Window Creations LLC | Made With Intermac verre France

“Our primary business is stained glass but we’re moving more and more to manufacturing,” said company president Reggie Buehrer. “Still, the manufacturing revolves around the window business but we’re branching off into other areas. Anything pertaining to glass, metal or wood, we can work with all those different mediums.” Buehrer noted that a large stained glass window might be composed of 50 or 60 panels and Window Creations produces “well into the thousands” of pieces each year when you combine those panels, window frames and wood projects.

Two years ago, the company encountered some production challenges and found the help it was looking for in Intermac’s Genius CT-37 and Biesse’s Rover S. “We were looking to save time and improve accuracy,” he said. “With Intermac, we were primarily looking at glass cutting, mostly ¼-inch thick but all different thicknesses. We were looking for something that would improve accuracy versus hand cutting and using templates and then also to be able to speed the process up. That really did help increase the speed at which we were able to work and, of course, the accuracy.” Buehrer added, “It’s really about time savings, greater precision and less material loss. On the CT-37, with big projects we often times end up with 90%-plus usage of our sheet because we’re nesting so many pieces. It’s a pretty high percentage, let’s put it that way. We may have hundreds of panels we punch into it at a time, so it really figures the placement in the piece and it nests them really well.”

For its part, the Rover S has proved beneficial not only in the company’s production for customers but also for the enhancement of Window Creations’ own work environment. “We use it for milling wood, of course, but use it for three-dimensional type coves,” Buehrer said. “It’s a little more than just cutting out a two-dimensional piece. We use software that allows us to go in and put those coves on it and do some really cool things. We also made all the cabinets for our new facility. We engineered them on CAD software and it automatically sent the code to the (Rover). It chops them up, into literally thousands of pieces, and drills the holes for the shelves and dadoes out the holes. It was really nice for making the cabinets.” Window Creations, LLC, counts many churches and secular clients among its growing list of customers.

For its part, the Rover S has proved beneficial not only in the company’s production for customers but also for the enhancement of Window Creations’ own work environment. « We use it for milling wood, of course, but use it for three-dimensional type coves,” Buehrer said. « It’s a little more than just cutting out a two-dimensional piece. We use logiciel that allows us to go in and put those coves on it and do some really cool things. « We also made à l the cabinets for our new facility. We engineered them on CAD logiciel and it automatically sent the code to the (Rover). It chops them up, into literally thousands of pieces, and drills the holes for the shelves and dadoes out the holes. It was really nice for making the cabinets.” Window Creations, LLC, counts many churches and secular clients among its growing list of customers.

Le nouveau centre d’usinage mesure 2500 x 1250 mm, et apparait donc comme la solution au problème posé par ce chantier plutôt inhabituel: sur 80m² il opère à 30 mètres de hauteur. Aujourd’hui le chantier de Salvador Guardiola emploie 20 personnes sur les 200 travaillant à la construction de la Sagrada Familía. Deux opérateurs spécialisés dans les machines à contrôle numérique, un technicien informatique ainsi que M. Guardiola lui-même seront en charge du nouveau centre d’usinage, qui fonctionnera à son potentiel maximum.
«Les modèles arrivent des bureaux d’études à un rythme frénétique. Quasiment toutes les pièces sont courbées et de formes irrégulières», rajoute Salvador Guardiola, «ce sont les célèbres paraboloïdes qui font partis d’une énorme structure qui prend peu à peu forme. La Sagrada Família devrait être finie vers 2026».
La machine a été fournie par MAQUINARIA VIDAL, un agent de Biesse Espagne, qui est aussi en charge de la maintenance des autres équipements sur le site de la Sagrada Familía. La KLEVER G FT est la machine idéale pour le nesting sur bois et dérivé de bois, ainsi que pour produire des matériaux plastiques non ferreux. La KLEVER 1224 G FT peut produire 2 500 pièces de bois par mois et en moyenne une centaine de panneaux. Tout cela avec une optimisation maximale du panneau, que la machine travaille sur du contre-plaqué, du PVC ou bien du plastique – de différentes qualités étant donné que les pièces sont destinées à une utilisation extérieure.
Pour résumer : une machine solide, fiable, souple et compacte pour un chantier mobile avec une charge de travail élevée bien que très variable.

La machine ne peut pas s’arrêter, certains jours elle fonctionne 24 heures sur 24, nous avons donc besoin d’une réponse immédiate à tout type d’imprévu.

Reggie Buehrer Président

Pays

Le chantier de la Sagrada Familía mise sur Biesse

Ohio-based Window Creations, LLC and its more than 20 employees have established an incredibly high craftsmanship standard with stained glass for nearly three decades. Today, both Intermac and Biesse are helping the company maintain that lofty standard as well as expand its business offerings.