Page 34 & 35 - April/ May 2002

LINKWOOD SMOOTHES OUT PRODUCTION FOR BESPOKE FURNITURE MANUFACTURER.

By introducing software from Linkwood, a small, North East manufacturer of custom made kitchen and bedroom furniture has streamlined its production, increased output and cut costs.  Achieving greater efficiency and cost savings by using specialised woodworking software is no longer the preserve of major manufacturers or those involved in producing standardised components.

Entering product Information in the office into Product Planner seamlessly creates and optimises parts and produces labels.

With the flexibility provided by the software available from Linkwood, UK agents for Pattern Systems of the USA a leading  specialist in furniture and woodworking  software, smaller manufacturers and those specialising in bespoke production can also reap substantial benefits.

This is clearly demonstrated at Cavendish Kitchens and Bedrooms, of Ashington, Northumberland, a small, custom made furniture producer that has completely transformed its manufacturing processes by tapping into the power provided by way of software and systems from Linkwood. 

Cavendish was formed in the 1980s after identifying a gap in the market for supplying and installing high quality fitted kitchens at sensible prices. Its success soon led to  fitted bedrooms being added to its product range.

Now employing 37 staff, it serves the domestic market in the North East from three showrooms and has an annual turnover of £2.5 million. Never slow to take up new challenges, the forward-looking company is keen to meet the changing demands of its customers. It is now creating integrated, multi-use ‘lifestyle’ rooms, a bedroom, workout and study area, complete with computer work stations.   

Management also recently decided that the way to ensure further growth was to update its cumbersome, labour intensive manufacturing processes by investing in the latest machinery and fully computerising its design and manufacturing systems.  

Production has been totally transformed with the introduction of a Selco EB90 beam saw and a Biesse Rover 22 CNC machining centre, plus a suite of modular software from  Linkwood composed of Product Planner, Cut Planner, Quik Trak Parts Labels, Quik Trak on Demand and Drill Mate. 

Software from Linkwood is PC based, operates under Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, XP and is available in both networked and non-networked versions.

“After looking at all the available software we selected Linkwood,  as the software  normally offered by machinery companies is not in the same league,” says Cavendish’s co-owner Albert Richardson. “While it may be perfectly good enough for standard repetition work, none of it meets our needs as we are into totally bespoke manufacture.” 

Cavendish has to produce a great many different sized panels and components. The speed and accuracy of the networked software from Linkwood in coping with the most complicated of requirements means that specials are now as quick and easy to process as standard sized units, however awkward the dimensions.

Printing labels at the saw using 'Quik Trak on Demand' via the touch screen.

Design work is carried out using ArtiCad, a specialist furniture design program.  The designs are then downloaded  to Product Planner, a feature-rich program that has enabled Cavendish to set up its own parametric product library from which it can recall typical products, re-size them, calculate costs and create manufacturing data, including cutting lists, easily with 100% accuracy.

After the job has been checked on screen by production manager Craig Watson, who makes any final adjustments, Product Planner jobs can be batched into one large job or production schedule. It functions as a stand-alone system or, as at Cavendish,  can be connected to other software, such as Cut Planner, a popular program with furniture and woodworking manufacturers.

Cut Planner effectively determines the most efficient way to cut rectangular parts from sheet materials, graphically displays the cutting layout, clearly details cutting instructions and amongst other data, reports material yield and costs. Cutting instructions can be downloaded to almost all the current models of beam panel saws.

At Ashington it is connected to the Selco saw, with the operator able to make a quick visual check on screen to avoid any obvious errors. As Cavendish previously had two panel saws with both operators doing the optimisation visually, the introduction of Cut Planner has led to considerable cost savings. 

“Practically all of the offcuts are now reused, whereas before at least 20 per cent of a panel was binned,” says Albert Richardson. “We can now use 94-95 per cent of grained panels and even more of a standard white panel, and I reckon we are saving £18,000 a year on board costs.”

Product Planner also connects to Quik Trak, which provides printed parts labels in the production office, and Quik Trak on Demand, which produces parts labels at the saw, via the touch screen. The labels give the job number, the size of the unit, indicate  which edges require banding and are barcoded with the drilling templates for use by Drill Mate.

The panel sizes calculated by Product Planner are read into Drill Mate and applied to the templates, which are defined for each part. Drill Mate is also parametric, which means the exact position of all holes, grooves and routing are computed taking into consideration any product variations. This information is downloaded over the network direct to the computer on the Biesse machining centre.

When the cut panels are delivered to the Biesse machining centre the operator scans the bar code which tells the machine exactly what operations are required. As with Cut Planner all the Drill Mate operations are clearly shown on a colour screen, so the operator can make a final visual check to avoid any possible mistakes.

The drilled panels are then passed to the assembly section, with its a new COSMO NK carcass press. A further advantage to Cavendish is that whilst the panel processing is going on,  Product Planner generates a hardware list to the stores. This allows them to put the required items in a bin ready for collection by the assembler, with the program also linked in to Cavendish’s stock control system.

Scanning bar-coded labels at the CNC instantly recalls the required program.

“The introduction of the software from Linkwood has brought tremendous benefits,” says Albert Richardson. “It has made our manufacturing operations far more efficient, helping us to remain competitive on price, and has already led to an increase in output of around a third, despite the fact that the new system is not yet working to full capacity. It is also helping with our cash flow as we no longer need to keep large stocks of materials, which is good news as we are tight for space here.”

Adds Craig Watson: “With the labels produced by Quick Trak we are able to track every item throughout the entire manufacturing and assembly process, which was an impossible task before with so many pieces moving around the factory. They also help our fitters by cutting down on the time it takes to complete an installation.”

With the help of  Linkwood software solution  Cavendish is working towards its eventual  target of ‘Just in Time’ manufacturing. The quality and accuracy of the end product  has been greatly improved and they are saving on panel costs. “Whichever way you look at it there are advantages,” says Albert Richardson.

He readily admits that the manufacturing operation was inefficient before as well as labour intensive. “One of the most important benefits is that we have been able to deskill the work, with all our operators quickly trained to work on every machine, as the system from Linkwood is so easy to use and monitor. In short, it has put management back in control of the manufacturing operation.”

The company plans to open its fourth showroom in the North East by next Easter. This is something it could not have considered without the increased output being achieved with the help of Linkwood’s software systems.

Cavendish’s favourable experience with Linkwood clearly demonstrates that, given the right software systems and support, smaller manufacturers of bespoke furniture can benefit every bit as much from Computer Aided Manufacturing as can the giants of the woodworking industry.