New Mark 1 Easyjig Press at Crendon Timber Engineering, Dorchester
Crendon Timber Engineering has been at the forefront in the design and manufacture of timber products for 57 years and has been working with MiTek for over 20 years. With 12 branches nationwide, Crendon has recently invested in the latest MiTek Mark 1 Easyjig Press with lasers at its Dorchester, Dorset, branch.
The company prides itself on superior levels of on-site efficiency, exceptional services and innovative thinking and the new machine is one of several installed over the last twelve months across Crendon’s network of branches. It’s part of its wider strategy to innovate and optimise to help builders and developers deliver better new homes and meet housing targets.
Dave Thomas, Commercial Leader, EMEA Automation, MiTek, says: “The industry is moving towards automation for presses and this Mark 1 Easyjig Press at Crendon, Dorchester, shows exactly what is possible. We have introduced newer software onto this press that will be fed across the wider group.”
The installation of the press is part of a wider reconfiguration process of its manufacturing operation to optimise production, which concluded with the new press being installed over a three-week period. Speaking of the new automated solution that speeds up production and precision, Ed Kirk, Crendon Operations, Innovation and Sustainability Director, said:
“The Virtek laser system gives us significant time savings, with tables that can set the outline of a truss within seconds. Three sets of trusses can be set up concurrently and the positive impact on our production capability and efficiency has been impressive.
He adds:
“We’ve worked with the team at MiTek for many years. Its software, products and services have been integral to our journey and growth.”
The trusses made on the Mark 1 will be designed with MiTek software, with output files to instruct the tables and the lasers. These are fully integrated software solutions that make the Mark 1 Easyjig Press the most up-to-date press on the market in the UK.
For Crendon, it is an investment for the future – a 38-metre press, with two gantries, that new operators into the manufacturing process will be trained on. The auto settings mean there is ease of use and much less manual handling than previous systems. The automated setup with projected timber and plate positioning eliminates remedial work.
“It provides us with a safer work environment, and we can build to exact specification, and scale up or down. Everything we need for the demands of today’s market,” added Ed Kirk.
