator, with no need to prepare discs.

"Masterwood offers a brilliant combination with their machines and specialist software complementing one another," said Jim Fallowfield. "All the drawing and setting up work used to be done by hand. It takes half-an-hour to do a drawing of a staircase and set up one of the CNC's operating programs. Before, it could often take more than two hours.

"Window making time has also been slashed. It takes 15-20 minutes to machine a window, including processing the sash frame and the storm proofing, with MasterWindow even giving us the glass sizes needed. This used to take hours and we had to use up to six traditional pieces of equipment.

"You don't have to have to know all about computers to use the CNCs, just how to transfer files & folders. The software programs are self-taught and allowed us to train our two semi-skilled machine operators."

Fallowfield has signed up to MasterClub, a scheme set up by Masterwood that allows customers to receive regular software updates.

Jim Fallowfield said that as well as delivering increased output, accuracy and increased margins, there were major health and safety benefits. "Our machinists are not near any working parts when the CNCs are running, which is an added bonus in these safety conscious times.

"I would not have been able to expand the business without the Masterwood machines. It has been a real win-win experience."


All enquiries to Masterwood (UK) Ltd, Telephone 01436 675000, Fax 01436 678999, Email masterwooduk@aol.com.

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