Glasgow PVC-U fabricator, Perfect Glazing, recently took delivery of a brand new Stuga ZX4-MK2 sawing and machining centre.
The new machine replaces a German model that apparently suffered from ‘accuracy issues’ and poor technical support as a result of dealing with a foreign manufacturer through a British dealer, which according to Perfect Glazing, meant there were always delays in spares and back-up.
With a capacity of around 1,000 windows per week, the ZX4 is able to produce twice as many windows as the machine it has replaced and comes with many ‘inbuilt benefits’ that are said to make operation ‘easier and more straightforward’, with technical support coming directly from Stuga’s service centre in Norfolk. Apart from its own seven technicians, Stuga can also draw on the resources of The Saw Centre in Glasgow for fast response, where there are two fully Stuga-trained engineers that are able to deal with ‘most day-to-day issues’ that may occur.
According to Stuga, the ZX4-MK2 can ‘easily and accurately’ produce 800 to 1,000 windows in a normal week. It can produce all required saw cuts and preps, having the benefit of the Stuga rotary tooling system that creates ‘incredible flexibility’ for prepping, profile-by-profile and operation-by-operation. Preps can be placed anywhere within 360º and this is controlled by the software. The graphic interface is said to make adjustment of the position ‘accurate and simple’. The ZX4 measures each length of profile and instantly re-optimises the batch if random off-cuts are added. Management software also communicates every detail concerning the performance and efficiency of the machine, including running and downtime details. The multi-bar lateral buffer station is described as ‘a significant factor’ in making the ZX4 so fast, because sawing and machining functions are separated to minimise delays between the two sides of the machine, therefore idle times while sawing waits for prepping to complete, or vice versa are very infrequent.
